This months Dive

It is just incredably irritating that as an organisation we
cant put together an exam database without errors and even more irritating that once found, such errors are not removed.

I'm usually more concerned about the glaring ambiguities and the (IMO) rather pointless questions, like that one about naming the benefits of diving from a RIB, always first in line for the rewrite.

Guess this comes back to the issue of the apparent yawning chasm between HQ and "the front line" and something which could have been addressed by the Instructor mailing list idea - who remembers that...?

I would have suggested mailing or writing to someone and trying to get a ball rolling on such issues, but having seen a little of the Kafka-esque style of our organization it would probably be more productive to sort something out over on DiveInstruct (which has gone very quiet over recent months).

Cheers
Steve

I'm usually more concerned about the glaring ambiguities and the (IMO) rather pointless questions, like that one about naming the benefits of diving from a RIB, always first in line for the rewrite.

My personal favorite is the classic, depth diffrence between
Sport Diving & Sport Diver. Try explaining that to a foreign
student!

Guess this comes back to the issue of the apparent yawning chasm between HQ and "the front line" and something which could have been addressed by the Instructor mailing list idea - who remembers that...?

I would have suggested mailing or writing to someone and trying to get a ball rolling on such issues, but having seen a little of the Kafka-esque style of our organization it would probably be more productive to sort something out over on DiveInstruct (which has gone very quiet over recent months).

Yep, I agree. I have many times tried to stir things up and I
know that I am now sounding a bit like a broken record, but as
Club officer that spends on average a minimum of two days a
week on BSAC buisness (I kid not), I think I'm entitled to a
winge.

Quite honestly, one thing that does more harm to BSAC and it's
image are exams. Look at it this way, if you were told after 10
hours of lectures + revision that your pass or fail (and the
retest) may depend on grammatical errors, ambigous interpretations and plain inaccuracies would you be pleased?

Maybe it's time that BSAC Instructors set up there own email group outside of BSAC?

Rgds
TerryH

Well done John in reminding everyone of the NDC bulletin; which was the result of a study into incidents where alternative air sources were used.
Is it not time to remind divers that the octopus is for their use first & foremost. As the finding of the study and the reason for the publication.
You precisely identified that the primary rig would have been nicked by the out of air diver in panic.
Or we could recommend AutoAir/air2 device's which are omni directional.:-)

Long hose arguement anyone?

Long hose arguement anyone?

Not today thankyou.

Adrian

Well.. Fellas LMAO you guys don't have much to do ?

All this debate over a stock picture that many (if not all) novices prolly wouldn't know the difference between what goes where and why.

BTW My Octo funtions correctly either served from the left OR right shoulder and any buddy I dive with will be told (or already knows) that.

Oh yes..

"Long hose arguement anyone?"

Yeh I find a 2mtr hose especially good as a backup buddy line

Happy debating.. er I mean Diving

DH

Well.. Fellas LMAO you guys don't have much to do ?

(Unlimited broadband internet access + terminally dull workmates) x lack of interest in work (squared) = forum postings x10 6(exp)
Well that's my excuse :)))
Cheers
Steve

Actually - if you check your back copies of the NDC Bullettin the BSAC recommended way of wearing your Octopus is on the right ...

Dear John,
Regarding AAS.

I am not too bothered what system other divers use, so this is IMVHO.
On page 75 of Teaching Scuba, the AAS progression shows that the octopus is on the left hand side.
On page 62,63,64 of Safety and Rescue For Divers, all diagrams and pictures show the AAS being given from the left hand side., and that is the configuration I use when training with a single cylinder.
For me this means that I haven't got an AAS hose passing accross my throat, especially in the old style training that required us to swim for a couple of minutes. I also never had any problems trying to breath from my own Octy, as the hose is long enough to easily flex so that it is the right way up for me too, if needed.
I have found that AAS trainees found this by far the easiest method too, with the octy from the right being second, and the air2 coming in last.

regards
Jens

:=It is just incredably irritating that as an organisation we
:=cant put together an exam database without errors and even more irritating that once found, such errors are not removed.

I'm usually more concerned about the glaring ambiguities and the (IMO) rather pointless questions, like that one about naming the benefits of diving from a RIB, always first in line for the rewrite.

Guess this comes back to the issue of the apparent yawning chasm between HQ and "the front line" and something which could have been addressed by the Instructor mailing list idea - who remembers that...?

I would have suggested mailing or writing to someone and trying to get a ball rolling on such issues, but having seen a little of the Kafka-esque style of our organization it would probably be more productive to sort something out over on DiveInstruct (which has gone very quiet over recent months).

Hello Steve,
Yes Dive Instruct has gone quiet hasn't it?
Sorry about that, a house move, a computer change (still in progress) and a brand new baby girl called Emma 9 weeks ago, have put paid to any plans I ever had.

I do however plan to keep going with Dive Instruct, and still welcome any inputs people have. A complete website overhaul is well overdue I think.
I have recently received a whole load of new Powerpoint downloads from Mark Murphy (Cheers Mark) for the latest format SDC's and plan to add them to the website soon, just a soon as I get my old computer contents transferred to the new one.
For some reason they don't want to talk to each other, the File transfer wizard is having problems.
I may just have to get the old hard drive installed in the new computer as a second drive.



.

:=:=It is just incredably irritating that as an organisation we
:=:=cant put together an exam database without errors and even more irritating that once found, such errors are not removed.
:=
:=I'm usually more concerned about the glaring ambiguities and the (IMO) rather pointless questions, like that one about naming the benefits of diving from a RIB, always first in line for the rewrite.
:=
:=Guess this comes back to the issue of the apparent yawning chasm between HQ and "the front line" and something which could have been addressed by the Instructor mailing list idea - who remembers that...?
:=
:=I would have suggested mailing or writing to someone and trying to get a ball rolling on such issues, but having seen a little of the Kafka-esque style of our organization it would probably be more productive to sort something out over on DiveInstruct (which has gone very quiet over recent months).

Hello Steve,
Yes Dive Instruct has gone quiet hasn't it?
Sorry about that, a house move, a computer change (still in progress) and a brand new baby girl called Emma 9 weeks ago, have put paid to any plans I ever had.

I do however plan to keep going with Dive Instruct, and still welcome any inputs people have. A complete website overhaul is well overdue I think.
I have recently received a whole load of new Powerpoint downloads from Mark Murphy (Cheers Mark) for the latest format SDC's and plan to add them to the website soon, just a soon as I get my old computer contents transferred to the new one.
For some reason they don't want to talk to each other, the File transfer wizard is having problems.
I may just have to get the old hard drive installed in the new computer as a second drive.

Congratulations Andy, no doubt most of your future postings will be 3am during feeding bouts :))

Jens,

Almost exactly my point!

just because someone does something in a different way from the way that "You" choose to do it does not mean that they *MUST* be from a different agency.

The BSAC is always actively promoting a "Whatever works" attitude - as long as a system is adopted that meets the needs of the situation that you are training to deal with.

There is advice available, from various sources, not all of which is the same - but all meets the training needs.

My objection to the original post was the attitude that

1) The is only one BSAC way of doing things
2) Anyone not doing it the way advocated by a particular instructor must either be
a) exhibiting poor practice
b) from an "inferior" agency.

This is not only ludicrously egotistical and total rubbish - it is defamatory and insulting.

Your own posts show you to be open minded and flexible - two qualities I admire and respect in an instructor. The opposite attitude is to be challenged at EVERY opportunity.

All the best


John