debajo agua
Contributor
Tursiops is correct. There is no requirement for a hard bottom for training dives in any agency I know of. Every day thousands of divers around the world are certified in ocean waters deeper than the maximum allowed depth for their training. It is up to the instructor to make sure the students do not go deeper than allowed.
---------- Post added December 26th, 2013 at 12:49 PM ----------
Yes, they do.
I am unable to find the statistics right now, but I read recently that over the past 4-5 years, nearly half of the people who die in caves were cave certified. People whose understanding of statistics borders on the level commonly called "imbecilic" would argue that means certified divers are just as likely to die in caves as non-certified divers. That would only be true, though, if certified and uncertified divers were going into the caves in equal numbers. It is, however, pretty rare to find uncertified divers who, like you, do not respect the danger of caves. There are no accurate statistics for this, but it would not surprise me to learn that 98% of the people diving in caves are appropriately certified. That means that only a very tiny percentage of certified divers die in caves, while a very high percentage of uncertified divers die in caves.
If you look at the overall death rate in Germany, you will find that the overwhelming majority of them are German citizens. Do you think that proves that it is more dangerous to be a German citizen in Germany than a non-citizen?
I disagree with you. I do all types of diving, and where ever I go, I find many people diving beyond their "certification" level. If you think O/W divers are sticking to the < 60' rule then I think you're mistaken. The same thing applies to wrecks, caverns, etc. Like I said, Ginnie Springs is a great example of where O/W divers enter overhead because they're told "it's okay".
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