I had to stop watching

[Steve_C]

I have never been asked for a deep card. Have seen an AOW (or experience) listed once or twice. I have a deep card but it was picked up around dive 150 since I wanted it before DM. Dives were to 85 feet I believe since that put us to the sand and we could not get any deeper there.

 

[doctormike]

That is not correct. I am AOW and I'm allowed to and perfectly capable of diving to 130 feet. Deep class not required.

I used to think that too, but I recently discovered that isn't true.

In the course of discussing this topic for the purposes of planning our club dive schedule, our safety officer (a CCR instructor) pulled together the depth limits for all sorts of certs with different agencies. Maybe things have changed over the years, but here are the current limits:

 

[Sam Miller III]

@doctomiker
Why does 130 appear to be an universal depth limit in all agencies ?

SDM

 

[doctormike]

@doctomiker
Why does 130 appear to be an universal depth limit in all agencies ?

SDM

I don't know the agency discussions that led up to these, they are just the current standards.

130 seems to be standard for the level after AOW (which has a 100 foot depth limit), not really a universal depth limit. I'm assuming that there were considerations of NDLs, narcosis and gas planning.

 

[The Chairman]

Why does 130 appear to be an universal depth limit in all agencies ?

You probably have a far better idea why than the rest of us. It sounds like RSTC to me. Please edumacate us!

 

[Dan]

Frigid? Only if you don't dress properly.

Zero viz?

Where are the fish?

 

[gcarter]

Minor nit, but the various agencies certify you to those depths, but they are not capable of limiting anything. My PADI Deep has certified me to 130 but does not limit or restrict me in any way from going deeper. As a training certification and not a license, no limits are placed. Semantics to some, but an important distinction nonetheless IMO.

 

[Jcp2]

Ooh, pick me, pick me. 130 ft = 40 m = 5 atm gas pressure. 5 atm * 21% O2 = 1 atm partial O2 pressure. 1.3 partial O2 pressure = oxygen toxicity. Safety factor and round numbers lead to 130 feet and 40 m. Of course, I’m just guessing based on another thread that I read last week.

 

[doctormike]

Minor nit, but the various agencies certify you to those depths, but they are not capable of limiting anything. My PADI Deep has certified me to 130 but does not limit or restrict me in any way from going deeper. As a training certification and not a license, no limits are placed. Semantics to some, but an important distinction nonetheless IMO.

Yes. Anyone who can fill a tank is allowed to do the Doria. No scuba police. Certification cards are proof of training at some point in the past.

But if you are paying someone to take you diving, more and more they will not put themselves in legal jeopardy by taking you to a wreck beyond your certification, according to current standards. This was exactly the reason why we had to change our club charter procedures.

 

[gcarter]

Yes. Anyone who can fill a tank is allowed to do the Doria. No scuba police. Certification cards are proof of training at some point in the past.

But if you are paying someone to take you diving, more and more they will not put themselves in legal jeopardy by taking you to a wreck beyond your certification, according to current standards. This was exactly the reason why we had to change our club charter procedures.

I hear you, or course, but still hard to enforce anytime a dive site has a hard bottom deeper than the depth certified.

As an example, my deepest was on the Forest City in Tobermory where I went to the sand @ 150'. The wreck sits on a slope from 60' to 150'. Where the wreck sits on the upper part of the slope, it is perfectly accessible to an AOW diver certified to 100'. How do you stop them going lower? Who was to stop me from going to 150'? Would your club just not allow anyone certified to less than 150' do this wreck?