Reef Divers requirements?

[caydiver]

That’s where the discretion comes in. If we get an experienced diver with hundreds of dives who has been out of the water for a while it would be totally different than someone with a few dozen dives from six years ago. Posing a hypothetical question is meaningless as the answer cannot be based on facts. To see the requirements simply go to PADI.com or your agency. We use PADI as it is the most common. Even so it is up to the discretion of the DM whether or not they are comfortable with an individual in the water and any op worth their reputation is going to respect the expertise of their instructor over anything that is written on line or elsewhere. Most good divers will be totally honest up front anyway. Even if you have 500 dives over the last year and our DM was to say that you were not up to par on skills we would not take you out again unless you were willing to have a skill drill. It is not fair to my DM or the other divers. The instructors make the call based on the individual not a hypothetical rule book. Hopefully everyone in the group will be smart enough to realize that having their skill level and water awareness up to par will enhance their experience and that of their fellow divers.

 

[tursiops]

It is interesting that neither the Reef Divers Waiver nor its Compliance Agreement asks about level of certification, or when, or how many dives, or date of most recent dive. So if there are any issues at check-in, how is the diver supposed to have dealt with it before arrival?

 

[scubaNYC16]

Thanks...I’m current with about 15 dives in the last 12 months (72 last few years), but some in our group haven’t dove in 6 years ...that concerns me, but I’m not the Dive police either....so I agree just let the chips fall wherever. I was just concerned it could cause issue on the First Dive for some?

Yes, we were in LCB a year ago August and Coz last Dec and this past September.

I just got back from 8 days of diving in Little Cayman with Reef Divers and it’s my 3rd time diving with them, same set up in Brac. The DM that goes in the water is really a guide and not there to baby people. They guide the group for about 35 minutes and then need to get back on the boat to help people get back on. You’re meant to be buddy diving and follow the guide if you like. Your friends should hire their own instructor or DM for the first day or 2.

 

[flyboy08]

This is my greatest concern...taking away from educated divers their bottom times due to ego or lack of appreciation for recurrancy. Of course recurrency is a state of mind....I’ve had to perform such my whole career, so to me, it’s natural to jump in a pool or shallows if I’ve hadnt dove in a year or two.

 

[FindingMenno]

I can't speak for other operators, but for me it is a standard question I ask on either e-mail, phone or walk-in bookings.
And I have heard them all. "I'm a bit rusty" turned out to be 'I haven't dived since my OW course 15 years ago'.... People telling you to your face '2 years' and when I check the registration form they filled in that mysteriously has become 5 years.
And these are people which are signing up for a 90 feet wall dive as we clearly tell when we explain our boat schedule... it sometimes just boggles my mind...

A previous poster mentioned that he liked to be treated like an adult. I certainly prefer to do that too. But I learned the hard way that a lot of adults can't be treated like an adult as they can't seem to act like one. Unfortunately that spoils it for all the others.

 

[flyboy08]

I just got back from 8 days of diving in Little Cayman with Reef Divers and it’s my 3rd time diving with them, same set up in Brac. The DM that goes in the water is really a guide and not there to baby people. They guide the group for about 35 minutes and then need to get back on the boat to help people get back on. You’re meant to be buddy diving and follow the guide if you like. Your friends should hire their own instructor or DM for the first day or 2.

You’ve done a good amount of diving the past few years! Your my hero

 

[FindingMenno]

This is my greatest concern...taking away from educated divers their bottom times due to ego or lack of appreciation for recurrancy. Of course recurrency is a state of mind....I’ve had to perform such my whole career, so to me, it’s natural to jump in a pool or shallows if I’ve hadnt dove in a year or two.

Yes, in my opinion the strongest ego's should be able of self-analysis and accept vulnerability. There is nothing wrong and nobody will think less of you if you say "hey I might need a little help to refresh things". For me that shows a way stronger personality and maturity than trying to 'wing it' and you will certainly gain a lot more respect from any dive staff.

And certainly agree on your first comment. Next to the risk of putting yourself in a potentially unsafe or uncomfortable situation, you're also basically ok with risking that everybody else's dive and vacation might be ruined. I find that quite inconsiderate.

 

[Doctorfish]

I agree with Menno and Caydiver.
I can't tell you how many times I've been on a day boat when one or two inexperienced and/or infrequent divers have made it miserable for everyone else. What is required here is a little common sense and consideration. The divers who have been out of the water for years should check their egos and arrange to do a refresher on day one of their trip. It is no big deal and It will make the diving more enjoyable for everyone and safer for them.

Unfortunately, common sense is not that common.

 

[caydiver]

I think that that reading stuff online that is published by folks who have no experience on the opposite side is part of the problem. Years ago when you showed a logbook there was somewhat of a solid guideline. Now there is commentary written by people who really don’t know what they are talking about as their only experience is maybe 2 or 4 weeks diving a year. Their experience recommending an op is valid. Commenting on how ops run is not. It leads to others thinking they are getting valid information just because of volume and while most of the time it is benign sometimes it truly makes a difference. The bottom line is fairly easy. We are in business to make money but we cannot do that if guests require an unfair amount of personalized time unless they take a course or pay for a private DM. Unless you book a private charter, the DM is there to insure all the guests equally have the very best possible experience. All that aside we cannot do any of those things if we have a potential unsafe diver in the water. The DM makes the call not an anonymous person on the internet. Unless you do it and live or have lived it you have no idea. I am constantly amazed at how aware DMs are at quietly keeping an eye on the idiots. I am also amazed at how many idiots there are who think they are hot parrotfish pooh despite being advanced or their number of dives. We have guests that are new to diving as well as those with 1000+ who are naturally really good. We also have the opposite end of the spectrum. The really good ones will put up with whatever is happening but they are also the ones we will go out of the way to give something special too. We all want happy customers, we all want guests who respect the incredible environment we are privileged enough to be able to visit and to do this we need to be honest based on relevant information not parrotfish pooh.

 

[KathyV]

It is interesting that neither the Reef Divers Waiver nor its Compliance Agreement asks about level of certification, or when, or how many dives, or date of most recent dive. So if there are any issues at check-in, how is the diver supposed to have dealt with it before arrival?

I found copies of the RD waiver and compliance agreement at the link below and I am also surprised that they do not ask those questions. I'm sure that they made a copy of our C-cards showing certification level when we were at CBBR recently, and I am pretty sure that they also asked the number of dives and the date of our last dive - because I seem to remember checking my log book and providing the date from dives the previous week while we were on GC. @flyboy08 please share information about the dive shop registration process after your upcoming trip.

Times, Equipment and Documents - Little Cayman Beach Resort