What should I do?

[Aquatic Eagle]

Thanks Sea_Nymph, I appreciate your support a lot.

It would be quicker then having a month long discussion about what you are going to do. DO SOMETHING.

Where is this reply? I searched this whole thread and don't see USMC Diver's post with this quote anywhere. I want to see exactly what is quicker than what I am doing. I'm sorry USMC Diver but what exactly am I supposed to....shoot the boat up and kill the owner? I'm doing more than a lot of people would do and I am doing more than anyone who has ever seen it before that works or worked there. It obviously concerns me so like Sea_Nymph said, instead of insulting my effort, maybe you could help with it. So far you are the only person that is not supporting this issue. Please, if you have a better way for me to go about this, let me know, I'm all ears. But don't tell me that I need to do something because given that I am 1500 miles away, I'm doing everything I can and more than I'm required to. Thanks

 

[Aquatic Eagle]

Ok, I have good news on the situation. I finally got a reply from PADI. Here it is:
____________________________________________________
Thank you for your email. I apologize for not replying to your earlier email. I've not been able to determine if I received it; regardless, thank you for following up.

I've checked PADI's membership list and determined Aqua Adventures is not a PADI Member. In addition, the only Joseph Edge we have on record has not been a PADI Member since 1997. In order for PADI to more fully determine what action we may be able to take, I would appreciate you sharing with me how you determined Mr. Edge was a PADI Instructor. Also, do you have an address or contact information for him or Aqua Adventures? As I'm sure you know, the website has no contact information listed.

As for your concerns about Underwater Safaris, I've forwarded your email to our International Resort and Retailers Association team for follow up. They will follow our standard protocol on addressing concerns such as yours.

If you are able to provide any additional information on Mr. Edge or Aqua Adventures, please pass that along to me. Thank you again for your concern for the safety aquatic enthusiasts and the environment.

Sincere regards,
Pat

Patricia A. Fousek
Director
Legal & Risk Management
PADI
____________________________________________________

This is good stuff. From what this says, the guy isn't even a PADI instructor like he claims to be. Here is my response to them:
____________________________________________________

Thank you for your response. When I first arrived on St. Thomas, Joe Edge told me himself that he is a PADI instructor and that his wife, Laura Edge is a divemaster. He told me that they both graduated from ProDive, the PADI Career Facility in Florida. The contact information I have found for him is:
(340) 998-3491 or
bobusvi@msn.com.

I do not have an address for him unfortunately. I appreciate your concern for the situation and would appreciate any updates you can give me or if you need any more information, I'll see what I can dig up. Thank you again.
____________________________________________________

Does anyone know if you have to operate under a dive agency to run a dive operation? Anyway, this is good so far so we'll see where it takes me. Thanks again!

 

[Scubatooth]

nature diver.

i have made submitions to Padi QA and the only time that they have contacted me about a situation has been for clarification, as padi SOP is not to release any details of any investigation unless you want a lawyer to make them cough that one up.

to help them out think as hard as you can because it will help greatly even if you think its worthless it may help them.

FYI looks like you got there attention because pat is the head of QA/legal department, and usally oversees the department. if theres anything they can do it will be done trust me

best of luck

 

[Aquatic Eagle]

It has just recently come to my attention that I cannot share emails between the two of us. I will say that something sounds like it's going to be done definitely. On top of me finding out that the owner is not an instructor as he says he is, it turns out that his wife isn't a divemaster and never was. This could be interesting. So I'll no longer be posting the actual emails here but I'll try to keep everyone updated as best as I can. Things are rolling right along.

 

[scubadown]

readers I am sorry, sorry that every one has been duped by this young man. here is the brief version,more will come later today.

The boy who has gotten all of you in a fit and ready to strangle the BOB people is a 21 year old disgruntled ex employee of that operation with 5 months of dive expereince after graduating from Halls Dive School in Florida. he was let go for the very reason he is claiming.After researching this operation I have found out there is no bases for his claim. these people operate a very well run, safe and well qualified team of divers and swimmers. they have an excellent safety record and working with the cruise lines as mentioned by this young man has a good quality control program in place to, They are enviromently conscious, and have had 1000's of people on there tour. I would think if these people were as he has descibed the powers to be would have acted upon them.When in fact they are the most popolar tourist attraction in the islands. my wife and I are seasoned travelers "cruisers" and divers and can not believe that you people could jump on the band wagon with such zeel with out first questioning just a little the validity to such accusations, after just a few phone calls any one could have found out the same information. And you people thought whitch hunts were a thing of the past, the net can be a terrible tool if used improperly. think about it?

 

[Aquatic Eagle]

he was let go for the very reason he is claiming.

I just think it's interesting that when someone says that they have appreciated the hospitality they received while there from the owners, but unfortunately has decided to return to his home, that is considered "let go". I think the last thing that the owner said to me was to the effect of, "I thought you were going to stay with us until the busy season was over?". I'm sorry but when someone is let go, those aren't the final words of the owner. And there is nothing more I will say on the matter. Everyone can believe who they choose to believe, I can't control that. Thanks again everyone for listening.

 

[jiveturkey]

scubadown once bubbled...
readers I am sorry, sorry that every one has been duped by this young man. here is the brief version,more will come later today.

The boy who has gotten all of you in a fit and ready to strangle the BOB people is a 21 year old disgruntled ex employee of that operation with 5 months of dive expereince after graduating from Halls Dive School in Florida. he was let go for the very reason he is claiming.After researching this operation I have found out there is no bases for his claim. these people operate a very well run, safe and well qualified team of divers and swimmers. they have an excellent safety record and working with the cruise lines as mentioned by this young man has a good quality control program in place to, They are enviromently conscious, and have had 1000's of people on there tour. I would think if these people were as he has descibed the powers to be would have acted upon them.When in fact they are the most popolar tourist attraction in the islands. my wife and I are seasoned travelers "cruisers" and divers and can not believe that you people could jump on the band wagon with such zeel with out first questioning just a little the validity to such accusations, after just a few phone calls any one could have found out the same information. And you people thought whitch hunts were a thing of the past, the net can be a terrible tool if used improperly. think about it?

Funny how your first post is in reference to this. Sounds like someone is full of **** but it probably aint NatureDiver.

 

[docmartin]

well scubadown, the "boy" has at least given us some background on who he is and how he would come to know about this situation. on the other hand your post strikes me as more than a little strange. who are you? a "seasoned traveller and cruiser" does not quite cut it. what is your relation to this matter? if you are a travelling diver who used the operation and had a good experience pls say so. however, it seems unlikely you would or could know the things you claim if you had just been a visiting diver. if you are affiliated with this operation in a different way you should explain yourself just as the "boy" did.
a VERY fishy first post.

 

[ltbz]

Good morning all. I am the operator of the tour that NatureDiver has been sharing all this false information about. I would like to begin by saying that I support public opinion and feel that forums such as these can be valuable. What I do not support, however, is slander. Contrary to public opinion, I also support the environment. This is a primary reason that we chose this type of tour since our units use no fuel and have no emissions. The pieces of broken coral that were pointed out were there long before we ever arrived as the site is also occupied by a 200' long, turn of the century shipwreck. I will agree with NatureDiver that the current can be strong at times in that area and our units can be pulled towards the coral area. The tour is well organized and orchestrated to prevent this and it was the job of our professional divers, such as NatureDiver, to guide and keep the slow moving units on their intended path. If all divers were correctly in place this never would have happened. We are not utilizing this particular site any longer for many reasons and made this decision long before I became aware of this forum. The reference made about the bloody nose due to a quick ascent is completely false. The units are kept at 8 feets at all times (which is less than the deep end of a residential swimming pool), our ratio of divers to units is extensive and we have provided this tour for thousands of people without incident and will continue to do so. The scuba tanks are secured in a customized rack; if any had tipped over then it wasn't secured properly by the divers. The shed mentioned where the tanks are filled is a different company altogether so NatureDiver has spoken negatively about 2 business now without any substantiation. We are not PADI regulated and not required to be. Our medical forms were designed by counsel and are taken very seriously, not torn up. In regards to the professional dive rating, my husband certainly was certified as an instructor and certainly has not been of teaching status since 1997 (and your point is?). As far as myself, I take great pride in being a dive master as I am sure you all can relate to. Could it possibly be, NatureDiver, that I was certified before I was married so had a different last name? As far as the insurance/additionally insured issue I won't even address as NatureDiver has no clue what parameters the industry as a whole uses. Now, Lawman, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud? Our industry is highly regulated and scrutinized on a regular basis by the powers that be. This is laughable. I whole heartedly support everyone's feelings about the environment and would feel the same way if the accusers were correct. I always supported NatureDiver when he was an employee and not once did he ever express his concerns to me. We are highly respected in the industry and are true to our love and respect of the water and its surroundings. I am quite aware that the thread created here by NatureDiver has found it's way into the hearts of other professionals in the St. Thomas arena who would like to use these opinions against us. Once again, I support public opinion but the accusations here are false and cannot be evidenced. I will always stand by our operation because I know and represent the truth and will continue to provide the safe and exemplary service to the tourism industry.

 

[CBulla]

From a somewhat outsiders point of view based on videos I have seen of people and other such in the water down in USVI and other carribean areas, its hard not to believe that the underwater vehicles are not finding their way into reefs or other underwater structures.

Granted, some damage could have pre-existed, I can't doubt that further damage is being created through poor steermanship of these tourist attractive devices, much the same way as those whose only dive experience occurs once a year on vacation. I've seen at least 4 hours of video which substantiates this, each of which shows divers touching reef, rolling into it, bumping it with tanks, sticking knives into it, standing on living rock, and even holding the reef to stabilize bouyancy. Some of this was seen in an AOW course video! Based on those examples, its hard to believe NatureBoy's claims.

Personally, I would suggest that some video monitoring of people who participate in the activity be done. Watch the video and evaluate whether or not this is an ecologically sound activity.