Things you should know (and didn't learn in OW)

[String]

anybody mentioned how to read and use tide tables? also how to determine which way the current is generally moving while still on the boat..

Depends which agency. Tides and tidal flow is mandatory on the syllabus here.

 

[Mr Kawamura]

I'm a vacation diver - AOW with 20 logged dives. I had an experience which would seem to illustrate that some SMB training during entry level courses is needed. I got separated from my instructor during AOW nav dive (my tenth dive). Being lost, in a current and poor visibility I followed my training and surfaced. There were several small boats motoring in and out of the bay, with me surfacing and floating about among them. I could not see my instructor, could not reunite on the surface and was drifting slowly out of the bay.

Next time I go diving I will carry an SMB, but this is because of a potentially life-threatening experience, not because of any PADI training. I think this demonstrates the need to teach as much self-sufficiency as possible from the beggining. I imagine that familiarising students with an SMB and maybe DSMB would be a pretty quick and easy thing to do?

 

[plwtwo]

Everything depends on your Instructor...some do more then others..

A SMB is required equipment for any OW dives, especially training dives according to PADI standards...this is in the OW Manual and the AOW manual.

 

[Mr Kawamura]

The other thing I'm going to do when I next go diving is read the manuals again... Thanks for your post plwtwo.