Posted by ANON on May 02, 2005 at 12:53:28:
In Reply to: Re: DM's. Do they help, or are they just a figure head? posted by Gregg on May 01, 2005 at 22:06:57:
First, I know the PADI thing has been stirred many times before on this board. I am merely relating what I observed at one of the local beach dive spots a while ago.
There was a group of about 10-12 divers being herded into the water, making their way through the surf zone (surf this particular day was a screaming 1-2') and dropping below the surface just beyond. After about a minute of watching the surface boil of all those regulator exhausts, the divers pop up, and make their way back through the "surf zone" and on to the beach. A brief huddle at the water line and back in they go. This was not a grueling exercise in any way, shape or form, and it also seemed to not be teaching any particular skill.
Strange, says I. "This be no trainng skill that I know of."
So after watching this cycle perhaps five times, I walked up to a young woman sitting next to a diver's flag and the consolidation of blankets marking the diver's part of the beach and asked what was goin on. I was told that it was a PADI instructors class, and they were building up dives.
"Excuse me", I said. "You mean each of those forays beyone the surfline and back is one dive for their instructor certification", I asked (horrified that it could be true).
"Yep," came the response.
I pray this is not typical, but it certainly colored my view of things PADI.
I thabnk my stars that my training was from instructors who kicked my ass and had actually done real dives. Instructors who didn't need to be all inclusive. If someone didn't have the skills, they were told to find another sport.
My two-cents.