Thalassamania:
For my wife and I, a whole new world opened up when we accidentally found our way out from under the "dive shop/industry".
To those considering an OW class...
- Thread starter loosebits
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For my wife and I, a whole new world opened up when we accidentally found our way out from under the "dive shop/industry".
liuk3
Contributor
I finally read through all 52 pages. That is a lot of information to digest. Thanks.
LIWoman
Guest
Well I think you've scared me a little. I'm starting my class next weekend. It's 2 weekends, Saturday and Sunday, both days 9-3. I have had to read and complete the test in the first 3 chapters of the book and watch the video. Is that going to be enough?
I didn't want to scare anyone but that sounds like the typical OW class and many on this board think that necessary skills needed before diving in open water cannot be gained in such a short time. Others disagree and call OW a "license to learn".LIWoman:
I've had several people contact me shortly after taking an OW class like you've described and asking what would be the best way to improve their training and I'm not exactly sure how to answer. Now, I don't know anything about your instructor but the worst case scenario is your instructor is a product of the same system he is teaching and he simply has never learned good technique because no one has ever taught him. I see this all the time at the lakes, an instructor with his octopus and gauges dragging in the silt and fins kicking up the bottom on every stroke.
Now, how can anyone be expected to become a competent diver if they've never been shown or told what a competent diver looks like?
Here are the things I see at the lakes and oceans that are often a product of the diver simply not knowing any better:
1) Not descending or ascending with the buddy. You should be watching your buddy during the ascent and descent as this is one of the most frequent times things go wrong or you get separated.
2) Danglies. Your octopus and SPG/console/whatever should be clipped off somehow, not being dragged on the bottom.
3) Overweighting/trim/buoyancy. This is a product of training/experience but if you don't know what you're striving for, you'll never get there. You want to minimize the amount of weight you have, there are plenty of references to this on this board. You also want to be completely level in the water. If your head is higher than your feet, that means you are kicking up the bottom.
4) Start thinking about gas planning. How much gas would it take to get you and your buddy from your maximum depth to the surface on your tank considering your breathing rates (aka SAC rate).? If you want to learn about this, search the board for "rock bottom".
5) If you are planning on using a dive computer, know how to use it. Understand what it is telling you if you accidentally put it into deco. Regardless of having a computer, you should know how to use tables as well. They can save you from ruining your vacation if your computer dies on you.
I'm sure other people will have many more items they would like to add; these are just some of the most egregious examples I've seen.
Well, good luck to you; diving is a wonderfully amazing experience and I'm sure you will love it.
Good post loosebits.
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Yes, Comrade Diver Loosebits once again demonstrates that he not only knows what he is talking about, he also knows how to talk about it.MikeFerrara:
Another gem of information in this excellent (even if long) thread.
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Ever thought about making a "best of" into a sticky?
Twiddles
Contributor
If your considering an OW class, gratz and welcome to diving. Know this and read this thread carefully, until you have at least 20 dives you have no idea what you even need to learn in diving. You are a risk to yourself and everyone around you. You may have bouyancy control, you may know your gear, you may think you know what you need to be safe. YOU DONT and you wont after OW. Anybody who tells you otherwise is LYING to you. If you have the good fortune to be diving with somebody who has 50 or more dives I would say you are proably safe in the water. If your diving with your buddy who has the same number of dives as you, start praying.
Im sure there are many here that would disagree and point to my limited diving training as proof to just ignore me. I in turn would point you to my first thread post on this thread (aside from my hello) and then point you to my post http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=176093. You have poor training at best at OW you know nothing of underwater nav, deep diving, limited visibility diving (night diving). All of these items and probably more are essential to your training for you to dive safely. Keep that in mind before you and your buddy dive without an instructor or additional training.
If you need additional incentive to not just accept the quickest course that gets you your card. Picture this, you and your buddy have completed OW and you both have 4 ocean dives in monterey. You are now certified and safe. You and your buddy decide to celebrate and you take another dive you get out to about 50' depth. Your swimming aimlessly about and your visablility is getting progressively worse. In a period of less than 10 minutes you can no longer see your buddy and visibility is gone. Add additional problems your now lost you dont know up from down you have never been trained to deal with any of this. Welcome to red tide, no navigation training and no limited visibility training.
If you want to become a diver then plan on taking at least OW, AOW and a minimum of three specialty courses. Also plan on spending appx $250 dollars on basic gear that you must have for the course and an additional $1500+ to equip yourself with basic diving gear. My recommendation on specialty courses is deep diver, nav diver and night diver. Deep will increase your comfort at depth and allow you to dive to a depth of 130' with a more complete knowledge of the impact of diving at depth. Navigation will teach you how to move underwater, and protect you from becoming lost (you will probably still get lost, but it will offer you many ways to protect you from being lost). Night diving does much more than teach you to dive at night, it teaches you to dive in limited visibility and it increases your comfort level in no visibility situations where the danger to you the diver increases.
For your information, I have 24 dives and no instructor certifications. I most certainly have no idea what I am talking about. I have never taken any of the specialty courses I have mentioned. I have my AOW and 1 specialty (altitude).
Im sure there are many here that would disagree and point to my limited diving training as proof to just ignore me. I in turn would point you to my first thread post on this thread (aside from my hello) and then point you to my post http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=176093. You have poor training at best at OW you know nothing of underwater nav, deep diving, limited visibility diving (night diving). All of these items and probably more are essential to your training for you to dive safely. Keep that in mind before you and your buddy dive without an instructor or additional training.
If you need additional incentive to not just accept the quickest course that gets you your card. Picture this, you and your buddy have completed OW and you both have 4 ocean dives in monterey. You are now certified and safe. You and your buddy decide to celebrate and you take another dive you get out to about 50' depth. Your swimming aimlessly about and your visablility is getting progressively worse. In a period of less than 10 minutes you can no longer see your buddy and visibility is gone. Add additional problems your now lost you dont know up from down you have never been trained to deal with any of this. Welcome to red tide, no navigation training and no limited visibility training.
If you want to become a diver then plan on taking at least OW, AOW and a minimum of three specialty courses. Also plan on spending appx $250 dollars on basic gear that you must have for the course and an additional $1500+ to equip yourself with basic diving gear. My recommendation on specialty courses is deep diver, nav diver and night diver. Deep will increase your comfort at depth and allow you to dive to a depth of 130' with a more complete knowledge of the impact of diving at depth. Navigation will teach you how to move underwater, and protect you from becoming lost (you will probably still get lost, but it will offer you many ways to protect you from being lost). Night diving does much more than teach you to dive at night, it teaches you to dive in limited visibility and it increases your comfort level in no visibility situations where the danger to you the diver increases.
For your information, I have 24 dives and no instructor certifications. I most certainly have no idea what I am talking about. I have never taken any of the specialty courses I have mentioned. I have my AOW and 1 specialty (altitude).
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