Zero to Master Scuba Diver in 10 months

[TMHeimer]

Master of Music (performance) includes a recital to a very high standard as well as aurals. Hard to compare these things. Plus of course you need a 4 year Bachelors to start with.

 

[jbomb001]

Maybe "Master Scuba Diver" should more aptly be "Master Open Water Scuba Diver," just as "Advanced Open Water Scuba Diver" means exactly what it says: someone who has advanced beyond Open Water Scuba Diver. I couldn't care less about the name or the "cert."

What does impress me are the dives of over 100 feet and dives off North Carolina. I had about 200 tropical reef dives (and one or two stupid dives like Belize's Blue Hole) under my belt before tackling anything more challenging. At that point I took the PADI Deep course in North Carolina, and I found it to be an eye opener. I would say a diver with 10 dives in those kinds of conditions using the appropriate gear and having a little extra training beyond what's typical of OW/AOW has gotten much more useful experience than a diver with several times that many dives in tropical reef conditions wearing boardshorts and thinking more about the evening's margaritas than the dive. You can't measure experience by pure "number of dives."

Just out of curiosity. I have never dove in anything but cold dark lakes " great Lakes and the finger lakes " and rivers with strong currant " the st. Lawrence " all fresh water low viz. And have roughly 300 dives in a drysuit with a BP and wing,so how many dives in the tropics does that equate to??

Sent from my galaxy S5 Active.

 

[drrich2]

You've dove more demanding conditions and more complex gear (dry suit), but there's the matter of the 2 types being different, not just easy vs. hard.

If you take a trip to a destination with tropical aquarium-like conditions, it may require adjustment. In another thread or more, it's been reported that cold water divers accustomed to falling light levels back home may venture quite deep unknowingly in the tropic, where 100 feet deep is quite bright, and somebody damaged his ears (IIRC) going in heavily over-weighted & sinking like a rock.

So while I imagine a seasoned cold water diver has, on the whole, advanced by way of experience in a more demanding environment, even he has cause not to be complacent entering a new situation.

Richard.

 

[scubadada]

Just out of curiosity. I have never dove in anything but cold dark lakes " great Lakes and the finger lakes " and rivers with strong currant " the st. Lawrence " all fresh water low viz. And have roughly 300 dives in a drysuit with a BP and wing,so how many dives in the tropics does that equate to??

Sent from my galaxy S5 Active.

Roughly 300

 

[jbomb001]

I have to agree with both rich and scubadubada having learned to dive in these conditions may have shown me how to dive well in my local area but I do not believe it to have made me an excellent diver in ALL conditions. Which was the point of my initial post. Experience is experience but experiencing the same thing over and over will not equate to a well rounded diver. Nor will it make me a master faster ;-) I still to this day do not have a master rating not that I hold any contempt for those who do. Seriously congrats op. It is a milestone of achievement and I hope you continue on with your dive education.

Sent from my galaxy S5 Active.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Just out of curiosity. I have never dove in anything but cold dark lakes " great Lakes and the finger lakes " and rivers with strong currant " the st. Lawrence " all fresh water low viz. And have roughly 300 dives in a drysuit with a BP and wing,so how many dives in the tropics does that equate to??

I'd award you a Master's degree. How does that sound?

 

[stuartv]

I'll take a stab at that. Most people think of a Master's degree as requiring at least one if not two years of full-time additional study at an advanced level, and usually the writing of a thesis. Most people think of a Master's degree as requiring a lot of time, effort and brainpower--progressing a LOT beyond what's required for a Bachelor's degree. If the public has this perception of a Master's degree, what would they think if they were informed that a scuba diver could attain a "master" rating by simply muddling through a few specialty dives, filling out a few quizzes, etc., in a matter of weeks? If "Master Scuba Diver" required a year of full-time training, then I might buy into the name.

But, a Master's degree is usually significantly less time than is required to get the Bachelor's. In contrast, the scuba "Bachelor's" takes a weekend and 4 dives. The scuba "Master's" is 5 full specialties and 50 dives. So, if you want to use the university analogy, I think the Master Scuba Diver more than exceeds what one should expect based on the preceding requirements.

Personally, besides being happy to achieve the milestone, I am happy to have the actual card. It makes me feel like I can sign up for any recreational dive opportunity that ever comes along and satisfy 99% of dive operators that I am qualified to go on their charter without further ado.

As for old crustaceans who take it as a personal affront that someone with 50 dives would have a card that says they are a Master Scuba Diver, well, I have no sympathy or patience for people with that kind of attitude. I got my first motorcycle roadracing license in 1990. I qualified for my Expert license in 1993. I have won several regional championships. When I meet a new racer, or even a racer with a freshly minted Expert card, I see no reason to feel insulted by that. It is what it is. Does the new "Expert" have as much skill or experience as I do? No effing way. Are they truly an actual expert? No effing way. Is it an insult to me that they and I are both labeled "Expert"? No effing way. Scuba diving is not a competition (well, to me, anyway) and I can't see any reason for anyone's nose to get out of a joint over words on a C card (unless the person didn't actually fulfill the requirements to get it).

Maybe I'll ask my local shop to print me up a card that says "Jacques Cousteau Reincarnated". LOL There was a time when Jacques only had 50 dives, right?

 

[OldNSalty]

The scuba "Master's" is 5 full specialties and 50 dives.

That's the PADI standard, other agency are different.

 

[RJP]

That's the PADI standard, other agency are different.

I believe Stuart's is SDI

 

[stuartv]

I believe Stuart's is SDI

Correct.

I'm curious what others (besides PADI and SDI) have a Master Scuba Diver cert that is different, to any significant degree, from PADI and SDI.