DIVE OP: Minimum Dive Requirement

[sbrooks]

I'm going away this winter and I'm planning to do some diving (obviously) ... There is a dive op on the resort, but they require a minimum of 50 logged dives - or they won't let you dive with them. I've done some research and theres other dive ops in the same city that take you to the same locations requiring only an OW cert.

Is this common - has anyone seen it before?
Opinions?

S.

 

[Tjack]

I have seen minimum loged dives requiered on Red Sea liveaboards. Other outfits may require an advanced certification for certain dives. I was a little upset when I was on Sipidan and they would not allowed to do night dives without AOW. This is usally because they dive in areas where experiance is requiered to dive safeley. If other outfits are diving the same sites without requiering 50 dives you might want to reconsider, the outfit requiering the 50 dives is probably looking out for your safety. Getting a little chilly up north there eh? Where are you going?

 

[plot]

Smarter outfits require seeing a logbook with so many dives, and to see what type of dives have been done. For example, if it's a more advanced deep dive, they might check through your logbook to make sure you've been beyond 60 feet a few times before they let you go down to 120 feet.

I don't think it's a common practice though unless it's for a somewhat specialized or difficult dive. Browsing this forum you'll find how meaningless an AOW card really is... so some dive OPs will require a logbook with a certain number of logged dives instead of some card with some crap printed on it saying you're ok to do it.

Plenty of places let anyone on board though becuase they are recreational dives, and not really pushing the limits on anything. Just becuase it's the same location, doesn't mean it's the same dive. You might goto 30 feet in the daytime, they might goto 100 feet at night. Or they simply might not be equiped to handle new divers and find that going with more experienced ones make things generally run alot smoother?

 

[sbrooks]

I have seen minimum loged dives requiered on Red Sea liveaboards. Other outfits may require an advanced certification for certain dives. I was a little upset when I was on Sipidan and they would not allowed to do night dives without AOW. This is usally because they dive in areas where experiance is requiered to dive safeley. If other outfits are diving the same sites without requiering 50 dives you might want to reconsider, the outfit requiering the 50 dives is probably looking out for your safety. Getting a little chilly up north there eh? Where are you going?

I'm going to Peurto Vallarta, Mexico.. Vallarta Adventures requires the minimum dives. And yah - its gettin' chilly! I haven't been it for a couple months :shakehead ... I just ordered a CD4, and I'm about to hit Christmas break so that'll change!

 

[Kaitlyn1521]

Was there last year and dove with Pacific Scuba (<- liked PS better- do the dives you want, less crowded, dive Los Arcos!) and Vallarta Adventures (<- bigger boats, more divers, didnt ask to see logbook, looking for $$!)