Training Advice Please...

[budgy]

For that kind of money your better off joining Scotsac if you can or BSAC if you've no other option and getting the cross over to sport diver.  Check out a branch thoroughly and
use the rating guide carefully.
How many active instructors.  10 or more ***
Weekly diving programme all the year round. ***
Has compressor and gives free fills to members  ***
Has boat in a marina ***
Has all diving equipment including drysuits to loan free to members ***
Pool entry inclusive in branch fees. ***
Branch fee under £50 per annum***  
At least one scubababe who just can't wait to initiate you in the 30' club. ***********************************

[Dominic]

And if you ever succeed in finding club that has 100% of that list, let me know about it..

[budgy]

Me too..

[Paul Oliver]

Canterbury Divers

[Paul Oliver]

Ok

Maybe not all, but close.

Dive Safe

Paul

[lizardfish]

<font color='#810541'>Have had bad experience with PADI instructors before. Not knowing what to expect form the course you wont be able to tell if they are skipping anything out to cut time. Being a PADI instructor myself, I would advise that you to try and take a look at the Instructor manual and see the course layout and requirements for the Rescue. Then you'll know that you covered everything properly (or not) when the course is done

If done properly the PADI Rescue course is excellent.

Lisa

[Mary]

if you go BSAC pick your club very carefully, I'm currently getting very frustrated and considering going outside the club and paying to get my qualifications sorted out.

I first got in the water 2 1/2 years ago, got club diver within a couple of months, did old sport diver theory and dive leader theory (and passed both with flying colours even DL) within a couple months of that and am still struggling to get my sport diver OW dives done 1 1/2 years later. OK don't live near the sea so don't get huge numbers of dives in but done about 60+ in 2 1/2 years only 4 in the blue so you can see why I'm getting fed up.

[Paul Oliver]

Mary

Sorry to hear about your problems with the qual dives, it is very poor. I got 8 divers through the majority of the old SD at the start of this season. All had done 1 or 2 lessons prior to that and i finnished them off.

The practicals can be done in a couple of days, or even a day if things go well. I used to do the 3 theory lessons in one go. I will not do all of the practicals in lakes, i insist on at least one dive in the sea at OD and SD, and a suitable number at DL. After all that is our local conditions.

However 1 of them just needs to do the deco dive, and that is all she has needed all season, but she has not come out on a channel dive despite having all the kit, and showing herself to be a very compitent diver for her experience level.

If you want i would be prepared to get you through your lessons, let me know what is outstanding so i can do a time estimate.

Dive Safe

Paul

[budgy]

I am sorry Mary your having such a difficult time I read of so many cases like yourself I can only conclude that lowering the standard of the basic BSAC cerificate has resulted in more people divng with a lower standard of training.

[Mary]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Paul Oliver @ Sep. 27 2003,20:42)]but she has not come out on a channel dive despite having all the kit, and showing herself to be a very compitent diver for her experience level.

<font color='#000F22'>Never dived the channel either, the stories of hanging on to shot lines like flags is a little offputting, been to west scotland (oban and islay), pembrokshire, farnes and st abbs so not just a quarry lass.

just been flicking through my log and qual books, have the 2 rescue dives and AAS dives to do, did my deco dive during my club diver assessment (working out my instructors deco), but not much since then.

My club sometimes mistifies me, on one hand i have the DO saying I really should be DL by now and would I consider doing an IFC and on the other I'm struggling to get my SD finished off.