Timeline to get all certifications

[gabss]

Hi all,

I am a new diver and I got into it thanks to my boyfriend. I was wondering what is a safe timeline to go through all the certifications. He's already done OW, AOW, Nitrox, Cavern, Rescue in about 5 months. He now wants to do cave. Is it safe to go through all these certifications this quickly? or this average?

Thanks,

 

[CLEAR BLUE]

Well the good thing is that he is getting many dives in under the direction of an instructor in a variety of circumstances. The big key though is to dive dive dive. The more you do it the better you will be. Just remember....stay within your training and comfort level.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

It depends also on why he's doing it and if he's really learning anything. I see nothing wrong with getting training. It is also important to put that training to use just diving for fun. How many dives does he have with just a dive buddy who is not an instructor. The certs you are talking about and technical diving- cave- deep wrecks- deco, etc. are two very different animals. Some instructors I know will want a number of dives to show that the previous training has actually been put to use. If he's getting a cert, then getting in 20 dives in that discipline then it's a good bet he's using that training. But if there are no dives in between cards then how does anyone know if he's really applying the lessons. I did AOW immediately after OW. The instructor really pushed doing this to sell classes. It was a mistake. I had no idea what I was doing on that first dive to 90 feet. I want my AOW students now to have gotten in at least 5-10 dives post OW before starting the class. If someone insists then I'll take em but they better show me they learned something in OW, and they are not going to buy a card. They'll earn it or they do not get it. Not saying your boyfriend did not. But too often con-ed is pushed to the detriment as opposed to benefitting the student. It gives them a false sense of security. And that can kill you in a technical environment even faster than in OW where it can have the same result.

 

[TSandM]

I would say that, at this point, he should stop taking classes and do some diving. Diving is like driving a car; you can learn the ideas and even some of the skills in a class, but the practice that makes it natural and the judgment that comes with experience in a variety of environments is what matures you into a good diver.

Somewhere in the next year, he might well benefit from a cavern class. The skills taught there significantly impact all of one's diving (for the better!). But for cave? When I asked, I had several people tell me that I shouldn't get cave training until I had several hundred dives. It seemed like an awfully distant goal, but in fact, I had almost 500 dives and some semi-technical open water training before I took my first cave class, and I am VERY glad of that.

One of the key components of being a good and safe cave diver is a conservative, rational temperament. Rushing into this training is not a good indicator of that kind of thoughtfulness, in my opinion.

 

[underwasser bolt]

experience trumps knowledge in many cases. knowledge that has not been put into practical application may best be defined as trivia. the advice here is good: dive and hone the basics. become an expert at executing the fundamentals, then move on to the training of your choice.

 

[Peter Guy]

I pretty much agree with Jim (above). Is he diving and using the skills he is learning? IF there is a question I have it would be the Cavern cert -- and then it would be the skills he wanted to learn by taking Cavern and the skills he DID learn in the course.

Doing the OW, AOW, Rescue class series just gives you the foundation you need to be a reasonable independent diver (in my opinion). And as long as he was doing dives in between the courses, good for him.

At this point I'd really say -- SLOW DOWN and dive -- use the skills you've picked up. Do different types of dives -- shore, boat, critter watching, drifting, etc. Practice the skills -- for example, see if you can scoot along a silty bottom and NOT disturb it while looking for small critters and then, if you see one, stop and watch it for a while -- ALL without touching anything and without disturbing the environs AND without disturbing yourself.

In other words, go out and have fun and polish the skills that have been acquired.

 

[RiverPearl]

I agree with this one WHOLEHEARTEDLY!!! The "jack of all trades and master of none" theory is not a good application in diving..........

 

[Web Monkey]

Hi all,

I am a new diver and I got into it thanks to my boyfriend. I was wondering what is a safe timeline to go through all the certifications. He's already done OW, AOW, Nitrox, Cavern, Rescue in about 5 months. He now wants to do cave. Is it safe to go through all these certifications this quickly? or this average?

OW, AOW, Nitrox and Rescue in 5 months isn't unreasonable if he's doing a lot of diving. If not, it's just a stack of plastic cards that he paid a lot of money for. The good part is that as long as he sticks to non-decompression dives (not close to the edge of the no-decompression dive tables), it's reasonably difficult for him to kill himself. The jump to decompression diving and/or cave and wreck penetration and to a certain extent cavern is an entirely different story, since they're overhead environments that do not allow surfacing in an emergency, no matter how badly he wants or needs to.

Because of the lack of standardization and oversight in the SCUBA industry, it's entirely possible for him to find someone to "teach" and certify him for activities that he's not ready for and that are exceptionally unforgiving.

I'd recommend waiting until he has several hundred dives (at least) in various conditions with no "close calls" or "interesting experiences" before even considering deco or cave or wreck penetration.

Terry

 

[Thalassamania]

That seems to be a perfectly reasonable pace. AOW is just some supervised dives, Nitrox is just a little book work, rescue used to be part of the basic class.

 

[floridanewbe]

welcome aboard