Bob DBF
Contributor
Another factor is that with today's quickie courses (e learning or not), there just isn't time to throw in extras.
It was the instructor's position that this was not extra. The Mendocino coast is rural, rugged, and quite unforgiving. He trained divers to dive in those conditions and know when not to dive. Back then there weren't cell phones, even now there is very little cell service, so any issue or rescue has to be resolved by those present as it may take some time to get backup, so planning and executing a safe dive in those conditions is important.
Bob