What is "basic scuba"?

[GrandpaScuba]

My husband and I met a friend yesterday for a night dive. We spent an hour in the water, with a max depth of 20 feet. We were exploring a bunch of eelgrass patches, looking for Spiny Lumpsuckers, which are small, incredibly cute fish which can be found this time of year. The three of us would spend five or ten minutes on a single patch of eelgrass, maybe ten to twenty feet across. We would float quietly and methodically examine the grass and the sandy bottom, looking for interesting critters, and finding both lumpsuckers and other great things, like market squid.

Ten minutes in a 20 foot radius, and not a single bit of silt raised. No problems hovering for that long. Constant passive communication -- each of us knew where the others were at all times.

To me, these are basic scuba skills. But how many people who would term themselves basic divers have been taught how to do this?

It would be nice if this could be taught. You can teach bouyancy skills, but true mastery of bouyancy takes experience. And as far as situational awareness- this is something that only comes with experience. New divers are focused inwards. It takes much experience before they externalize their consciousness.

 

[Walter]

The truth is that if you have a standard requirement and the student meets that minimum standard you have to either pass them or chance being accused of discrimination.

There is no industry wide standard for teaching diving. Each agency has it's own standards. Some agencies allow instructors to add requirements. If you require the same from everyone you teach, there is no discrimination.