Back when I turned 65 I had to get a doctors signed letter to dive on a BVI live-aboard. That doctor has since died....... but I still have the signed letter in a PDF so I just change the date on it as needed...
Dive operator age limits?
- Thread starter ABay Diver
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OP
ABay Diver
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Tursiops you've apparently got some credentials/connections the rest of us don’t but i think the bigger concern is the arbitrary exclusion of older divers from participation in the sport which has a lot of near term and long term implications for diving in general. Do we really want to go there?
It seems the only thing I have that you don't is a signed medical. You could have one too.
I don't think "arbitrary" is the right word. Older and perhaps less fit and definitely more likely to have a medical issue....seems like that's just playing the odds. Not arbitrary. Their boat, their rules.
You mean, do we wish the world were otherwise, or do you mean, let's not talk about it?
sorry to hear this. Surprised you admit to the fraud so publically.
@ Tursiops. Below is a verbatim copy and paste of a post that you made last year..... where you stated publicly that you totally lied to the operator to get what was in the best interest of you and your group. And..... if you drill down further in that old thread, you will see that I even agreed with your logic and supported your reason for lying. Yet, you now now are critiquing me. What is your problem? I guess that lying is OK with you if it gets you what you want.
tursiops:
I can't remember the last time I was able to dive somewhere without providing some sort of medical statement...sometimes oral, sometimes check a box that I have no problems they should be aware of, sometimes a copy of the RSTC form, sometimes their own form. Their dive operation, their rules. I don't mind it so long as I know in advance.
A few years ago we had a group arrive at a dive boat in the Maldives and when we boarded they handed us an RSTC form and said fill it out and sign it. We huddled as a group, talked it over, and we all handed in total lies....No to everything, no signature by a Doctor needed by anyone. We had no alternative. After the trip, the outfit marketing that boat got an uncensored piece of my mind...and that boat is no longer one of their fleet.
This all is a bit troubling to me. I’m ‘only’ 72, but have begun to see the effects of ageism, fortunately for me, I look younger than my chronological age. I routinely lie on RSTC forms. The dive operators that requested them seem to be OK with the wink-wink-nudge-nudge
I don’t look forward to the time this no longer works
On a dive boat in Palau a couple years ago, the DM said an 84-year old man got certified there a couple years ago, and he cam back to dive earlier this year. He thought it was great.
The two friends with whom I go on dive trips are, like me, in their mid-70s. No one has said a thing about our ages so far, and we have seen no sign of special attention whatsoever.
The two friends with whom I go on dive trips are, like me, in their mid-70s. No one has said a thing about our ages so far, and we have seen no sign of special attention whatsoever.
Deleted. I accept the disagreement.
Scubagermany
Contributor
I did not realize we had so many older divers here 
In case you are interested I do offer medicals for divers and I am not prejudiced against older people.
In case you are interested I do offer medicals for divers and I am not prejudiced against older people.
Look. I did not start this side discussion about the ethics of me using an old letter from a dead guy or you and your entire group conspiring to lie on the medical form on your Maldives trip. You did. I have never used an amended or "re-dated" Dr letter. I just keep it handy in Dropbox in case I'm on a trip and the requirement gets "sprung" on me.
And I believe that age does play a part on that RSTC form. I think 45 comes into play.
Bottom line is maybe we both need to look more closely at our own glass houses before throwing rocks.
To get back on topic.....this whole age discrimination thing is worrisome and I'm sure that it's concerning to all of us "older" divers that plan to continue to dive for many years to come. It might be helpful for us to start up a list of operators who do discriminate on the basis of age as well as a list of operators who welcome us "old farts".
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