In Reply to: Scuba Training posted by Devil's Advocate on November 10, 2009 at 05:03:32:

When I got certified (40 years ago) it seemed like the people getting certified were already very familiar with the ocean and had a lot of experience in the water either free diving or surfing or as frequent swimmers. Getting certified to use scuba was part of a progresion. When my son got certified (13 years ago) I attended his checkouts and was horified that for some people in the class, it was their first experience in the ocean other than going to the beach and splashing in the surf. I'm not saying that dive programs don't turn out some great and safe divers now, some of my buddies are. But I think there are more marginally safe divers now and that the attrition rate for people that drop out of the sport is higher now. My 2 cents,,,