Giving Diving a Bad Name

[Warhammer]

Mario, but isn't basically up to each shop and etc whether or not to sale, rent or fill tanks for a non-certified diver? There aren't any actual laws of any kind that says Joe Blow can't get a tank fill because he isn't certified, are there? It's more or less a self-policed industry, isn't it?

And just so you know, here in Mississippi up until recently you could get in any boat in state waters, get as drunk as Cooter Brown, and drive that boat all day. There was nothing any law enforcement agency could do other than arrest you for public drunkeness and etc. A few years ago the legislator changed all that as a result of death in a state watershed lake that involved a drunkin boater. Now you'll get a DUI or is it BUI(Boating Under the Influence), can't recall. Us Rednecks are always a few years behind, ya know.

 

[joewr]

Eek!!!!

Gents (and Ladies),

Gawd, we do not want one more government agency running our lives! Everytime I hear of a scuba "accident", I fear that some legislator will lick his chops and see another opportunity for an increase in government budgets.

That is why it is so important for dive shops and the folks who do this sport to be self-policing. But it is hard! Ya gotta make a buck, too.

Probably the only thing saving us is that there are too few of us to bother with. And even though I hope it stays that way, realistically, the interest in the sport is on the increase. Egad, I hope this never becomes an activity that is regulated by a bureaucracy like, say, the California Department of Motor Vehicles!

mumble, mumble, mumble....

Joewr

 

[scubakat]

Originally posted by Warhammer
you'll get a DUI or is it BUI(Boating Under the Influence), can't recall. Us Rednecks are always a few years behind, ya know.

booo-eeee! That is soooo perfect!

-kate

 

[Rick Murchison]

Originally posted by joewr
Eek!!!!
Gawd, we do not want one more government agency running our lives!
Joewr

You said it Joe!

Rick

 

[socaldiver]

with no more legislation. It is ridiculous what they have there hands in already.

I said earlier in this post that I felt there was something "fishy" about the way the surviving idiot acted and hopefully someday the families can put some closure on this senseless tragedy.

I also need to climb back on the soapbox, and I want to apologize because I know we have discussed this a great lengths on other threads but I sit here and cringe and shake my head in disbelief I some of my fellow divers certification status.

Does it bother anybody else that a person with very minimal dives (20 or less) can be an AOW certified diver? Some have stated that because they have the cert doesn't necessarily mean they are advanced and that is good, they recognize there is more to it than the card. But what is the sense in the first place? Why not after getting the OW cert make it MANDATORY for x amount of dives prior to even signing up for AOW courses. If you have a specialty you want to pursue, fine get the necessary proper instructions for this specialty but not the whole enchilada.

I bring this to everyone's attention because there have been several incidents around this part of the world over the past couple of weeks that compel me to once again bring this up so people might stop and think. A man dying at Casino Point (cause still unknown), a woman in Mexico coming down with a serious case of DCS because she was not really prepared to be diving in the first place (surmised by the statements she made), a man missing in Belize that possibly dove past his limits, and what about the DMs that were involved, possibly they were not adequately trained, prepared (experience) for these incidents.

I guess what I am trying to convey, especially to the newer divers (myself included), is relax, slow down and enjoy the underwater world, you have the rest of your life to pursue your dreams of a professional diver and I personally hope that life is extended many many years.

I will step down off my soapbox, sorry if I offended anyone but I care about you and everyone else having the best times of their lives.

 

[jbd]

My brother did exactly that. Bought a compressor(hookah system) and uses that to dive. Has never been certified to dive nor will he ever be certified. Never had any training beyond keep the regulator in your mouth and don't stop breathing. Never mind he nearly killed himself when things went wrong on one of his dives. I'll spare you the details but it is exactly this kind of thing that will bring on governmental regulation of the scuba industry. In everything government does regulate it has been brought on by us--the John Q Public that refuses to act responsibly in what we do.

 

[BetterLateThannever]

Absolutely. What's the rush anyway? Why not just enjoy diving for it's own sake. Then someday after you get a few (translate: quite a few) dives under your weightbelt, then chase after "Advanced" certifications.

As for myself, I'm just having a blast diving within the OW limits. I plan to increase my range in gradual increments and feel very confident at each level. No rush.

From the agencies' standpoint I believe it's all about money, IMO. The day I was certified OW, my instructor tried to get me to start my AOW course.

I just looked at him like he was nuts. I think he got the message.

 

[Mario S Caner]

I think what's throwing us off here is the Advanced Diver Label. Arming a newbie with a Certification Card that states he's Advanced is a mistake. The intent of the course is to introduce divers to different types of diving. Not to inflate the 'ol ego, which is what happens (not all the time) sometimes. I'm sure we can come up with something more creative than Open Water II, whatever we call it, we should work on stopping it from mentioning anything "advanced".

Do you think one can be considered an "advanced" pilot after 9 flights. How about driving, are you "advanced" once you've sat behind the wheel 9 times? In fact show me any activity or sport in which one can truely call themselves "advanced" after 9 shakey times doing it.... (not now Gasman, Don, Warhammer, Alison and all you other sick-o's!) hehe... you get the idea don't you?

Love to hear your views on this one! Sound off like ya got a pair!!!

 

[keralucu]

*all innocent* Did I hear my name mentioned??

I just read thru this post and while it is tragic that someone has died, I agree that the authorities need to do some serious questioning of the buddy to find out what possessed him to follow the course of action that he did - something smells around here and it ain't sweet. (Gasman??)

And as for the whole OW/AOW thing - rather than renaming it OW II or whatever, what about increasing the number of dives required before a diver can move up to the next level? One cannot become DM (PADI) without having an obligatory 60 dives logged, and while DM is professional diving, still why not make it mandatory to log say... 25 dives for Advanced? The agencies who offer all those extra courses (note - no names mentioned!) still have the opportunity to provide the courses and certs while dive operators make money on the dives and the student learns how to handle him/herself in the water and at the same time takes the required courses to get to Advanced level. Does that make sense?? Or am I blowing bubbles??

My $0.02 worth.

 

[Maggie]

Mario - I agree with you entirely. The Advanced Cert. is certainly not an advanced qualification and should not be named as such. If no-one at Padi wants to change the name why dont they just change the order in which the qualifications are obtained ie make the Advanced Cert after the Rescue Diver Cert. and also state a minimum number of dives. At least then they just might have a vague idea of what to do if things go wrong. Also and just my humble opinion but the minimum number of dives for Divemaster and Instructor level qualification seem far too low - what do you think?