My friends and I started the Aquatic Explorers Society in order to promote the fun of diving through Stewardship, mentorship and practice of Good Dive Habits. “Train well, be safe and enjoy” is our motto. So where do we begin?
As a NAUI Course Director, SCUBA Instructor, Dive Master & Construction Diver I have dove with all walks of life in a lot of different environments, performing a multitude of activities. The good, the bad, and the just plain ugly could easily describe the knowledge and skills I have seen (and occasionally exemplified.) I’m not perfect by any stretch, but I do have confidence in my skills and knowledge, trusting my training and judgment to recognize and correct small mistakes before they escalate into life treating events. As to answer where to begin; it is easy for me to say all good diving starts with good training.
What does that mean? Does a NAUI certification guarantee you’ll be the best diver anyone has ever seen? If not, who then? How bout PADI, DIR, SSI, TDI, PDIC, BSC, or for that matter learning from your buddies the ole fashioned way - hop and hope, just don’t hold your breath!
I guess to start with my take on training agencies is simple. They exists to supply Dive professionals with the tools and support needed to safely train new divers by providing knowledge and skills standards, liability insurance and products to make training easier - products designed around the requests they receive from the Professional. If no one's buying it, they wouldn’t be selling it! They cannot possibly cover every variable the instructor may face; instead they can only establish a standard of performance that is in turn deciphered, taught and tested then accepted or rejected by the Pro. Instructors should not hide behind the agencies' standards they chose to buy and then shirk responsibility by saying “it’s within Standard”. They must honor their commitment to their student by providing value and insight to diving along with the products that they sell instead of relying on a DVD as a knowledge substitute. If short courses are bad, it’s the Pro who must step up and quit selling them to their customer.
It begins with the instructor, not the agency then, right? A well worn line that rings true, but in reality the first thing we teach is ultimately good diving is the responsibility of the Diver? This is after all the age of transparency – a person cannot be misled or lied to unless they simply want to be misled and lied to. “My instructor was a NAVY Seal that took the beach in Dessert Storm riding on a Great white shark's back throwing barracudas at the bad guys”…click….my instructor was in the Reserves stationed in Nebraska in the motor pool as a clerk…click… Information is a Web search away. New Divers can and will apply pressure to the Pro with “I only have so long, afford so much, or could you just this one time, down the street they offered me…” leading the instructor to pressure the agency: " I need (fill in the blank) in order to satisfy this one customer."
In short (after a full page rant) Where to begin I believe starts with an agreement that we all must accept our roles in learning and maintaining Good Diving habits; the Training agency, the Instructor and the Diver. The Aquatic Explorers Society will help bring an awareness and desire to learn more about our water world by becoming more aware of what it takes to Train well, be safe and enjoy.
A good beginning I think. Devin
