King Kong Matt
Contributor
I agree with Walter. No need to mince words here...who are the cultists and what are they preaching?
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
I set up gear for most guests… exhaustively remind them how to do a giant stride… and keep my eyes open (wide) for problems… they are our guests and customers.
King Kong Matt:I agree with Walter. No need to mince words here...who are the cultists and what are they preaching?
MikeFerrara:I thought an OW certification qualified a diver to plan and conduct a dive independantly?
If that were true it wouldn't take so many DM's to herd divers around and they wouldn't have to watch them so close on the trip out, on the trip back, in the lodge, while they're having meals, on the plane, in the cab and at home for several months before the trip...ect
Give me a break. On one hand he says all is well and on the other he makes a huge point of pointing out that all their decisions are being made for them...if we like the way they look they'll get a longer leash and if they're really good they'll get invited on special dives....a DM in front one in back and another hiding around the corner.
HowieDean:They want to relax and see the pretty fish and the beautiful reef. The dont want to join a CULT or in-list in the WUAFEN SS. They expect me to be a DIVE MASTER not a REICH MARSHAL.
Tollie:I detect a bit of weariness in Howies post at the sameness the repetitiveness of the calls for improvement in diver education and dive practice that will not happen and perhaps are not necessary for the 90% (I just made that stat up) of divers who just want to see pretty fish.
Tollie:Its a risk to try to speak for someone else but heck Ill try.
I think Howie is suggesting that the casual once a year diver is the heart of the industry. Without the 100,000s of casual divers who dive once a year or less the equipment manufacturers, dive agencies, and the many thousands of folks who do make a living from diving (myself included) would be doing something else. Beyond that the awareness of the underwater realm that these casual divers have would be missing from the discussion of the shape of the environment. Our world would be a poorer place.
Perhaps what Howie is reacting to is the very small very small indeed minority of divers who believe that if you have not spent 15 hours in the pool perfecting your hover before you get into the open water you are an accident waiting to happen. Or perhaps he is reacting to the group that says that unless your open water course consists of o/w plus advanced o/w and then rescue with a nitrox endorsement you really are under trained.
I detect a bit of weariness in Howies post at the sameness the repetitiveness of the calls for improvement in diver education and dive practice that will not happen and perhaps are not necessary for the 90% (I just made that stat up) of divers who just want to see pretty fish.
Now should this board close up shop no way. Its a great resource for folks who want to grow as divers and who want to become more skillful and safer divers. But lets face it this is a minority of divers.
My own professional practice is probably more like Howies and Ill bet that most resort environments are also comparable. This means that I must serve the guests that show up on my dive boat. I set up gear for most guests exhaustively remind them how to do a giant stride and keep my eyes open (wide) for problems they are our guests and customers.