WOW big changes to PADI DM for July 2011

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Kinda like the adoption of EANx?

Taking it logically I think DSMB could end up in SAR perhaps as an addition to the lift bag skill. Rescue maybe... The skill set related to marking a location of a missing diver or a search area... Maybe as a addition to the boat specialty, on more than one occasion I have had a live boat entry and then you shot a dsmb to signal pickup.

Maybe. I think in time a number of skills that are considered by PADI to be technical but which are being used more and more in the recreational community will have to find their way into the curriculum. Right now there is a lot of resistance. The sense seems to be that if divers want to learn about those things after they have taken their OW and AOW classes, they are free to do so as they gain personal experience.
 
I had some minor resistance to including SMB/DSMB in my AOW course with the it's more tech argument. But once I laid out my reasons for it and they really had nothing to do with technical diving, it took all of about 5 minutes to get it approved. I even encountered some poo-pooing from a NAUI tech instructor who was skeptical about me putting it in. I no longer associate with him or his shop but it's not just one agency resisting changes.

In case you're interested the reason I used boiled down to this. The AOW card gives divers access to dives where basic OW skills are not always enough. Picture this scenario. Diver gets AOW card and goes to Florida Keys. Books a dive on the Spiegel Grove. Current seems fairly mild. Drop down to the deck and it is a bit stiffer than anticipated. Being that the deck is at around 95-100feet we are already looking a strongly recommended safety stop. On the way back to the line for whatever reason the diver misses and is now faced with a bluewater ascent with no visual reference. By using the SMB/DSMB he/she now has a visual and tactile reference to make the ascent. It also serves to notify the boat that a diver has missed the line and a pickup is likely necessary. The diver is now able to complete the safety stop knowing that the boat has been made aware of the problem. Result is less stress on the diver, marked location of the diver, and therefore a safety issue not a technical one.
 
apologies for necro post revival

my critisim comes mainly at the physical requirements of the DM course... while I'm a technically proficient swimmer and did a lot of racing during school I haven't done laps or really been active in going to a gym for a long time (10 years)... i would not consider myself fit. I missed out on a 4 by 10 seconds in the swim and easily achieved a 4 in the tow with a 5 in the tred water i had enough points to not bother with the snorkel (but obviously did).... I don't think I should have passed personally...

i'd be the first to admit i'm not a strong swimmer: until i started diving i didn't really like or enjoy the ocean much at all, and swimming in pools usually entailed mucking about underwater rather than laps. iirc i scored 2 (no more than 3) on the regular 400m swim.

having said that, my snorkel/fin swim scored a 5 (the instructor commented on the "now wave" i created in the pool) and also go 5 for the tow. this is why the point system is used - so that you can apply a broad spectrum of strengths. i don't think my 6 years of active DM'ing has suffered as a result of my relatively poor natural swimming ability, and i'm confident that the instructors i've assisted over the years haven't felt i've been deficient.

yes - you have to be adequately fit; yes you have to be very comfortable in the water; but let's not get too carried away with ultimate physicality - those days are gone.
 
ob necro apology

Just noticed that finally they is some SMB/DSMB stuff. Its crazy that we're getting newly qualified instructors who have never used a DSMB or SMB at the moment.

Not seen the new materials but it does at least now give the ability to teach that formally. Id like to see both types made mandatory as exercises though


i didn't learn this until after my DM course.

it was on a padi deep/wreck course that i was shown. i was shown *badly*

i subsequently learned how to do it properly (& with more appropriate equipment) on a course by Another Agency Who Shall Remain Nameless *cough*gue*cough*


frankly i think it should be a mandatory AOW skill (on the boat dive); a lot of instructors i know run the skill on the dive, but none i've seen really go through practising it.
 
Of all the places I have dived with commercial operators with DMs, I am having trouble thinking of a place outside of Cozumel where I have seen one used by a DM, so it is not surprising. My own use of it did not really start until I began technical diving training.

i use one every time i dive on the local (sydney, au) boat, when i can't (or can't be bothered to) find the anchor line.

I believe that the line between recreational diving and technical diving is becoming blurred as practices once considered to be part of technical diving become part of recreational diving. The use of a DSMB is an example. There are others.

i see what you're getting at, but i think considering the idea of smb's as "tech" is just because it hasn't been routinely taught in rec; it's not an intrinsically (or even slightly) tech skill... as i alluded to above, it's the sort of thing you might do just as much out of laziness ("hey! boat! come get me over here!") as anything else.
 
Virtually all dives here where I work are drift dives and require the deployment of a DSMB at the safety stop. Because of this, I have introduced DSMB deployment for the past several years in conjunction with the Deep Adventure dive of the PADI AOW I conduct--I count it as "safety equipment" as this is a topic in the Deep Dive curriculum. It's a "freebie" given that it's not a formal performance requirement, and although I encourage students to practice, they are not required to exhibit mastery. Most students like the opportunity to learn and practice this skill as they can see the immediate benefit of it for the kind of diving we do here. Many of our LOBs require all divers to carry SMBs in case they find themselves separated from their buddies/groups. It's exceedingly difficult to see a little head in the midst of a whole ocean when a diver has surfaced alone with no marker. Once students become aware of this practice, they are eager to learn the relatively simply task of deploying a DSMB.

I agree that it's an important skill for DMs to have, and I'm glad to see that it has found a place in the curriculum, though I personally believe that it should be an optional skill for earlier introduction in the AOW structure as well as being required of DMs.
 
i use one every time i dive on the local (sydney, au) boat, when i can't (or can't be bothered to) find the anchor line.

I didn't say it wasn't done elsewhere; I just said in my experience I have not seen it done elsewhere. In my post I suggested that things are changing. I expect we will see the practice used more and more in the very near future.

i see what you're getting at, but i think considering the idea of smb's as "tech" is just because it hasn't been routinely taught in rec; it's not an intrinsically (or even slightly) tech skill... as i alluded to above, it's the sort of thing you might do just as much out of laziness ("hey! boat! come get me over here!") as anything else.

That's essentially what I was saying. It was once considered tech, but it is not becoming more common in the rec world, as are other skills once considered tech only.

I am all for teaching it in rec. In fact, I recently submitted a distinctive specialty outline that includes it, along with a whole set of other skills that I feel should be a part of rec instruction. I know from the preliminary response I received that the distinction between tec and rec will be a huge consideration in its acceptance or nonacceptance.
 
apologies for necro post revival



i'd be the first to admit i'm not a strong swimmer: until i started diving i didn't really like or enjoy the ocean much at all, and swimming in pools usually entailed mucking about underwater rather than laps. iirc i scored 2 (no more than 3) on the regular 400m swim.

.

At least you got a chance to score on your swim. I didn't even get to do it because I could not sustain the required stroke by the instructor.
 
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At least you got a chance to score on your swim. I didn't even get to do it because I could sustain the required stroke by the instructor.

I am assuming you had a typo and meant that you could not sustain the specific kind of stroke required by the instructor.

If so, you might want to ask PADI about that. No specific stroke is required. I did a medley myself.
 
I am assuming you had a typo and meant that you could not sustain the specific kind of stroke required by the instructor.

If so, you might want to ask PADI about that. No specific stroke is required. I did a medley myself.

Thanks John, it was a typo. I was planning on doing a medly or at least a couple of different ones. The instructor said nope, PADI said he can't do that. He said PADI can't tell him what he can require as long as it is above their standards, I never realizded that which stroke was that important. PADI said he can't do that. I said will you back me up? PADI said, nope. No biggie, I quit putting any dollars in. Told the instructor how easy it was to perform sex by himself and went a different route. It all worked out fine in the end. I didn't like the instructor anyway.. lol It taught me a lot about the all agencies willingness to back up what they preach with actions. I had seen other agencies let a lot worse that this slide.

I am glad they are trying to strenghten some things and correct misconceptions tho. Hopefully some of the up and coming dm's will continue on and turn out some excellent divers.
 
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