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As far as I can see, your highest certification level is a function of how much money you are willing to spend. PADI, I'm sure, would love to see mandatory depth limits for all certification levels.
I have never flashed a certification card above OW, and have never been denied any dives offered to my AOW cousins. As one would hope, all divers are watched pretty carefully and categorized by skilled divemasters on their first couple of dives. I would very quickly pull the plug on any operator who limited my diving using such arbitrary criteria as OW/AOW levels.
 
You didn't. I think the thrust of what you were being told is that the AOW (or most any) card is not necessarily indicative of any real skill level.

This, however, is a real red flag...
View attachment 404956
(I mean the keychain with the fish bone thing)
Hey doc, why a red flag? I will probably be that person. I overcame a lot to get my O/W - but mostly an irrational fear of being in the water :dork2: - and while I know I have a lot more things to learn, I am very proud of every hurdle I overcome. Looking forward to doing my AOW on my next trip down in March. So I will have 3 badges - OW, AOW and 25 dives and just sad that I won't be there long enough to make 50 dives. :wink:

Can't wait to do Hole in the Wall though.
 
The only reason to get the AOW card is because you tend to forget to bring your log book, of course this does not help when you leave home with out your c-card that you put in your log book so you wouldn't forget your log book :mad:.
 
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Hey doc, why a red flag? I will probably be that person. .

Most dive ops I go with don't look at log books, don't check for c-cards. They're really not "required". They will watch you on Dive #1 and in rare cases, might send you next door to a different shop. If you don't drop your pile of c-cards on the desk, you'd be surprised how many will simply never ask to actually see one. (Experiences outside the USA)

New to diving. I'm still enjoying the reef fish while my family is on deep wreck and shark dives.

You're doing it right. Stay where the cool stuff is. A lot of people are drawn to deep/wreck/shark because they can not see what you can see.
 
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You're doing it right. Stay where the cool stuff is. A lot of people are drawn to deep/wreck/shark because they can not see what you can see.
I'll actually be doing my AOW this year. Not because I have a burning desire to be at 120 feet and explore wrecks but there are tons of dives that are a tad deeper. I've done Mary's Place but only because all my dives are with the same instructor so he knew I was capable. But outside of this shop, would they allow me to do that dive? This is why I want to do that cert. But definitely, I prefer to be where the cool stuff is. In fact one of my favorite (so far) dives was very shallow in the surge because I learned a lot.

I may just keep my patches on my dive bag rather than on my jacket:)
 
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I ended up getting my Advanced Diver, used a NUAI shop, locally last month. I was exposed to a new environment, poor visibility. The deep dive was not very deep but it was dark and cold. I also got a lot of compass work in, it is hard to cheat when you can't see anything except your compass. I didn't have a bad dive in Roatan but I wouldn't put Hole in the Wall at the top of my list.
 
I didn't have a bad dive in Roatan but I wouldn't put Hole in the Wall at the top of my list.

Which "Hole in the Wall" did you do? West/North or East/South?

I've done Mary's Place but only because all my dives are with the same instructor so he knew I was capable. But outside of this shop, would they allow me to do that dive?

Mary's Place is a 75' dive. Island dive shops, by RMP agreement, are supposed to evaluate your skills on a dive done before taking you to Mary's Place. Do some math. Pick you up at the cruise ship dock, take you on a 50' dive, then take you on a 75' dive after that. Aint happenin'.

I would say that no shop gives the OW depth limit any credence unless they have access to you for a full week and see that you're a "patch collector".

Your instructor took you out on what technically qualifies as a "trust me" dive. He was not struck dead by lightning, he did not lose his Instructor Card, you lived to tell the tale.

I may just keep my patches on my dive bag rather than on my jacket:)

Per SCUBA Police, this is an acceptable workaround.
 
Which "Hole in the Wall" did you do? West/North or East/South?
I haven't dove either. But the one I was referring that my buddies like is the one in West End. I keep hearing that there are a lot of ways to dive Hole in the Wall - easy ways and hard ways.

unless they have access to you for a full week
This is the case. And I wasn't permitted on all the "advanced" dives - just that one.

Per SCUBA Police, this is an acceptable workaround.
Thanks for your blessing. No you will know me when I get to the island. Just look at the dive bag :wink:
 
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The Hole in the Wall site I dove was close to the West End. We dove down a "chute" to 113' then came back up fairly quickly to spend the rest of the dive in the shallows.
 
It's just easier all the way around if you get your AOW and Nitrox certifications. After that, it's all gravy. If you have those, you can dive anywhere you want and more often than without nitrox.
 
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