11 replies to this topic

[Walter]

We at Single Divers consider ourselves a large family. We care about safety on our trips because no one deserves to be the victim of a diving incident, and certainly not one of our family members.

Because of this, we endorse the concept that diving requires training performed by a certified and competent instructor. The internet is an excellent source of additional information. The internet does not substitute for proper training by a certified and competent instructor who can correct misconceptions and mistakes immediately and demonstrate the proper way to perform the required skills in a given dive. Merely practicing a skill performed in an unsafe manner does nothing more than reinforce the unsafe way if you don’t have someone right there to let you know the right way (or even an easier safe way) to do the same thing.

No matter the agency that you earned your open water certification from, that certification is nothing more than a license to learn. If you intend to do extreme diving, we strongly suggest that you successfully complete appropriate training. We at Single Divers feel that it is your obligation to seek that training when you are ready in order to make yourself a safer, more competent diver. Please, do not attempt any kind of extreme diving (for example… solo, staged decompression, overhead environment) without the required training.

We all learn in different ways. It is the responsibility of the diver to insure that the instructor that they choose is appropriate for them. An instructor that works well for one may not work well for another due to a simple difference in teaching style. If the instructor is not competent or compatible, we encourage the diver to deal with another even if they have already received the certification. We would rather you have the knowledge that you need to be a better, safer diver than settle for a plastic card. We have several dive professionals and experienced divers on this site. Please do not be afraid to ask them for referrals. Walter and Narwhal are always willing to help you locate a competent instructor.

No diver knows everything about diving and additional training always has the capacity to add more information to a diver’s wealth of knowledge. Conversely, what you don’t know can get you and/or your buddy seriously hurt or even killed. We want you back to dive with us to dive again. We will provide the buddies and opportunities for the vacation that you will always remember. You are responsible for getting your training and diving within it so that you can best enjoy your adventure with us.

[drbill]

Well said, Walter. Although I think my Los Angeles County training was very "complete" and prepared me well in the 60's, after 43 years of on-again-off-again diving, I find I still learn new and useful things every year. Similarly a B.A. or even a Ph.D. or M.D. simply prepares you to begin your work life. You have a lot to learn after that! Only a fool doesn't.

Dr. Bill

[Walter]

I agree completely, Bill.

[GentDiver]

Walter, As a new diver I spent a great deal of my Roatan trip learning off other divers. This was great because I could ask questions, listen to conversation, watch and then take the good and bad from each diver and us it when I dive. This method was great as I increased my dive time from 20-30 minutes to an average of around 40 minutes. Where SingleDivers.com comes in is now I have a huge resource that I can ask questions, and read from other peoples experience.

That said, I am planning on taking classes here in the Bay Area to learn additional skills. Some things like navigation can only be learned via a class unless you and your dive buddy agree to practice a particular skill during a dive.

Lets not forget that you also learn a great deal just by diving. Again, I refer to the Roatan trip. By the end of the trip I had become so much more comfortable both in my gear and with diving in general. I think I learned something on every dive.

Hopefully this all makes since.

Scott

:lam:

[Walter]

Scott, it certainly does make sense. Mentors are great sources of learning. That mentoring can come from a more experienced dive buddy and it can come from reading books and web sites such as this. You also learn a great deal from experience. I try to learn on every dive and from every dive buddy, those more experienced and those less experienced. Sometimes I learn what to do and sometimes I learn what not to do. All of these types of learning should supplement training received from qualified instructors.

[maninthesea]

Well said Walter

Jim

[Genesis]

Define "qualified instructor" please.

[RICHinNC]

And what precipitated this comment? Was there an incident?

[Genesis]

I think the comment is self-explanatory; while I long ago gave up counting incidents I've observed (thankfully, none causing actual accidents) and read about (unfortunately, those usually get noted because they do cause accidents) I was aiming at a more general query than specifics.

I have something specific in mind, and was asking what others thought before I put forth what I consider proper to meet the standard.

[Wakemaker]

Define "qualified instructor" please.

All of my instructors brag about their good standing, their recent dives or their current class. Plus, they are in good standing and not overdue in any way with the organization that issued the instructor certification. I like their attitude about recent SCUBA activities as an instructor. In my opinion, a "Qualified Instructor" is a person who is instructor certified (for real) and maintains that particular SCUBA certification.

I've met another Divemaster who has decided they don't need to obtain further certifications to use specialty equipment or dive locations that have specialties offered. The attitude is, "I already know how to do that so I don't need to get certified." I'm pretty sure that's verbatim. Getting advanced SCUBA certifications presents some challenges, and builds personal confidence, and a much better practice situation for everyone on the dive. The "bonus effects," all divers get, from receiving qualifying trainings are numerous and vast!

Sometimes, I learn about the marine life I'll be diving with (Marine Naturalist, Hazardous Marine Life Injuries, Deep Diver, Multi-level Diver, Underwater Hunter). Sometimes I learn about my gear or methods of diving (Equipment Specialist, Boat Diver, Multi-level Diver). What are the basic areas or "fields of interest" to specialities? Is there a general categories chart for all diving specialities? (I don't mean a flow chart).

Edited by Wakemaker, 07 June 2009 - 04:06 AM.

[Dennis]

You dug this thread out of the archives, but a good one to read from time to time.

[Wakemaker]

You dug this thread out of the archives, but a good one to read from time to time.

<br /><br />Archives? SCUBA is a brand new recreational sport! In today's Knowledge Era we can evolve ourselves immediately, as recreational divers, upon reading or learning about some up-to-the-minute information.<br /><br />Define &quot;qualified&quot; instruction. Don't wait to update and revise teaching material until the pictures look outdated; the whole paradigm may have changed even though the equipment, dive sites, and boat crews, remain the same.<br /><br />One specialty that may need urgent consideration for a total makeover is Boat Diver. Personally, I consider all boat divers &quot;recreational boaters.&quot; (That is, when one is paying for the boat dive trip). <br /><br />Do you KNOW boating safety?<br />Do you KNOW when most boating fires happen?<br />Do you KNOW how to extinguish a fire on the boat?<br />Do you KNOW how to make a distress call?<br />Do you KNOW oily waste discharge laws?<br />Do you KNOW how to don a life preserver?<br />Do you KNOW how to prevent the spread of invasive species?<br />Do you KNOW how to file an accident report and who is legally required to do so, and under what circumstances a report must be filed?<br />Do you KNOW what suspicious activities (maritime domain awareness) look like in the marina, and along the coast?<br />Do you KNOW what happens to cigarette butts that get blown over the side?<br />Do you KNOW how to tie any useful knots that might be needed?<br />Do you KNOW how to get an unconscious person out of the water and into the boat?<br />Do you KNOW the names of various parts of a boat?<br />Do you KNOW what the MARPOL trash placard states, and why it should be considered important to the diving community?<br /><br />I'd like to see some of the less important topics in the current Boat Diver Specialty training get substituted for topics that will help divers understand what the captain and crew are trying to tell them.<br /><br />How many boat divers are injured, annually, during the course of the entire dive trip, due to DUI or DWI (Diving Under the Influence or Drinking While Inboard). What gets logged is, &quot;Drowning was the cause of death...&quot; However, the person, which was usually a male, fell over the side peeing, and drowned before being located.

Edited by Wakemaker, 28 February 2010 - 05:41 PM.