What region produces the most skilled divers?

[padiscubapro]

I've been lucky enough to have done different parts of my training in most regions of the world, I always find it amusing to hear different regions slag eachother off as I've seen the good, the bad and the damn right ugly when it comes to training and I've seen the full range everywhere.

I also laugh when I hear how much better a British trained BSAC diver supposedly is, I've done a lot of their training and it's no better or worse than anyone elses!

areas that have poor viz generally demand divers with better navigation skills. if free ascents are a no-no then its even more important..

Speaking from a NE US perspective, anyone who dives off a boat here has to have good navigation skills because they MUST get back to the anchor line.. You can't do a free ascent due to currents and the fact that the boats are chained into the wrecks.. If you do a free ascent, you may be drifting for quite a while before you are picked up, and probably will end up on the "boat full list"..

reel skills are needed by the basic OW diver for navigation and being able to shoot a bag from depth is also a necessary skill..

Places where you can do live pickups, shoting a bag is a necessary skill but navigation is not as necessary because the boat will find you..

 

[Kennedydive]

In Atlantic Canada we can have vis from 100feet to 2 feet. In the winter I've dove in 27deg F water and in the summer at depth it seldom surpasses 45deg F. Surface temperature usually gets up pass 50deg F. I did a dive last year where my first stage developed a 1/2" thick layer of ice around it at 90fsw.
Jason

 

[Rickoz]

I would say those cold water UK divers
Have dived with pommies & yankies
Sorry guys but the Poms sH!t all over you guys for skills

 

[Walter]

While general diving skills can be used anywhere, there are almost always local conditions that require some adjustments. TJ was right on the money when he said, "I think, after giving this some thought, that it's an unfair question. Each region produces divers that are the most skillful in the conditions found in that region." I've personally seen damned good divers from some of the regions already mentioned run into trouble with conditions they encountered in Florida. The more different conditions to which you expose yourself, the better diver you'll be. I consider myself an excellent diver and I have experience in diving from the Florida Keys to Siberia, but I still have much to learn, especially when I travel to a new location. I always ask locals for pointers. Experience in California, the UK, etc. prepares you for diving in general, but specifically for diving in the local area in which you have experience. Getting cocky about being a great diver is a sure way to end up in trouble.

 

[MikeFerrara]

I'd agree with Walter and add that with the amount of traverling and diving different conditions that divers do I haven't notices one "region" producing better divers than another.

I do think though that there are specific disciplines withing diving that in general produce divers that are more skilled at certainn aspects of diving.

For instance most cave divers can dive with a great degree of precision because so many cave dives absolutely demand that you do. That doesn't mean that divers doing other types of dives can't but just that they may be less likely to be forced to develop those skills. At the same time some one who spends more tme in low vis OW may be better at navigating with a compass. A diver who does both might be top notch in both areas.

If we could pin it down to an area I'd say someplace like Chicago (just an example) that has divers who have the time and money to dive Great Lakes wrecks, east coast wrecks, west coast kelp, Florida and midwest caves and tropical reefs.

 

[matt_unique]

My vote would be California. We deal with (takes a deep breath) cold water, low visibility, big surf, powerful surge and ripping currents – sometimes all on the same dive. Our state offers big deep walls, big dropoffs, long shallow dives, kelp dives, wrecks and altitude. As a result, I would argue that divers proficient and experienced in all our state has to offer take the prize.

While other regions have specialty dives which demand a great deal of divers, Doria divers and cenote divers come readily to mind, but those are specialty dives requiring, ideally, specific training and equipment. An open-water diver in California, with just a single tank, a credit card and basic cold-water gear, can go and develop a very extensive set of skills.

Ha ha - of course I am kidding. I am a New Enlander and I know our conditions are pretty tough. Then I read about the Canadians who dive in the St. Lawrence during the winter and I know we are beat. Smokin' current, CRAZY CRAZY cold, ice, etc.

--Matt

 

[String]

Im fairly impressed - was expecting this thread to degenerate into a flame war and nothing like it has happened.

Rather than add lots of separate replies i'll reply to all in one so sorry about length:

if 40 degree water and 5 foot vis was the norm, I think I would quit diving.

You'd be surprised how good diving can be in low vis, as others have stated you focus far more on the smaller things, see a fair amount of life which you may otherwise have missed. You also dont need excellent vis to enjoy a wreck. As for the water temperature, thats why we invented dry suits.

40 degrees. Gawd, that's freakin cold. Do you guys use Argon?

Trimix divers world wide use Argon for suit inflation for very good reason. However diving air (or nitrox) for suit inflation the difference in heat retention between air and argon is pretty much negligable to the point that in lots of tests divers werent able to tell the difference. Basically, its not needed for non helium mixes.

Planned deco? Wow. Do you guys usually carry mixed gasses?

Although a lot of divers do use trimix or simply air with O2 for decompression by no means everyone does. A lot of people (myself included) just use air for back gas and deco. Its taught by BSAC as the 2nd level qualification for divers, PADI afaik dont teach it. SAA or Scotsac i have no idea but i THINK they teach it too. It really isnt that complicated or difficult.

And I have had occasion when I have been sitting on the bottom supervising trainees to wonder that anyone goes through with their training here.

I did a try dive abroad with 28c water and 30m vis, came home after that and 4 days later had joined my local club to learn. Ive loved it from day 1. I knew it would be different from abroad, was prepared to give it a go and extrememly glad i did. The best dives ive ever done in my life have all been in the UK. The conditions dont phase me as i learnt in those conditions and dive every week in them (hmm sore point, TRY to dive every week but been blown out by gale force winds the last 2 weekends in a row).

Oh, and here in New Zealand 99.99% of divers (including me)dive wet rather than dry, even in winter.

The question has to be asked, WHY !?

Not because of the UW conditions and environment, but because in that area training ususally is to BSAC standard.
And from my experience diving with Brits, that standard is higher than current US standards.

Slightly controversial one... BSAC standards (and SAA and scottish) are geared to diving in UK waters therefore the courses are more tailored to the conditions of the country the organisations originated in. However, PADI also teach a lot in britain and their course again is adapted for cold water diving. Its not really fair to compare a weekend wonder or resort course in the tropics with a BSAC/SAA course in britain that can take weeks or even months to qualify through.
Agency aside, i dont believe that a resort course abroad qualifies you to dive in Britain but a course by the same agency in the UK is far more suited.
A slight caveat with that, i dont believe that 4 dives is anywhere near enough to get a new diver qualified and experienced enough to dive as an independent buddy pair in the wide ranges of conditions they are likely to experience here.
All diving here is done as an independent buddy pair - group diving just isnt practical in high current/low vis situations so a diver relying on a dive master isnt a practical solution - a diver from day 1 has to be able to look after themselves a lot more than a "follow the leader".

We have an australia trained PADI Divemaster recently join our club and in his opinion the training in britain under a club system was far superior to the DM training in northern australia. Thats just one persons view though.


I had 20 dives before qualifying (this is fairly normal for clubs) and even after that dived with experienced divers (normally instructors) for a long time. Thats the advantage of a club environment (regardless of agency) - training tends to be more thorough as its week in/week out whilst combining "normal" diving with it and once qualified new divers gain experience by diving with the more experienced divers at the club rather than being cast out on their own.

I believe the CMAS standards used in Europe are also very good!

They are very good indeed. Reputation for tough training but tend to produce very good divers.

 

[coreypenrose]

While general diving skills can be used anywhere, there are almost always local conditions that require some adjustments. TJ was right on the money when he said, "I think, after giving this some thought, that it's an unfair question. Each region produces divers that are the most skillful in the conditions found in that region." I've personally seen damned good divers from some of the regions already mentioned run into trouble with conditions they encountered in Florida. The more different conditions to which you expose yourself, the better diver you'll be. I consider myself an excellent diver and I have experience in diving from the Florida Keys to Siberia, but I still have much to learn, especially when I travel to a new location. I always ask locals for pointers. Experience in California, the UK, etc. prepares you for diving in general, but specifically for diving in the local area in which you have experience. Getting cocky about being a great diver is a sure way to end up in trouble.

Great post. Still, I don’t think it’s an unfair question because some regions will inevitably produce divers very skilled in one specific flavor of diving while some regions will produce divers who must develop a wide base of skills to safely accrue a logbook full of dives. A diver whose only experience consists of Cozumel drift dives will have a harder time adjusting to California then the reverse.

I also completely agree with your argument about the importance of local knowledge about diving. Getting cocky about local sites is a great way to get dead very quickly. I also can’t overstate the importance of being humble about one’s skills – when I had 100 logged dives, I thought I was pretty hot stuff. As I approach 300, I’ve only just started to realize how much I don’t know.

 

[freediver]

Just curious what the "criteria" is for being most skilled. Maintain neutral buoyancy, perform effective mask clears, recoveries, being able to use spit instead of commercial defog, or maybe being able to field service a reg on a moving boat in 38 degree driving rain? I have seen individuals who could do all of the aforementioned after only a handful of dives. Are they skilled?
Here in Texas, we don't have surge nor 36 degree water but we have some pretty murky environments and Volkswagen sized catfish (heehee maybe exaggerating a bit) in our dive settings and I would venture to say some pretty skillful divers come from the mix (I hesitate to say the most skilled).
Interesting to hear the different dive environments though.

 

[simbrooks]

The important think, which i think Walter was eluding to in part of his post (although not trying to put words in his mouth) was that you shouldnt underestimate where you are going - just because its warm water, pretty good viz and such, there are other hazards and situations can change. Going unprepared to a new place, thinking you have great training can get you in trouble!

Saying that i think people who move around and get a good feel for diving in various areas, working with locals and seeing the sights are usually better prepared and possibly "better" divers than those who are great in their own backyard. By these trips i dont mean just doing the carribean, but seeing the cold and warm, the low viz and almost unlimited viz (heard of people getting vertigo), the hard currents and lack of currents (which can be a hazard in itself with sediments), and the various environments of OW, caves, wrecks, and even deco - all after appropriate training of course. I think the well rounded/travelled diver gets my vote over one particular area.