Highest certification level - Please explain.

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I haven't done hundreds of charter dives but have always found that--
--No one has asked me to baby sit a new diver because I showed my DM card (I'm sure it happens).
--Apparently lawyers will find out what cert. everyone has on board for a lawsuit, so it doesn't help to show a non-pro card.
 
I am often asked what my highest certification level is. So is solo higher than rescue?

Hi Bert,

Good question--interesting food for thought.

They are apples and oranges.

I carry the Solo card because it is proof of 100 logged dives.

Experience counts.

I was an accomplished fishing boat captain. I was taught to operate tugs by a highly experienced tug skipper. Capt. Ed asked me after he turned me loose on the tug with 250' fuel oil barges in tow (as captain) how long it would take me to feel comfortable doing all aspects of tug boat operation.

I told him a year.

It took a year.

You may have a USCG Tug Masters ticket, but that does not make you a tug master. You can swing a hammer all day long and not be carpenter. You can have a Master Scuba Diver or a Rescue cert and not be a good diver. But those with an array of diving experiences, that are logged, probably have this diving thing sorted out.

At 100 logged dives, most of us have "sorted-out" this diving thing, in terms of experience, training, and f-ups.

markm
 
You can swing a hammer all day long and not be carpenter. You can have a Master Scuba Diver or a Rescue cert and not be a good diver.

Thank you - well said.
 
Depends on what diving I will be doing.
Bringing the rebreather, out comes the rebreather card.
Deco diving, use those cards.
Simple single tank recreational dive, AOW is enough. Might throw the Nitrox card on top of that if there will be Nitrox involved.

You don't have to give the highest, just enough to cover what you will be doing. Sufficient, but not to gloat about it.
 
Somebody--was it boulderjohn ?--had an anecdote about a tank monkey doubting that a Trimix card sufficiently qualified him for a Nitrox fill.

I had that problem at a dive site I had a IANTD tech trimix normoxic to i think 160 ft. took a while but I found my nitrox card and got the fill.
 
The problem with some 'diving qualifications' is that they can encourage boats to partner you with a poor diver, meaning you are acting as a defacto DM/Guide.

I have a mix of diving qualifications,i.e. FCD-BSAC, DM-PADI. Instructor qualifications e.g. AI-BSAC. In addition speciality diving and instructor qualification.
The qualifications I tend to provide are my TDI Trimix card, and my BSAC CCR Mixed Gas Diver card.
Both classify me as competent, but potentially slightly mad, (at least in the mind of the average PADI DM).

Hence, keep in the DM's mind keep this diver away from 'inexperienced' divers, and cut him some slack. :)
 
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The problem with some 'diving qualifications' is that they can encourage boats to partner you with a poor diver, meaning you are acting as a defacto DM/Guide.

...
That's what I thought in the beginning as well. But the opposite turns out to be true in my experience and several others, as can be read in many SB threads. I never got assigned a novice diver, always with an experienced diver/group.

And even if it would happen, ask the DM who's paying for the dive and who is being paid for the dive.
 
That's what I thought in the beginning as well. But the opposite turns out to be true in my experience and several others, as can be read in many SB threads. I never got assigned a novice diver, always with an experienced diver/group.

And even if it would happen, ask the DM who's paying for the dive and who is being paid for the dive.
The one and only time I got asked (in Belize), my response was yes - US$2,000 per dive. Strangly enough they didn't persue their request.
 
I just show the minimum card needed for the dive. No need to pull out the cave card for a 30ft reef in the keys.

Pulled out my AOW card once and the operator seen my DM card and asked if wouldn't mind if I was paired with some newer divers and I said sure if mine,my brothers, & my dad's dives are free. He didn't go for it.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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