What is "basic scuba"?

[Bogie]

"Basic Scuba" seems to have many different definitions. In my training classes I was taught very little in hovering skills. Even if it was taught it would take many dives to fine tune excellent bouyancy skills. Having the knowledge of what to do and actually doing it is quite different. I have noticed the very advanced skilled divers forget about what skills they have learned and they do things automatically in a proficient manner. It takes knowledge, practice and bubble time to gain these skills. I observe better diving buddies and learn something from them on every dive. I am always trying to better my skills.

 

[JKPAO]

Maybe concept would be a better word than skill. Skill means the abillity to do, concept is a general notion or idea! I still think it is a basic concept to float in the water column. Not always needed! Some times I am on the bottom collecting instruments and avoiding stir ups is impossible!
See you topside! John

 

[Arizona_SVO]

Neutral buoyancy in the form of fin pivots? That is barely the beginning. [snip] There is a post about a student in a peak performance buoyancy class telling how the instructor did NOT want him trying to perform in midwater, neutral, and horizontal. That is ridiculous and very sad. [snip] It is the time when the student is competent enough to plan, execute, and return safely from a dive with a buddy of equal skill in conditions similar to or better than that in which they have trained and not damage the environment. It is also when the instructor would be ok with that student diving with one of the instructors loved ones with no professional present. Then and only then will I issue a certification to that student. Until then they should be in the pool not in OW.

Don't recall saying fin pivots were what I would call neutral bouyancy, but I understand where it could be inferred that I did with my, neutral bouyancy is taught in every OW class out there. I may have mis-spoke as I forgot about 'fin-pivots'... however they could be considered a start I suppose. And you are most certainly correct in the sadness of the other instructor. What I am saying (and you seem to agree for the most part) is that the skills they should get in OW class are these skills in a very raw form. Where we appear to differ is that I do not see the necessity of these skills being completely polished like was demonstrated in the OP to be considered qualifications to get an OW card. Better than raw, yes, Glass-smooth? Probably not. If the student is not a danger to themselves, others, or the environment, have they met these skills or are we taking them to another level with the additional wording present in the OP?

BTW, I am not trying to be disrespectful here, I am just wondering if we are trying to instill something in a few weeks (or more) something that usually takes months (years) to get down to the level demonstrated... and should that still be called, 'basic'?

 

[Arizona_SVO]

So if she was diving an AL80, a regular BCD, and using an AIR2 for a backup would the description/expectations of the skills change?

I was wondering that myself.

 

[CalgaryDF]

Maybe concept would be a better word than skill. Skill means the abillity to do, concept is a general notion or idea! I still think it is a basic concept to float in the water column./QUOTE]

I would have to agree with this sentiment. These are really important skills, but I don't think that proficiency to the level described is required to keep divers and the environment safe.

It takes time to refine these skills, and expecting them to be mastered in a matter of weeks is a high standard. OW divers should be spending lots of time developing these skills without a doubt, but that can be done with a buddy out of class time. I don't think an increased emphasis in classes will solve the problem, because the divers who don't care about gaining more proficiency will simply forget it, or not practice and lose any buoyancy skills that they may have gained in the OW class.

 

[Web Monkey]

Many an aspiring chef seeking to work/train at a Michelin Three Star restaurant has been tasked by the executive chef to "fry me an egg." Sure, you and I can fry an egg. It's easy to fry an egg.

What's damned hard is to fry one perfectly.

Some chefs will separate the egg and cook the yolk and the white portions separately, as each is perfect only with different temperatures. Then, they will cleverly reassemble the egg for serving.

It's nice to know that I'm not alone.

Maybe 30 years ago, I wanted to make pizza. A relative gave me a dough recipe that consisted of flour, water, yeast, salt and sugar.

It was so awful that I thought she was messing with me and was actually quite annoyed.

I spent the next 30 years working on figuring out what the problem was and making it better. Now I have really awesome pizza dough, and the ingredients are flour, water, yeast, salt and sugar . . .

It's amazing.

Excellent buoyancy takes practice. I'm not sure you can blame the new divers either. I have the luxury of being in Open Water or a pool pretty much every week of the year, however if I take a couple of months off, say for an injury, when I get back in, my buoyancy control is truly embarrassing. I can't even imagine how hard it is for once-every-year-or-two vacation divers.

Terry

 

[Garth]

To the OP:

I've read a lot of your posts and this one is odd only because of this: I thought you said that hoving close to the bottom without silting was difficult for you when you first started. From what it sounds like you had a lot of heart to practice and practice. It is possible that you meant these skills are basic but kicks that don't stirr up the bottom are not natural to most. This may be due to the differences from conventional swimming.

I have basic skills that I continue to work on and those you listed are a few of them.

 

[wausman]

I was taught in OW the fin pivot and hovering and that this was a skill that would be perfected with exsperience. But fresh out of OW and with 16 dives I am far from having this basic skill.

But I do feel it is something that any diver that does not have this skill mastered and will be diving around a reef should be something they really work on.

 

[TSandM]

Oh, I couldn't do this when I finished my OW class . . . but I've said publicly, and will repeat, that I don't think I should have been PASSED out of my open water class!

Actually, by the time I had about 25 dives or so, I could stay quite close to the bottom and not silt out anything. Bob had taught me a modified flutter kick, which wasn't hard to learn at all, and even in split fins, it kept the bottom undisturbed. I couldn't sit still, though. I'll admit it took some time, and learning to balance my equipment, before I mastered that.

 

[RJP]

I was taught in OW the fin pivot and hovering and that this was a skill that would be perfected with exsperience. But fresh out of OW and with 16 dives I am far from having this basic skill.

You need to have a frank talk with your OW instructor. Unfortunately you've fallen victim to his/her inappropriately low expectations. They may have "passed you as a student", but they have certainly "failed you as an instructor."

Any diver coming out of OW class should be CAPABLE of hovering neutrally and not kicking up the reef. It may take a while to MASTER those skills (eg: not fluctuating more than +/- a foot or so, etc) but as an OW diver you should definitely be capable.

Sort of like getting a driver's license: you certainly have not yet MASTERED driving a car at that point, but you sure-as-heck should be CAPABLE of staying in your lane and not crashing into things.

Again, this is not a slight on you, but for you to say "fresh out of OW and with 16 dives I am far from having this basic skill" is just a very sad commentary on your instructor.

I wonder what other "basic skills" you may have been short-changed on.