Sure, but we are just looking for a reason that they were the only agency banned by this charter given that the stated reason for the banning was bogus.
Charters not accepting certain agencies?
- Thread starter AustinV
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
maj2
Contributor
If I had to hazard a guess, it would be nothing as simple as targeting SDI as an early adopter of online courses, etc.
I would put my money on nothing more than good old dirty laundry. Someone pissed off someone else somewhere along the line. Instead of saying "We will not take anyone certified by Person X or Shop Y," they essentially decided that "We will not take anyone certified by the agency that Person X or Shop Y is working with."
Failing, or course, to see that their website will be seen by many people not locally certified, or seen by many familiar with the certification standards that they were pretending to quote...
Even with their current wording that "All participants must be certified through an internationally recognized and accepted Scuba Training Agency.
The Captain and Crew reserve the right to assess the abilities of any and all divers aboard the boat and deny dives to those who do not meet the mimimum proficiency and standard of training required for open water diving," they do not specifically reference RSTC, etc. I would be very interested to see what they would say now if you presented an SDI O/W card showing you were certified by that "Person X" or "Shop Y" (whoever that may actually be). I would also guess that if the person or shop that they are pissed of at changed agencies, then the ban would have been expanded.
I have never been to Pensacola, nor am I at all familiar with the local charters, dive shops or instructors there. This is all just my guess as to the most likely backstory...
I would put my money on nothing more than good old dirty laundry. Someone pissed off someone else somewhere along the line. Instead of saying "We will not take anyone certified by Person X or Shop Y," they essentially decided that "We will not take anyone certified by the agency that Person X or Shop Y is working with."
Failing, or course, to see that their website will be seen by many people not locally certified, or seen by many familiar with the certification standards that they were pretending to quote...
Even with their current wording that "All participants must be certified through an internationally recognized and accepted Scuba Training Agency.
The Captain and Crew reserve the right to assess the abilities of any and all divers aboard the boat and deny dives to those who do not meet the mimimum proficiency and standard of training required for open water diving," they do not specifically reference RSTC, etc. I would be very interested to see what they would say now if you presented an SDI O/W card showing you were certified by that "Person X" or "Shop Y" (whoever that may actually be). I would also guess that if the person or shop that they are pissed of at changed agencies, then the ban would have been expanded.
I have never been to Pensacola, nor am I at all familiar with the local charters, dive shops or instructors there. This is all just my guess as to the most likely backstory...
Back in the day, my first thought would be that SDI might have seemed sketchy. It was the first agency I knew of that didn't require a crossover course with in-water training. To become an SDI instructor you had to pay $199 for a paper crossover which would get you (2 or 4?) student kits. You had to be a current instructor from a recognized agency with insurance and no claims made.
Similar threads
