What is the problem with doing a Scuba Review/Refresher?

[jdzb]

Would you call a pool session a dive within six months? Personally, I am a recreational diver. I dive once a year, for two weeks while on vacation. I realize memory & skill can get rusty. But to get around that, I do a pool session in between my yearly dives. About four/five months before my vacation, I take my gear into the dive shop to have it serviced. When I receive it back, I schedule a pool session. There I test out my equipment and test my skills (equipment assembly, buoyancy, mask removal, BCD removal underwater, reg removal, quick disconnect for stuck inflator, giant stride, etc.). Also, just before I leave for a dive trip, I review my hand signals. I feel comfortable with my skills. Would you? I feel I would not need a refresher course. But to make you feel comfortable, I would be willing to do a simple, low risk first dive. That's all. So, although I don't log a pool session in my log book, I believe I am ready and don't need a refresher course.

 

[jojo911]

I side with the majority of the crowd. Many of the friends I dive with are like me. We take a week-long dive vacation once a year, and maybe another long weekend diving. It is USUALLY 6 months between dives for me. I have been places where the "check out dive" was required. I will NEVER go there again. It was a waste of my time and money. I don't have the luxury of diving more often. I live where the water is murky all year round and cold most of the year. That's why my trips are to warm places where the water is clear. I am happy to do a shallow reef dive for my first dive day. In fact, I plan it that way so I can check my weight and exercise my scuba skills in a low stress, easy dive.

If you are determined to require some sort of skill refresher, these are my recommendations: 1) make it after a longer interval say 1 year or 18 months and 2) offer it as a guided dive on a regular dive site. I wouldn't mind so much paying an extra $25 or $50 for an instructor to go on the dive with me and my buddy.

As for the liability, how can you liable? If they are certified divers, they are certified divers. As far as I know, the certification never expires, though possibly it should after so long. Not to mention, those waivers we sign waive your liability for pretty much everything that could possibly happen anyway. They are all encompassing.

Ditch the term "skill refresher" and sell it as a service you offer instead of require. "Haven't been diving in 18 months? For an extra $$, you can get a skill refresher during your dive."

 

[Divealpha]

Well, it's my experience that with all the instabuddys i've encountered, it really makes sense if the Diveop requires a refresher kind of dive. Especially for "Holiday Divers". I don't count myself as one, even if most of my dives are done while on holiday. I always try to squeeze in some dives, so it will be less than 6 months between... But I would not object to a tryout dive , so the DO can decide if I'm qualified. Usually it just means a shallower first dive, or having a DM doing the check out. Have seen divers showing their rescue, and even instructor cards, who has performed like it was their first dive ever...... So, for safety, I'm not sure if I would buddy up with somebody who had declined a refresher dive.......

 

[kelemvor]

What about vacation divers? I'm sure there are a large number of people who get certified and go diving only once a year. Possibly once every few years if every vacation they take isn't diving related. I can see these people getting miffed at having to take a class every time they go diving. I guess I don't know that for sure since I'm not in this category.

For me, the key to this whole thing would be exactly what has already been said. Was the requirement clearly stated when you first called to book the trip? Is the thing just an obvious money grab (all day deal for hundreds of dollars) or is it an hour refresher for 50 bucks?

For what it's worth, I think a few boats I've booked with have had policies on their website along these lines. Usually something saying the diver will be required to present a card and proof of a "recent dive". I've never had one actually ask for such proof. The C-Card is usually asked for because the number gets copied onto the sign your life away form.


I also think the idea that buoyancy skills would be a reason for this is comical. Not because I don't value my buoyancy skills but because a lot of shops don't bother teaching them in OW class. You could easily have a diver with 20 dives and a 2 month old C card that is going to drop down and kneel on the reef.

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

I think everyone's assumption is that a diver would pass the refresher, but what if s/he doesn't? The reality is that the pass rate probably is 100%. However, we all know there are divers that shouldn't be diving, and a percentage can't be fixed by any number of pool sessions. So what happens when a diver like that shows for their refresher, do they fail? What happens then? Are they going to be required to dive only with an Instructor? If they are allowed to dive anyway, that would certainly ratchet up the liability, wouldn't it? It seems to me that the only way this improves the op's liability situation is that there's a hard pass/fail and the failures are sent packing or only allowed to do guided dives. I think if that we're happening, it would have come out by now.

 

[fire_diver]

The truth is that the offending diver would not be barred from diving, the shop would simply require them to hire a private DM ($$$) in order to dive.

 

[fnfalman]

There is only one boat charter in Southern California that I know of which would ask when the last time you dived on their liability release form - the Sundiver charter.

I don't know exactly what would happen if somebody were to put several years on it.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . .
As for the liability, how can you liable? If they are certified divers, they are certified divers. As far as I know, the certification never expires, though possibly it should after so long. Not to mention, those waivers we sign waive your liability for pretty much everything that could possibly happen anyway. They are all encompassing.
. . .

I think a dive op would rather do whatever they can to satisfy themselves that you are not especially likely to hurt yourself in the first place than to let every person who shows up with a C-card and signed waiver dive and potentially have to defend themselves with that waiver, hire a lawyer, deal with concerned customers, spend time away from the business, etc. It is in their best interest that divers don't hurt themselves in the first place. Nobody wants to see a diver get hurt.

If a dive op wants to tack on a requirement that if one hasn't dived in 6 months or a year or 18 months or whatever they think is reasonable, that's fine with me. (Just don't charge me extra for the checkout dive, since its purpose is to reassure THEM, not me.)

 

[redacted]

Where does this idea go??

Maybe an international data base where a diver must log an authenticated dive periodically. Or maybe a verification sticker attached to his C-card.

When divers learn they will be required to pay more if they do not dive frequently enough and the source of the information is asking them when they last dove; guess what will happen.

 

[TMHeimer]

jojo911, If you're near the coast why not checking into charters out of O.C.? Haven't done that but the water's pretty warm in summer there and viz is probably OK. As for the liability form, there has been much discussion on this. It's not black & white. The op can be responsible if they are deemed at fault (unsafe conditions, etc.). Having divers that know what they're doing in tough situations may avoid such incidents altogether.

I agree with those advocating a simple checkout dive on a reef with a DM. The op wants to see that you are up for the dives and you also get in a dive anyway doing this. As stated, I of course also agree with excatly what is required being stated up front before the trip.

Interesting that in the charters I've taken (NW Fla., Ms, TX, SC and Panama) I have never seen any "checkout dives". Maybe on the continent they just figure you know what you're doing.