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To follow some of the comments about PADI et al., I would like to mention what happened to me during my novice "training": I took the PADI "OWDiver" (1985, at 18 years of age) in a diving school in Gothenburg (Sweden). The instructor used to tell everyone he was a former Swedish Royal Navy combat diver and that kind of story to impress the kids ... Thing was he didnt let me use my own (AGA) equipment (which I knew) in the "exam dive". However, he gave me a 12 lt tank with a lousy reg without manometer instead ... I thought it would be OK "if he was so good diver". Nevertheless, we went in, visibility was 1 mt and as we approached 17 mts of depth, the valve "became short of air". I pulled down the reserve and (against his instructions not to) I abandoned the group towards the surface. No one noticed I disappeared. As they returned, the instructor wouldnt believe me the tank was almost empty. He took a surface manometer to check it out and told me "it is difficult to have so many things under control". I got another tank, this time with air and did my exam dive. But I reported what happened to the Swedish Diver Association (Svenska Sportdykarfoerbundet). They contacted me, send me some papers to sign and his license to run the school was withdrawn. Had I followed his instructions, I would have had a serious problem in my exam dive. One of the girls who was in the group drowned 2 years afterwards. All in all: I wouldnt recommend anyone to go PADI. And the SIS school here in Las Palmas is giving diving licenses after A DAY's course. cheers, aldo.solari@ho*.se* www.ccbb.ulpgc.es/fish-ecology/solaris ___ -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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