The big question being asked in the scuba diving industry today- are scuba diving organizations handing out scuba certifications to any one who can afford the course fees or are they stringent on actually training divers?

The question crops up as you notice an increasing number of poorly trained divers when you happen go on diving trips in groups and especially on liveaboards. Having witnessed myself, that dive instructors certify divers that lack the basic underwater scuba skills and knowledge of safety procedures, because they feel compelled to hand over a certificate to paying customers. While, it’s not directly the fault of Scuba agencies, they provide a framework for dive instructors. The framework is meant to be flexible to accommodate different training environments and teaching styles while conducting training. However, it’s up to the instructor to use their discretion in certifying well-trained and competent divers, who’ll be able to deal safely with a situation requiring the scuba skills taught in trainings.

Taking PADI for example (not to say they’re not a good training agency, I myself am PADI certified), they require Open Water certification students to ‘master’ twenty basic scuba skills. But it’s up to the instructors judgment to say what mastered is. Mask clearing, a simple basic skill taught in Open water courses. Sure the student tried and got most of the water out of their scuba mask, but they spent the next few minutes shaking uncontrollably with residual terror and gasping for air through their regulators. Do you certify them then? That’s signing them off to deal with the risk of encountering emergencies far greater than just a flooding mask when they’re diving after certification. Shouldn’t there be more to it than just completing a skill regardless of comfort (or terror) levels?

Doing the bare minimum in terms of merely completing the bare minimum requirements in training requires less time and energy, making scuba certification easier and less time consuming for dive shops and instructors. While this is an easier path to take for both dive professionals and those looking to earn a scuba certification, is it throwing caution wind by disregarding the risks involved in the sport. Once certified, divers are allowed to dive without a dive instructor and are responsible for their own safety.

In turn, poorly trained individuals are risk not only to themselves but others underwater. Proper training is key in a sport such as diving and should not be taken lightly and while the problem doesn’t lie with the organizations such as PADI, but those instructors and dive shops who interpret the standards to fit their personal agendas. Any thoughts on the subject? let us know in the comments section below…

*Photo credits: photos by  slagheap and Dave Bluck on flickr

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2011. | Are SCUBA Certification Agencies Compromising Quailty of Training for Numbers? is an original article from Aquaviews.net | 2 comments

What is Drift Diving?
Drift diving is a type of recreational diving where the diver is transported by the currents caused by the tide, ocean currents or in a fast flowing river. Drift diving is a popular form of diving determined not by specialized scuba diving equipment but rather by location of the dive, and the dive is planned so that the diver moves with the current and not against it, thereby reducing the effort required by fining, as the current propels the diver through the dive.

Why do a PADI Drift Diver Course?
Some of the best dive sites in the World have underwater currents. Currents carry food (plankton) to an area which in turn draws fish and larger pelagic fish, making it a lively dive site to explore. However, currents can often be intimidating for divers at first because of their unpredictability and your natural instinct of fighting it. Sometimes going with the flow is hard when you are unexpectedly pushed into the fast moving current without being prepared. Staying paired up with your buddy and communicating is a challenge, surfacing and performing safety stops is also something one needs to learn when drift diving. It’s at these times it is better to have some idea as to how to deal with the situation rather than to be caught unprepared which is what the PADI Drift diver course is all about, being prepared, going with the flow, and enjoying your dive.

What does the course cover?
This course shows you how to enjoy rivers and ocean currents by “going with the flow,” staying with your dive partner, communicating with the dive boat and knowing where you are the whole time.

The Drift Diver Course covers two open water training dives as well as approximately 12 hours of instruction or preparation activities covering the below knowledge areas:.

• Planning, organization, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of drift diving
• An introduction to drift diving equipment — floats, lines, reels
• Buoyancy-control, navigation and communication for drift diving
• Site selection and overview of aquatic currents – causes and effects
• Techniques for staying close to a buddy or together as a group

There is no written examination to successfully complete the PADI Drift Diver course, however the student must successfully complete the two open water night training dives to the satisfaction of the dive instructor.

featured above is the Manta Senior (SR) Reel available at Leisurepro.com

Prerequisites to do the Course
To qualify for the PADI Drift Diver course, an individual must:

• Be certified as a PADI Scuba Diver, Junior Scuba Diver, Open Water Diver, Junior Open Water Diver or have qualifying certifications from another training organization.

photos from flickr by Raymond™, kradk

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2010. | PADI Drift Diver Specialty Course is an original article from Aquaviews.net | Be the first to comment!

What is Enriched Air Diving?

Enriched Air diving or Nitrox diving is becoming increasingly popular in Scuba diving and refers to Diving with a special nitrogen and oxygen breathing gas mixture with an oxygen concentration higher than the 21 percent found in normal air. Ordinarily recreational scuba divers use regular compressed air in their tanks rather than blended gasses. Enriched Air Diving has a variety of benefits over using regular air for divers.

Why do a specialty course in Enriched Air Diving?

As water pressure causes the nitrogen from the air you breathe to dissolve in your bloodstream, the longer and deeper a diver is underwater, the more nitrogen is absorbed by his system. As the nitrogen builds up, a diver can only be underwater for a limited time depending on depth as the pressure is more deeper and then must ascend slowly, make decompression stops consequent surface interval times before diving again.

The diving time allowed when using enriched air nitrox changes as the “enriched” air used has more oxygen and less nitrogen. This means, when diving nitrox a divers body absorbs less nitrogen during the dive than a diver that uses regular air. It’s important to note however, that although enriched air nitrox allows a longer no-decompression limit, it does not eliminate the risk of decompression sickness or nitrogen narcosis but simply lowers it.

Overall the PADI Enriched Air Diver Specialty is perhaps one of the most popular courses that PADI offers. Scuba diving with enriched air nitrox gives you more no decompression dive time. This means more time underwater, especially on repetitive scuba dives Nitrox allows you to stay down longer and get back the water sooner.  Gas blends with 32 percent or 36 percent oxygen can sometimes nearly double the time a diver can spend at depth before reaching the safe limits of excess nitrogen. Once certified, you will be able to plan and execute dives using blends up to 40 percent oxygen.

What does the Course cover?

The PADI Enriched Air Diver Specialty course is designed to qualify recreational divers to use enriched air (Nitrox) for no decompression stop recreational diving. The course addresses the use of

enriched air with 22 percent to 40 percent oxygen, with emphasis on enriched air with 32 and 36 percent oxygen. The course covers both a theoretical portion of roughly 12 hours of instruction as well as a practical portion comprising of at least two open water dives using enriched air to successfully complete the Specialty.

The course covers the following:

• Planning, organization procedures, techniques, problems, and hazards of Enriched Air diving
• How to avoid issues with oxygen toxicity
• how to analyze enriched air with oxygen analyzers and flow restrictors
• Understanding the different blends and mixtures of Enriched Air Diving
• Dive Planning —divers learn to calculate, , the maximum depth, planned depth and no stop limits for the dive using Enriched Air Tables and the using enriched air computers.
• Enriched air scuba diving equipment considerations
• Going through the PADI Enriched Air Diver Manual – which is a comprehensive guide to Nitrox Diving

Featured above is the “Handi” Hand Held Oxygen Analyzer available at Leisurepro.com

There is no written exam to successfully complete the PADI Enriched Air Diver Specialty however the diver must successfully complete the knowledge sessions on all the key information areas and perform the two training dives to the satisfaction of the instructor.

Prerequisites to do the Course

To qualify for the EAN Diver course, an individual must:

• Be certified as a PADI Open Water Diver, PADI Junior Open Water Diver or have a qualifying certification from another training organization.
• Be 15 years of age or older.

photos from flickr courtesy: Woolve.com, nsyll, Brian Meidell,

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2010. | PADI Enriched Air Diver Specialty Course is an original article from Aquaviews.net | Be the first to comment!

As a certified diver, whether you are looking to take up diving professionally or just for recreation we’d always recommend you train atleast up to a Rescue Diver level. Rescue diving courses and training are not designed only for someone looking at rescue diving or scuba diving as a career, but for all those who want to know what to do in the event of problems underwater and to just expand your knowledge and experience for stress free diving.

We’ve always advocated that even though you always dive with a dive buddy, in any emergency your most dependable rescuer is you (Read:You’re Your Own Best Dive Buddy). A Rescue course by any of the scuba certification agencies is one of the best ways of being a better scuba diver for both yourself and your dive buddy. The rescue training, which teaches you to anticipate and manage risks as well as responding to any basic in-water problems and diving emergencies is a challenging and demanding course. However, ask anyone who is rescue diver certified and they’ll tell you it is the single most rewarding and useful certification they’ve taken since open water. It’s the ultimate boost in confidence in the water, a a must when diving.

So what do you need to be a Rescue diver?
It goes without saying that you need to be a certified diver to even consider the scuba rescue course however, more than just an open water diver certification you need to complete your advanced diver course  with 20 or more logged dives. Some scuba certification agencies like PADI and NAUI have a pre-requisite of being trained and current with first aid and CPR while some others like CMAS offers the CMAS 2 star certification which is an advanced plus rescue diver level course without the need for separate first aid and CPR training.

Other than that, it’s important that you are very comfortable with all the scuba skills taught to you in previous training which may be needed in this course. It helps if you can remain calm, composed while being quick thinking and react efficiently in a controlled manner.

What you learn in Rescue Diver training-

• Self-rescue techniques
• Learn to spot potential problems and managing stress in other divers.
• Emergency management
• Scuba Equipment Function
• Common Equipment Problems
• Release Function and Problems
• Panicked diver response
• Rescuing the Responsive Diver Underwater
• Rescue Exits with the Responsive Diver
• Rescuing the Responsive Diver at the Surface
• Rescuing the Unresponsive Diver Underwater
• Rescuing the Unresponsive Diver at the Surface
• Missing diver procedures
• First aid procedures for pressure related accidents

Scuba Diving Equipment Requirements for Rescue Diver:
During the course of the training you use all your basic scuba gear – (Scuba mask, Fins, Buoyancy Control Device (BCD), Weight-belt and Regulator) including a dive computer, mostly provided by the dive shop conducting the course included in the price. Other than the normal gear, a Dive Knife and Signaling Device are needed during the training.

Rescue diver training usually takes 3 days and includes theoretical study from a manual provided as well as practical exercises in the form of dive accident scenarios performed in either confined waters (swimming pools) or sometimes shallow open water. Rescue diver is the last of the recreational course and the next level in diving is more for professional pursuits. We definitely feel that Rescue level is a must for all divers as it’s always better to Be Prepared but Hope for the Best!

*Photo Credits: photos by Daniel, Daniel Kwok, SWBatzer and Travis S. on flickr

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2010. | What A Scuba Rescue Diver Course Entails is an original article from Aquaviews.net | 2 comments

If you want to try Scuba diving and are looking to take up the Sport, getting an Open Water Certification is one of the the first steps to doing so as we’ve previously mentioned in the post- “3 Steps to Becoming a Certified Scuba Diver “. There are a number of Scuba Certification Agencies that offer this basic course that teaches you scuba diving skills required to dive safely and independently without a dive professional.

Most scuba certification agencies differ in their teaching styles, courses and syllabus but they all more or less cover the same basic skills in the open water certification. Here’s what you learn to become an Open Water Diver-

Practical Skills and Training:

• Preparation and assembly of all your Scuba equipment and gear for a dive. Disassembly of equipment post-dive.
• Pre-Dive Buddy safety check. Making sure that you and your buddy’s equipment is in place and working properly before the dive.
• Hand signals used underwater to signal your dive buddy in case of an emergency. Other standard hand signals.
• Water entry methods – wading/shore entry, giant stride method, seated entry and back roll entry. (Read: Scuba Diving Water Entry Methods)
• Regulator clearing and recovery. Techniques to recover your regulator in the event that it is knocked out of your mouth.(Read: Scuba Regulator Recovery and Clearing techniques)
• Mask clearing. Learning to clear a partially/ fully flooded mask comfortably underwater. Completely removing and replacing your mask underwater while breathing.
• Use of Buddy’s alternate air source. Role play scenarios of being out of air, signaling to your buddy, securing their alternate air source and ascending safely with them.
• Buddy breathing. Sharing one air source between buddies to simulate an emergency situation and learning to ascend safely while buddy breathing.
• Buoyancy control. Learning how to hover and regulate your buoyancy underwater.
• BCD Oral Inflation. Practicing how to orally inflate your buoyancy compensator/ buoyancy control device in case the inflator is not functioning properly.
• Proper descent and ascent. Following safe descending and ascending methods.

Theoretical Knowledge:

• Scuba Gas Laws – Charles Law, Henry’s Law &  Boyle’s Law
• Reading Dive tables.
• Dive Planning. Calculating dive times and decompression stops.
• Risks of Scuba Diving
• Decompression Sickness
• Scuba diving safety

Some certification agencies may include some more advanced skills like underwater navigation and no mask swimming,  scuba unit removal and replacement and so on. But making sure you properly learn and practice the above skills in your open water course, you should be just fine underwater to confidently scuba dive with a buddy.

* Photo Credits: photos by Nemo’s great uncle, Philip Morton, frerieke, @kevinv033 on Flickr.

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2009. | What You Learn As An Open Water Diver is an original article from Aquaviews.net | 2 comments