PADI open water max depth
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Instructors are supposed to give an overview of what "diving within your training" means to the students which is OW to 60', AOW to 100', and Deep to 130'.
Gary, I would highly recommend keeping your junior diver above 40' not because she can't conduct the dive safely, but because the depth restriction on juniors has been imposed because of the lack of study on how pressure effects a growing body.
Rachel
Gary, I would highly recommend keeping your junior diver above 40' not because she can't conduct the dive safely, but because the depth restriction on juniors has been imposed because of the lack of study on how pressure effects a growing body.
Rachel
garyfotodiver
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biscuit7:
Good. Tell that to the Senior PADI instructor who took her to 70fsw on her third check-out dive. The depths you quoted are recommendations only, not Federal or State Law. There is risk in everything we do. Our job is to analyze said risk and determine whether it is acceptable or not. If I choose to take my daughter to the Sea Emperor wreck off Boca Inlet once or twice a year, that is my decision. Give me credit for some intelligence and that I have considered the risk involved.
The next time we return to the SE, I will ask the boat captain to drop us over the United Caribbean wreck, a few hundred feet from the SE. We will make a free descent onto the UC and, using the compass heading the captain provided us, navigate to the SE.
The other week, I went shopping for a new BC for the "Junior" diver, who is now 5'6" and weighs about 125# and is 15, no longer a "Jr". When I mentioned to the LDS owner, a PADI instructor, that I recently missed the chance to dive (for free!) on a wreck in 120fsw because I forgot my AOW card, she had a horrified look on her face as she informed me that AOW was not good enough to dive to 120fsw. Well, after 35 years of diving in fresh and salt water, winter and summer, warm and cold, from shores and jetties, giant striding from large boats and back-rolling from small boats, from 15 ft to 110 ft, with my own equipment and with borrowed equipment, etc, etc, etc; if I need to take two dives with an instructor to allow me to go 10 ft further, then I think I might as well stop diving and take up basket weaving.
As does my '71 YMCA card. In those days the basic Scuba Diver course (at least the one I took) included staged decompression training, such as it was...Nemrod:
Rick
captain
Contributor
Rick Murchison:
Ditto for my 1970 YMCA card, the only one I have. My deepest dives were 160' on one steel 71 and I sit here alive and well.
adurso
Contributor
Rick Murchison:
As was my NAUI course back then. I dove for quite a while w/o any type of cert. I got one because shops started asking for a card to fill my tanks. I took the SSI AOW with my wife and kids because I have no numbers on my NAUI card (I am on my third) and some operations began asking for an "advanced card", we used to mix our own gases in my buddy's garage based on naval literature, without a course, YIKES!
Darnold9999
Contributor
My 78 NAUI card also says Scuba Diver. THe assistant instructor took me to 120' on the first dive after certification. No issues, just there were some interesting sponges at that depth at that location.
130' was the maximum recommended dive at the time. Figured I would have about two min bottom time on my steel 72 so why bother.
However more and more I am running in to - your NAUI "Scuba Diver" is equivilant to a PADI OW card so you have to convince us you can handle the dive. PITA so I am getting a rescue card shortly - can't hurt to redo the CPR stuff every once in a while, and it eliminates the questioning.
130' was the maximum recommended dive at the time. Figured I would have about two min bottom time on my steel 72 so why bother.
However more and more I am running in to - your NAUI "Scuba Diver" is equivilant to a PADI OW card so you have to convince us you can handle the dive. PITA so I am getting a rescue card shortly - can't hurt to redo the CPR stuff every once in a while, and it eliminates the questioning.
biscuit7:
Diving withing your training does not include set depth limits. If all one's training dives were to 20 feet, why would they be qualified to dive to 60 feet? If they had dives to 60 feet, why would they not be able to dive safely to 65 feet? The same applies to AOW, you can complete the class with 1 dive to 60 feet, that does not qualify them to dive to 100 feet. Common sense is a better approach. Further, I advise my students to never dive outside their training and experience. That allows them to slowly push their limits. A diver with experience to 60 feet should be able to safely plan and execute dives to 70 feet. With that experience, they can slowly increase their depth limits safely. This new trend to set absolute limits depending on what card is carried is silly.
Diver Dennis
Contributor
JeffG:
Yeah, I've heard of that cert before but I think they require you to take a Spare Air with you just in case...
skybird
Guest
What alarms me with this discussion is the attitude of some, both here and others I have met. The attitude is , " I can do anything I want. There is no LAW only recommendations. If i want to risk my life or the life of my children, Then that is MY business." The problem with this attitude is that sure, maybe you have the right to risk your own life, but yuo DON"T have to right to risk other peoples lives. Not only talking about your own family, but those rescue divers who sometimes have died trying to save somone who was diving well beyond their limits, just because they wanted to. Do I ever do things beyond my "card"? Sure, an gradually increasing my skills. Training, knoweldge, experience and practice. AND caring about the saftey of myself and those around me. I should enjoy this sport for as long as I am young enough( like 80 or older) and physically able to dive.
SkyBird
SkyBird
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