Solo diving, or not, from the Explorer Ventures Turks & Caicos Explorer II

[tursiops]

And agencies can audit their instructors. Some do.

Who does that?

 

[bradlw]

Partly, yes. But the study materials are also relevant.
And each instructor represent their agency.
And agencies can audit their instructors. Some actually do.

so which agency or agencies do you prefer?

 

[Subcooled]

Who does that?

GUE does.

 

[scubadada]

...Nitrox Diver doesn't define any max PO2's or anything else...​

​

My nitrox cert from 2002 specifically lists a nitox limit of 40%. My combo MSD nitrox card does not. I guess nearly all operatores know this. My SDI Solo card seems to say that I am qualified as a solo diver.

 

[Wookie]

to that question I say that NONE of my certification cards define any limits or descriptions at all beyond just the most generalized title
Open Water Diver doesn't define depths or anything elseAdvanced OW Diver doesn't define anything eitherNitrox Diver doesn't define any max PO2's or anything elsenor does ADVANCED Nitrox Diverditto Deep Air, Technical Diver, Trimix Diver...no depth limitations, no gas blend limitations....nothing

I have multiple cards that define max depth or PPO2. I only know this because a DIve Operator must also be a sea lawyer to keep from running afoul of their insurance company, and finding out after the fact that you screwed the pooch and they won't cover you because you didn't look at the C-Card with squinty eyes.

It's very clearly in the standards that an American OW card certified you to plan and dive to 130 feet, or to the limits of your experience. My trimix, trimix blender, deco procedures, nitrox cards all have depth limits.

 

[Subcooled]

so which agency or agencies do you prefer?

That's a really tough question. If I would be a holiday diver, I'd probably choose PADI as it's widely available and recognized. But I am not a holiday diver. I have a bunch of their cards though.

All GUE trained divers I've met (they are plenty) have been really good, albeit restricted to backmount. The GUE manuals are really really good. I could only find one error in their Fundamentals book, and I bet it's corrected now. So, a very good impression overall. Some might consider GUE to be a bit of a cult, but the skill is there. And no, as a sidemount diver, I could not personally attend their courses, but I like what I see.

SSI did impress with their physics of diving course. Divers who do not aim at becoming professionals still deserve a proper course in diving physics and hyperbaric medicine for divers. Just like we had on CMAS courses. The SSI study materials on physics did not even contain that many errors (with a degree in physics I can evaluate that). The SSI achievement cards (x number of dives) are also a great idea.

I have fallen in love with the lengthy NAUI manuals and the ideology of their membership based association (it's not a corporation) where members vote for a board etc. The NAUI rescue diving manuals are fantastic. And the others too.

My appreciation of CMAS, on the other hand, is based on the fact that it is club based. Independent non-commercial club based. Amateurs love what they do. This means that you will be diving with significantly more experienced buddies early in your diving career, and some serious mentoring will take place.

As you can see, the truth is complicated.

 

[bradlw]

I have multiple cards that define max depth or PPO2. I only know this because a DIve Operator must also be a sea lawyer to keep from running afoul of their insurance company, and finding out after the fact that you screwed the pooch and they won't cover you because you didn't look at the C-Card with squinty eyes.

It's very clearly in the standards that an American OW card certified you to plan and dive to 130 feet, or to the limits of your experience. My trimix, trimix blender, deco procedures, nitrox cards all have depth limits.

well that certainly is an improvement since I was active...I guess. Well the part of me that likes to have things defined likes it anyway....
I have nothing like that defined on any of my technician or blender cards either.

But it might not really be an improvement.
It's the "or to the limits of your experience" that I have problem with...is it 130ft full stop, that's your floor....or since you only went to 34 ft in you training dives then can you never go deeper than 34ft?

and also, as has been verified in another thread where I asked about this.... there is no law or police force about all of this...
but yet the training agencies are taking it upon themselves to be law makers by putting it in ink right there on your cards. Seems to me in a way that they are not staying in their lane and trying to write law

That said, I never did like that while there were standards back in my day, they were not clear in some cases ...much like yours is with that or to the limit of your experience statement....

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

Ok..... so as some of you may remember, I'm the guy on another thread and stated that I really don't want to or need to take a Solo course. I just wanted the damn card in case I ever ended up traveling and diving with an outfit that required the cert.... My take was that as long as I have the card and they can document that I showed the card and signed the forms...that they would be covered regarding liability and I could go do my thing.

Anyway, after all that.....I have now concluded that I'm just going to go ahead and complete the course since I'll be on Bonaire anyway for 10 day trip the first part of May.. I can do the E-Learning ahead of time and then complete the OW work in a couple of dives. I decided that I prefer the SDI card as there just seems to be far less ambiguity or uncertainty in it's acceptance.

Now here's the interesting part. When I contacted the on Island SDI outfit to make arrangements, they got right back to me and informed me that the SDI facility onsite does not offer the SDI Solo Diver course and they referred me to the TDI facility at the same resort. The TDI folks got right back to me to let me know that they DO offer the SDI Solo course. Either way, I'm taking the course......... so everyone who has expressed their heartfelt concern can sleep better knowing that I've been properly trained and certified to be by myself!!!

And here's something else I just ran across that really IS on topic here.. The link below is to the TDISDI site where they post an Equivalency Chart stating that SDI's position is that the PADI Self Reliant cert is equivalent to the SDI Solo cert. Seems like the folks with the PADI Self Reliant card should be able to just show their PADI card along with this chart from SDI and that should be that... Who knows!

Recreational Sport Diver Equivalences - International Training - SDI | TDI | ERDI | PFI

Have you ever found yourself wondering if an SDI course is equal (or equivalent) to courses offered by other dive training organizations?

www.tdisdi.com

 

[scubadada]

This has become a very useful thread, probably belongs somewhere else other than Greater Caribbean & Bermuda, where it started.

 

[Manatee Diver]

My nitrox cert from 2002 specifically lists a nitox limit of 40%. My combo MSD nitrox card does not. I guess nearly all operatores know this. My SDI Solo card seems to say that I am qualified as a solo diver.

2018 EAN card, the 40% max wasn't isn't on the plastic card, but it was on the temp card. The plastic card references the ISO standard, but the temp card doesn't.