Bsac Diving

What is the best diving course? (BSAC, PADi)?

I am considering taking up scuba diving but want to know what the best course is to take?

This is something of a meaningless question these days, for the following reasons:

ALL entry level courses now have roughly the same structure, regardless of which agency is certifying you (BSAC,PADI, SSI, SDI, NAUI, etc.). You will learn basic dive skills with your instructor in a pool or pool-like environment, and cover basic dive theory by home study and/or classroom sessions/reviews. Finally you will do 4-5 ‘open water’ dives where you show the instructor that you know how to put these skills into practice.

How the course is timetabled depends on the individual dive shop’s policies. Dive training agencies specify only minimum course content and skill training order, NOT timetables. Nearly all agencies’ courses can be done as intensive 4-5 day courses (full days, 7-8 hours), or spread out over a longer period (e.g. 1-2 evenings per week for 1-2 months). Don’t let anyone tell you different.

Secondly, no one agency is ‘safer’ than any other. Very few diving accidents actually occur during basic training, and instructors/shops whose (in)actions result in death/injury to their students don’t tend to stay in business very long. Once certified, all divers are responsible for their own safety, so the ‘flavour’ of their certification really becomes immaterial after that point.

Regardless of which agency affiliation(s) they hold, ALL dive instructors working in the UK are required to follow the ‘Diving at Work’ Health & Safety guidelines, adhere to the course standards specified by the relevant training agency (PADI take remedial/disciplinary action when breaches of standards come to their attention), and to hold professional liability insurance.

Competence underwater is acquired with experience, so newly-qualified entry-level divers will generally come off their courses at approximately equal levels of (in)competence, regardless of the certifying agency. Any differences in ability between individual divers will be a function of both the student’s own natural aptitude/diligence, and the amount of care taken by their instructor to remedy any deficiencies. Thus, the most important factor affecting the ‘quality’ of a dive course is the instructor him/herself, not the certifying agency.

There are many very good instructors out there, but I have also met a few I wouldn’t trust to teach my least favourite person. Your best guide to the level of attention you can expect on your course is to visit all the dive shops in your area. Ask to speak to one of the instructors, if possible, and sign up with the one who inspires the most confidence. For me, this would be someone who seems most willing to take the time to talk to me, answers my questions honestly and in sufficient detail, and treats me as a person rather than a walking wallet.

Finally, DON’T pick a course based purely on price, for two reasons. (1) If you pay peanuts, you quite often get monkeys. (2) ‘Budget’ courses may have ‘hidden extras’ (e.g. gear rental, air fills, boat fees) which push the final price higher than an ‘all-inclusive’ quote–find out what’s included and what isn’t, before you sign up. NB With commercial agenices (i.e. not BSAC), you pay course fees to the shop, but certification fees to the agency, so an extra certification fee would not be unusual–but it shouldn’t be excessive.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to mail me through Y!A.

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