I read the first half of the thread and the last few pages, apologies to those on pages 11 - 15 that I've not read!
Anyway my tuppence worth.
I'm a relatively inexperienced diver, PADI Rescue certified but only about 100 dives on the log book. When I wnet to the Philippines last November, I booked a proper PADI scuba review because I'd not been diving for a few years. I'm glad I did as I was a little nervous and it gave me the opportunity to dive with an instructor, refresh the skills and get going again. It didnt occur to me NOT to do a scuba review TBH. I'm a geek that read and re-reads the books so it wasn't onerous. When I went diving this Feb in Egypt (there are local rules there that state if you have not dived for a year you must do a review) the dive shop owner took me out for a "check dive" on the "house reef" and it was just that - a pretty dive, we had discussed doing a few skills and agreed to do mask removal and reg recovery. I have no problem demonstrating that I'm safe in the water, after all, the person I'm diving with may have to rely on me if the SHTF.
I was amazed when I was diving in the Philippines how poor some of the other divers skills and control were (far more experienced (so they say) than I am), buoyancy control all over the place and thundering through their air even after a few days to relax. There are a lot of holiday divers out there who are not skilled divers, and really do need watched. If it means that a few experienced divers have to do a quick (and inexpensive) review then so be it.
