uncertified divers in the ocean?

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k374

Contributor
Messages
539
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Location
Greater Los Angeles
# of dives
50 - 99
I was talking to a work colleague of mine yesterday and mentioned that I am completing up my PADI cert next weekend in Catalina Island...so she goes "oh yeah, I dive there all the time", the conversation went something like this:

Me: You are a diver?
Her: Yes, I dive in Catalina Island all the time
Me: Which agency are you certified with?
Her: What do you mean?
Me: Agency? PADI, NAUI, SSI.... :confused:
Her: I don't know anything about that, I dive with my friends
Me: So you didn't take any training?
Her: No, my friends "showed" me how to dive!
Me: Why don't you get a scuba certification?
Her: ah.. why?

I know diving is not regulated by the state but is this a common occurence? So it's fair to assume that if I see divers in the ocean some of them may not even be trained?? Is the person who lends the SCUBA equipment to a friend who is not trained liable if there is any injury or death?
 
I've seen certified divers that were clueless. So a certification is only as good as the brains behind it. I think everyone should be certified as there is no negative to being overinformed, however I know a few guys who have dove since they were teens and never got certified due to one of many excuses. They were alot better divers than I and way more experience.

I think inexperienced people would be a concern. I would not want someone who has never dove to drop by a local shop , gear up and go diving with no training...but a good diver is a good diver
 
In general, the only restriction is that you must have a C-Card to get your tanks filled or to rent tanks. Seeing how she dives with friends, they could easily be certified and get the tanks for her.

There are a lot of people who dive without having certification. Many of whom dive with divers who are certified and should know better than taking someone out who doesn't know what they're doing.... but that is human nature isn't it?

I've seen people buy Hookah units, you know a floating compressor with long hoses for the regulator, and head out in the ocean for lobster season and stay down at 80ft for 5 hours not knowing any better.
 
I know people who never took any course, they bought their gear at Sears, it came with an instruction manual, they put the gear on and away they went. They dive local or from their own boat or shore, fills are not hard to get, rarely do I get asked for a card and lately I give them a fake one if asked. N
 
I know diving is not regulated by the state but is this a common occurence? So it's fair to assume that if I see divers in the ocean some of them may not even be trained?? Is the person who lends the SCUBA equipment to a friend who is not trained liable if there is any injury or death?

This used to be more common than it is now but I guess it still happens.

You'd be amazed how many divers learned to dive like this. An instructor on this board had a scuba course that went like this:

friend: "repeat after me, never hold your breath"
inst: "never hold your breath. Got it".
friend "have fun".

These days we try to do slightly better on the whole but frankly, some scuba courses still more or less approach this kind of thing.

R..
 
It's an extremely risky thing to do (diving without a recognised cert).

If you were to have an accident, insurance will not pay out - and medical treatment is very expensive.

It really isn't worth it. When a few weekends out on the water and a bit of time spent studying (along with a bit of money) will get you a cert that is recognised internationally, why take this sort of a risk?
 
I have a friend that has been hounding me to "just show him waht to do"
I would not want a dive buddy not trained, at least a little, to help me if needed, not to mention I dont want to have to handle all of his problems
at least a cert implies some knowledge, and agency diferences notwithstanding, some common procedure if problems arise, share air/ buddy breath being a good axample
 
I have a friend that has been hounding me to "just show him waht to do"
I would not want a dive buddy not trained, at least a little, to help me if needed, not to mention I dont want to have to handle all of his problems
at least a cert implies some knowledge, and agency diferences notwithstanding, some common procedure if problems arise, share air/ buddy breath being a good axample

I don't have the knowledge to teach someone else, nor do I want the responsibility BUT I think you have to evaluate each diver on their skills rather then their card so no card could still be OK...or very bad :)
 

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