One of the pleasures of running this site is that I get to hear from a variety of divers all over the world. At times these divers disagree with me, and I certainly appreciate hearing the different point-of-views these fellow enthusiasts have—even when I think they are wrong!

In my article on instructor certification, I said the following:

The level of experience you quickly achieve moving through the professional ranks comes along with a level of comfort in the water. This level comes much quicker than just through regular diving.

I have heard some disagreement with this statement and it has been misconstrued to mean that somehow advanced certification should serve as a replacement for dive experience.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

However, I will say that the experience obtained through focused training, like that received during certification (or at least should be), has far greater benefit than general diving experience, and when used in conjuction with regular diving, can greatly accelerate how quickly your diving skill progresses.

Just a number

One reader of the aforementioned article pointed out, supposedly as evidence of my lack of experience:
“I notice you do not include your dives logged thus far.”
This is true, and for good reason. Logged dives is just a number, and has little correlation with practical diving skill.

For example, I remember distinctly a boat dive in Bonaire. On board with our group was an older gentlemen who had been diving as long as diving was a public activity. And his gear looked like it. He was the complete opposite of the diving newbie with all new, shiny, top-of-the-line gear but ziltch logged dives. I expected to be impressed with his comfort level underwater.

This man might have been one of the most awkward divers I have ever seen. He was all over the reef. Constantly. His buoyancy control was non-existent. Any turn he made looked like a clumsy seal on land.

According to the logged dives=experience crowd, this man should have been one of the best divers in the world. What’s going on here?

Talent is overrated

The book Talent is Overrated by Geoffrey Colvin is a pretty well-known piece of popular non-fiction. The basis premise is that what we refer to as talent is not achieved through in-born ability nor general experience, but rather through deliberate practice. Colvin describes deliberate practice as

Hitting an eight-iron 300 times with a goal of leaving the ball within 20 feet of the pin 80 percent of the time, continually observing results and making appropriate adjustments, and doing that for hours every day.

I argue that the same can be said for diving experience. While there are some with a more natural affinity to the water, this mindset more than makes up for it on the medium- and long-term.

I don’t consider myself the best diver; maybe slightly above average. And I certainly don’t consider myself better than most divers with >5000 logged dives. However, I would put myself up against most any divers with 4x the number of logged dives that I have. The difference is that I have exercised deliberate practice as part of my dive training and continue to use it as part of my general diving experience.

Deliberate practice

How does deliberate practice work? This article gives a basis rundown in four steps:

• Motivation. The task will require effort and you must have the motivation to do it.
• Incremental. The task should build incrementally on what you already know, so that you can understand how to do it easily.
• Feedback. You should receive immediate feedback about your performance.
• Repetition. Either the same task, or a similar task should be repeated.

Sounds a little like well-designed scuba training, doesn’t it? I don’t think this is a coincidence, and is the reason I made the statement quoted at the beginning of this article.

The good news is that advanced training is not strictly necessary to engage deliberate practice, it is simply a convenient vehicle for providing the necessary environment. The idea is that while diving you should challenge yourself in a way that directly utilizes the dive skills you wish to develop. The main catch is you will need the internal motivation to get better: there is no external motivator like completing certification to push you to improve.

The number one skill certified divers usually need to develop is buoyancy control. If buoyancy control increases linearly with the number of dives, it does so at an incredibly slow pace, in my opinion. A more effective approach, and probably the one you employed (even if unintentionally) if you consider yourself an exception to the previous statement, is to consciously measure your skill in some way and take definite steps to improve it.

For example, instead of counting down the seconds in your next safety stop, what would happen if you picked a visual marker then focused on maintaining an even level with this marker? Or keeping an eye on your computer and maintaining 15ft / 5m plus or minus some small deviation? When this gets too easy you can try doing it completely upside-down. I’d wager a guess that most above-average divers practice these types of skills already, even if they don’t think of it as any special sort of training. They are unintentionally engaging deliberate practice, and reaping the benefits.

Exercises like this one fulfill the requirements, assuming you have the necessary motivation to actually attempt it. It is incremental, in other words, you have all the necessary knowledge to perform the exercise. You receive immediate feedback since it’s obvious when you fail. And lastly there is repetition, since you have at least 3 minutes at the end of every dive to practice.

The sad truth

I can understand how my statements have been misinterpreted. The fact is that much dive training in the world, through all agencies, is sub-par. This was driven home during my instructor examination, where I expected all divers to have fairy polished diving skills and good buoyancy control. I was disappointed with the level of awkwardness a noticeable percentage of participants had in the water, and expected much better from soon-to-be instructors.

A big part of this comes down to instruction, both in the immediate training received as well as the mentality of the instructor. I would be willing to bet that a student of Duane over at Precision Diving, even with only 25 dives under their belt, are looking better in the water than most divers with >100 dives. This is because they have a) received quality instruction, and b) had the idea imparted that certification is only the beginning of their training, and that they should continually improve (the former can be surmised from reading his blog, the latter I am inferring).

As an example, he requires all of his students to perform the requisite skills at neutral buoyancy, not sitting on the bottom as is usually done. This is clearly above the minimum instruction standard of “how not to die underwater”.

Out of proportion?

Am I making a a big deal out of nothing? Does it really matter that Jane Diver with 100 dives looks like a “average” diver with 400?

It does matter, for the simple reason that advanced skill increases comfort level in the water. This has a myriad of benefits, beginning with an overall improved dive experience, allowing a diver to reduce air consumption as well as spend more time observing nature rather than awkwardly adjusting equipment. There are also environmental advantages, since comfortable divers also spend less time crashing into reefs.

As a diver, try to think about how to utilize deliberate practice as part of your general diving experience. If you’d like to hear about some specific methods, feel free to contact me and I can write about it in future articles. If you are an instructor, think about how you can incorporate principles of deliberate practice into your courses, as well as how to encourage your students to continue self-learning even after certification. The oceans and your fellow divers will thank you.

I recently wrote an “Ask an Expert” column for the July issue of Scuba Diving magazine, available at newstands now. You can also read it online here: Should Kids Under 12 Dive?

I take the stance that “no”, they should not be allowed to dive. Share your thoughts, but please, read the article before you start flaming me.

No matter which scuba diving agency you train through, once you get to the leadership level there are some basic theory requirements you must complete (the Recreational Scuba Training Council requires it). With areas ranging from physiology to physics, it can feel like a lot of material.

Fortunately, Rod Abbotson of Dive Aqaba has put together a Dive Theory Study Guide. It’s PADI-centric in that it is a (very quick) summary of their Recreational Encyclopedia, but I imagine even those from other agencies would find it useful in their studying, given the significant overlap in material. It is especially useful by the time you get around to instructor courses and have been tested on the same material 3-4 times. I used it to quickly find those areas where I needed to read the original text.

It may also be of interest to others, like open water divers with an interest in science as it relates to diving. Or question writers for Jeopardy.

Here is his version in Microsoft Word format. I’ve converted it to PDF as well:

Dive Theory Guide (DOC)
Dive Theory Guide (PDF)

I recently read an article on AquaViews that posed the question, are scuba agencies sacrificing training quality for numbers?
I don’t think anyone would deny that most scuba agencies are after numbers. Anyone who has gone through a pro-level certification can tell you that. Is it such a bad thing? Having numbers drives the accessibility up (and price down) for scuba diving, but what if the price is too high?

To answer this question, we really have to look at the standards. Fortunately, most major agencies follow the same set of scuba standards for each level of certification. I think anyone who has competence in the required skills can not be called a bad diver. They’re not guaranteed to be good divers, either. I think the one thing we can glean from them is that they are the absolute minimum set of requirements for a diver with basic competence.

An extra dive or two over the required four dives would probably be quite advantageous—most divers don’t begin to get comfortable until dive number four anyway. The problem here, of course, is that each additional dive drives up the cost and time commitment, and thus limits the potential clients. Let me translate that for you: it’s not gonna happen anytime soon.

I think the problem, if there is one, is requirements for certifying instructors. As it stands, pretty much anyone can be an instructor. Is that scary? Rather than focus on certifying too many students, what if we take care of things at the instructor level, and let the results trickle down?

A diver can go from entry level certification to instructor-level very quickly. Often, this is done to “bring an instructor up” to work at a shop, usually in overseas locales. It is very clear this person’s job is to certify paying customers and take them out on dives. Denying certification doesn’t fit in that picture very well, does it?

Duane at Precision Diving had a recent post on the difficulty of saying, “no”. He is mostly referring to tec diving, but it applies to recreational as well. When does an instructor tell a student they can’t pass? I would hope that if an instructor even slightly thinks that a diver would be danger to himself or others in the water with him, she would withhold certification. I would like to think this, but it’s much harder to look an earnest young diver in the face and tell them they can’t go on that upcoming trip to Bonaire.

I don’t think most shops are being scoundrels and purposely filling the ocean with bad divers. In fact, to really assess the situation, we have to look at the numbers. And the numbers tell us one thing: undertrained divers are not causing accidents. They’re simply not. It could be luck, but compared to the number of dives, there are quite few accidents. And it’s not obvious they could be prevented by longer certification processes. I’m guessing some people would debate this.

Agencies like being self-regulated. Part of this process is monitoring accident statistics and responding appropriately—before outside intervention. If there were a serious problem here, I imagine there would have been intervention at some level. The standards are tight, but doable for an adequate level of instruction.

I think what it all really comes down to, though, is diver comfort in the water, and that comes with experience. You need more than a few certification dives to get that, though. Experience, and a sense of your own abilities, which a good instructor can give you.

This post is a bit stream-of-consciousness. Feel free to join in on the flow in the comments and keep the conversation going. I’d like to hear your opinion.

Those that keep up-to-date with such things are already aware, but PADI has recently revamped their Divemaster course.

Looking at the changes can be confusing, and a tad daunting, so I’ve broken down what these changes mean for you, based on where you are in your dive career. Simply jump to the header that describes you.

No intention of becoming a divemaster

Let’s get the easy one out of the way. If this describes you, then you don’t have to do anything. Keep diving like you always have been.

Want to become a divemaster

Want to start before 1 July, 2011. If you are starting your DM training prior to July 1, 2011, then you can use either the old curriculum, or the new one. The new program requires 40 dives to begin, whereas the old one only requires 20. If you have less than 40 dives, then, you must enroll in the old program.

You may be enrolled in the old program by a shop that still has the previous materials that they need to move. This is not a big deal. PADI is trying to improve the course, but that doesn’t mean the previous course was bad by any means. If you are given a choice, then go for the new one (why not?).

Want to start after 1 July, 2011. The new program doesn’t mean anything to you. You must use it, so don’t worry about the difference.

Certified by a non-PADI agency. PADI recognizes certification by other agencies as a pre-requisite for a DM course. If you want to do your DM training under PADI, but have a non-PADI rescue diver equivalent certification, then it’s no big deal. Look at the previous categories based on when you want to start to determine where you are.

Current divemaster

Want to stay a divemaster. If you have no intention of advancing beyond your DM certification, then there’s nothing you have to worry about. You’ll still be a PADI divemaster, even after 1 July 2011.

Want to continue on to instructor before 1 July, 2011. If you plan on continuing training to become an instructor soon, you’ll have to eventually get the new materials. Thus, if you haven’t bought your instructor pack yet, you should try to get the new one.

If you, like me, already have the old pack, then you will eventually have to upgrade to the new DM materials if you want to certify divemasters after July 1, 2011. You must also learn the curriculum changes so that you can teach the new curriculum, just like any instructor.

Want to continue instructor training after 1 July, 2011. The instructor materials you buy will probably be the new ones, so there’s nothing different you will have to do.

Current instructor

If you are an instructor who wants to certify divemasters after 1 July 2011, then you will need to get the new instruction materials, some of which are available on the PADI Pro website. As with any changes, you need to familiarize yourself with them so that you are teaching the current standard.

If you will certify divemasters before 1 July 2011, then be prepared to teach either the new course or the old one, depending on which materials your student has. This is nothing new that you didn’t learn during your instructor training.

I believe that should cover everyone. Head on over to PADI Instructor Info for a rundown of the divemaster program revisions and for additional information about the new divemaster program.

The most popular post here on The Diving Blog is easily on writing an Emergency Assistance Plan. To date, this article, with the free templates, have helped hundreds of divers in one of the most unnecessarily confusing parts of the PADI Rescue Diver course.

In the process, I’ve received valuable feedback from many readers. First of all, to those of you who have commented or emailed constructive feedback on the EAP templates, thank you! Our post shows up as a top result when searching for emergency assistance plans, and your input helps to make it better, in turn helping many scuba divers in training.

There’s one thing I’ve consistently noticed: there is no standard set of requirements for an EAP to be considered complete. This isn’t necessarily a short-coming on PADI’s part, it simply reflects the vastly different requirements for different countries, cultures, and environments. Responding to an emergency in San Diego, California would be an entirely different experience than responding to one in the Maldives.

Nevertheless, I am working to coalesce all this information into a form usable by everyone. This is where you, the reader, come into play.

First, if you haven’t yet, please read the original EAP post, and take a look at the template.

Second, send me your feedback. As an instructor, would you consider the template complete and acceptable? What is missing? If you dive in a particular location, what information is necessary that the template does not provide? If you are a certified rescue diver, did your instructor note anything that the template does not give? Feel free to leave a comment here, or use the contact form linked to above.

I will incorporate your feedback and ideas into an update of the post and template. Thank you for taking the time and paying it forward, helping future generations of scuba divers! You guys rock!

I hate dry suits.

There, I said it. Now with that out of the way, let me tell you a story.

Back in May, I participated in a drysuit diving day at my local quarry. As many of you know, quarries are amazing places to dive¹, but we were there with a mission, to get our drysuit certification.

Why dry suits?

Let me answer your question with a question: why do you get cold on dives? Now let me answer my question which was an answer to your question: heat flow.

You get cold when heat flows. Specifically, it flows away from your body. This happens all the time, but it just so happens that water is particularly talented at moving heat around. (This is one of a bagillion reasons why the oceans are so important.)

When you don your spiffy wetsuit (your wetsuit is spiffy, isn’t it?), even though it fits good and snug (or should, anyway), it still allows some water in. During the dive, there is a steady, albeit slow, flow of water in and out. The cool water comes in, steals your body’s warmth, and takes it out, leaving you cold. The nerve.

Dry suits² put an end to this vicious cycle. They seal of your neck, ankles, and wrists, trapping air around your body, which helps insulate you from that sneaky cold water.

Sounds fantastic, right? Let me get back to my story.

The downside

Putting on a drysuit is a process. For one, the whole concept relies on seals to keep air in, and more importantly, keep water out. Leaks are a big deal. Seals have to be perfect³. Too loose, and water rushes in like Isengard, too tight, and you pass at before you get in the water. Even if you own a suit and have it set up, you have to check over these things.

With all that air around your body, you become much more buoyant. Thus, drysuits require a ton of weight. I think I dove with 10 more pounds than I’ve ever used in my life.

Having air move around your body makes diving trickier. Part of the reason drysuits require a separate certification is this trickiness. You have to know how to control your buoyancy using the suit’s air valves. More importantly, you need to know how to handle emergencies should they arise—from all the air going to your legs, making you hang upside-down (not so serious), to a runaway inflation valve (serious).

In short, diving in a drysuit can be a real chore. I don’t claim to be an expert after a few dives, all I know is I have no desire to become one.

A necessary evil

Which brings us to the crux of the problem. I hate drysuits, yet they are practically a necessity for cold water diving.

The thing is, I wasn’t even that impressed with the suit’s ability to keep me warm. Dry, yes. Warm, no.

I expected to be super-cozy, but in mid-50s water I was still very cold. Maybe not as cold as I would’ve been in a thick wetsuit, but far from comfortable, even with my thick insulation beneath the suit.

The one word that comes to mind after my experience? Disappointing. I expected a lot of things out of dry suits, which they failed to deliver. They did, however, live up to their name. It was a dry, suit.

Options

My solution? No cold water diving. There are a few things I’d like to see in my life that are in cold water but I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. In the meantime, I’ll stick with the tropics.

Am I a baby? Perhaps, but scuba diving for me is a leisure activity. It’s not a job. I don’t have to do things I don’t wanna do. And you can’t make me.

Not all is hopeless, though. There is one decent alternative to drysuits for many (not all) environments. We’ll save that one for another day.

Do you hate drysuits, too, or do you just think I’m an idiot? The world awaits your input.

1. No they’re not.
2. Is it dry suits (two words), or drysuits (one word)? I can’t find a consistent answer.
3. Speaking of seal sizes, apparently I have a pencil neck. The guy had to go down to women’s sizes to find one that fit me.

Photo by TauchSport_Steininger

Photo by Beige Alert

I think for anything important in your life it’s crucial to have goals. Goals make sure you have thought things through and know exactly what you want to get out of life.

Sometime last year, scuba became more than a hobby to me. As such, I’ve been defining goals that describe what I want to get out of this experience. This blog is one such goal, a way for me to share what I learn with others on the internet, and as the sub-title says, a place for divers to spend their time above the water.

One other goal of mine is to become a certified scuba instructor. If you’ve followed the blog for long, you’d know that after finishing my Divemaster certification earlier this year, I am well on my way.

I’m currently on track to become a full-fledged PADI instructor sometime in spring of next year. Why the delay? Time and money, mostly. I have begun my Assistant Instructor certification, although that will allow me to do little more than what I can do with a Divemaster certification.

Why would one want to become an instructor?

• Career. Certainly a possibility to teach scuba for a living. The pay isn’t great, but you get to dive regularly and share your passion with others. This one does not describe me, though.
• Friends & family. As an instructor, you are free to certify your friends and family. Want to go on a scuba trip but don’t have any certified buddy’s to go with? Make your own buddy. As I mentioned, instructor certification is expensive and time-consuming, so this reason alone probably isn’t sufficient, but is more of a perk.
• Knowledge. Going the pro path teaches you more about diving than you thought you’d ever know. You still don’t know everything, but as an instructor you will have fairly in-depth knowledge of most things scuba. I definitely enjoy this part of things, especially learning teaching theory and how people learn.
• That type of person. Some people are just that way. When you get into something, you want to go all the way. Whether you call them Type A or something else, being like this is a strong motivator.
• Comfort. The level of experience you quickly achieve moving through the professional ranks comes along with a level of comfort in the water. This level comes much quicker than just through regular diving. The dissemination of dive skills lets you master each one, increasing your overall comfort in the water. As with certifying your buddies, this one probably isn’t a prime reason to become an instructor, but rather is a side bonus.

These are just a few reasons to become an instructor. I’ll keep you up-to-date on my progress and anything of interest that happens all the way. In the future, I’ll also write about some other scuba goals that I have or am in the process of making.

What do you think about instructor certification? Is it for you? If you already are an instructor, what made you want to do it?

To leave a comment, go to the bottom of the post page. If you are on the homepage, click on the title of this post to go to the post page.

Photo by Martin Burns