Is there competition between NAUI certified divers and PADI certified divers?

[Jim Lapenta]

Wow! All I can say.

 

[Dingus]

He is book smart, yet socially completely inept.

Examples:
I was on a charter with lake travis scuba once with him. He was eating trail mix and had dropped peanuts and all over the boat floor and had them all over his body...when Robert asked him if any was getting in his mouth he blamed Robert's DM. I though that DM was about to choke him or bitch-slap him...too bad he held his temper.

Another charter ... he just walked to the gate of the boat and pisses all down the boat and all over himself due to the wind...

Another time he jumped off the boat with the camera in his hand with no light. For a night dive.

Being over 90min late for a volunteer dive at Aquarena

As the DM/tour guide at Aquarena, totally blowing the bottom with absolutely no control of his buoyancy. Nice way to set the example huh?

Informs out of state divers that can just show up at Aquarena center to dive for fun, without being in training or being a certified volunteer diver.

Banned from Tom's for buying a compass & taking out to put in a DSS mount and breaking it....this after being told not to do it b/c it would break then tries to take it back for refund/replace. Nice.

He can tell PSI of a tank by the way it bangs on the ground.

That is all I can think of off hand.

I have heard he's getting better too

 

[cbrich]

Another charter ... he just walked to the gate of the boat and pisses all down the boat and all over himself due to the wind...

Who would have thought someone really would piss in the wind.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

You can tell a difference between identical tanks by banging them on the ground but I have yet to get the exact PSI when I guesstimate. Fun to arrange the tanks and play songs with your coworkers, though.

Spoiler

How about this: next time he asks you if you are a NAUI diver and scoffs that you are PADI, pull him close and engage in a conversation like this:

"SHH!! this is top secret, so keep quiet ok? I'm not PADI, I'm NAUI. I'm telling people I'm PADI because I'm recruiting for a super secret PADI vs. NAUI olympics to be held at _________ on ___________. I came here today to recruit you because I've heard you are one of the best NAUI divers in this area. I had to test you to see if you were right by telling you I was PADI, first. You passed the test, and this is your official invitation. Be at ___________ on ___________ by _____ o'clock with your gear ready to go. That is all, good day."

If you can pull it off right, you can really mess with people with big ego's

Once, a cave diver who was in swim trunks asked me where I was going. I knew who he was, but didn't let on, because he looked just like a swimmer, and told him I was going "in that big dark hole in the ground over there. It's very dangerous and takes lots of training so don't follow me in there or anything ok?" oh you should have seen his face get red! As a somewhat infamous local diver, he got pretty upset that I thought he was just a swimmer.

 

[50Fathom]

We wear drysuits to teach wetsuit-clad students. I don't think it's unreasonable. We tend to end up spending much more time in the water than any individual student does. It's also really important that we remain alert and physically capable during the entire dive day. (It's also true that neither of us OWNS a wetsuit suitable for Puget Sound.) I'd rather teach the students in dry suits, but not all of them want to pony up the extra money to do that.

This. I'm a DM and soon-to-be instructor, and I use a drysuit most of the time for the reasons listed. Longer in-water comfort means that my head stays clear to be able to react to emergencies. I don't want my mind, reflexes or judgment dulled by cold just so I can "be like the students", (a practice BTW, that is over-emphasized, IMHO). I do however, layer my thermals appropriately, so I can approximate the chill factor for them.

I also dive a twinset (when in OW) to save constant tank-switches, more redundancy, and because, well, I REALLY like diving twins.

 

[300bar]

Another thing i noticed is that he was in a dry suit teaching an OW class. All of his students were in wet suits. why wouldnt he be using the same gear? I would expect my leader to lead by example and don the same equipment if he were teaching me how to use mine.. But maybe thats just me...

Sorry, have to disagree on this, any instructor (in cold water) not wearing a Drysuit, is out of his/her mind.
When the poo hits the fan, you should be warm enough to safe your students.
IF you're as cold as they are, you'll have a REAL problem.

 

[50Fathom]

You can tell a difference between identical tanks by banging them on the ground but I have yet to get the exact PSI when I guesstimate. Fun to arrange the tanks and play songs with your coworkers, though.

(REDACTED)

Once, a cave diver who was in swim trunks asked me where I was going. I knew who he was, but didn't let on, because he looked just like a swimmer, and told him I was going "in that big dark hole in the ground over there. It's very dangerous and takes lots of training so don't follow me in there or anything ok?" oh you should have seen his face get red! As a somewhat infamous local diver, he got pretty upset that I thought he was just a swimmer.

Pure win.

 

[James R]

I was the DM on the boat with dude who is the focus of this thread that day when he tried to blame me for the mess he made. I couldn't believe he tried to throw me under the bus like that...luckily I missed the peepee party he had heh

How about this: next time he asks you if you are a NAUI diver and scoffs that you are PADI, pull him close and engage in a conversation like this:
"SHH!! this is top secret, so keep quiet ok? I'm not PADI, I'm NAUI. I'm telling people I'm PADI because I'm recruiting for a super secret PADI vs. NAUI olympics to be held at _________ on ___________. I came here today to recruit you because I've heard you are one of the best NAUI divers in this area. I had to test you to see if you were right by telling you I was PADI, first. You passed the test, and this is your official invitation. Be at ___________ on ___________ by _____ o'clock with your gear ready to go. That is all, good day."

Man, you need to work on your spy-craft...you just put the idea out to everyone including him haha

 

[50Fathom]

 

[Tejasmtb]

Once, a cave diver who was in swim trunks asked me where I was going. I knew who he was, but didn't let on, because he looked just like a swimmer, and told him I was going "in that big dark hole in the ground over there. It's very dangerous and takes lots of training so don't follow me in there or anything ok?" oh you should have seen his face get red! As a somewhat infamous local diver, he got pretty upset that I thought he was just a swimmer.[/QUOTE]

Haha, that's funny! I'm not sure who this whacko is, but I live and dive in Austin and I hope I never run into him!