Posted by Steve on June 20, 2001 at 11:49:13:
In Reply to: Re: Renewing/recertifying posted by MHK on June 20, 2001 at 10:38:28:
"Please advise us what they said.. Go home, watch the cd-rom and then show up, follow your instructor to the bottom of the ocean, kneel down, do skills for 20 minutes for four dives and your certified for life...'"
I don't own a CD_rom. I learned to dive prior to the implication of this medium, so I can't speak about the content.
If you look at how little a diver actually has to do in a PADI class to get certified for life, it's scary.. Most of the dive[s] is spent on your knees watching the other 9 students in class perform their skills while you are sitting in your knees.. This isn't teaching someone to scuba dive, this is teaching them to breath underwater...
I person crawls before they walk or run. Dion Sanders didn't learn his post touchdown celebration until after he proven himself. I remember those days kneeling in a circle around the instructor I was Naui trained. Proving to him that I could doff and don weight belt and BC, mask clear, mask R & R, regulator and console recovery both in the pool and at 60' FSW. If you couldn't master these skills you wouldn't get the card. These skills are task loading and are also meant to show the instructor if you are prone to panic. I've had my air shut off and was required to buddy breath while making and ascent. Swim without mask. After all equipment was throw to the bottom of pool I had to retrieve and don at depth. I was required to plan all aspects of a dive. On and on my basic class was very tough this was not an easy card to obtain.
Steve