Bad Dive Master

[pilot fish]

good point.

"You can't have it both ways. You can not blame the diving industry for lack of quality training, and in the same breath state that divers should not seek further training until they have experience. "RF


You don't see the contradiction in this statement?

I'm saying do not amass a bunch of certs without practice of the cert you just received. What good is a skill if you seldom use it? Where is the proficiency?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Hi, I just got back from a dive boat in Puget sound and it was not a good experience. There were 6 divers w/ 3 diving divemasters. I was w/ my cousin and a divemaster. She was not a good diver and was clueless about diving, it seemed like. Here light was hanging a couple feet down and I saw it drag through like 8 seapens, a kind of soft coral. I finally told here but she didn't understand me and switched to here backup light. We were supposed to follow her, but after 30 min she haldn't found the wall so she looks at us and says to go up. It was completely unnecesary. She just starpted swimming up but way too fast. Me+ my cousin just looked at each other and went up slowly. At our safety stop deapth, she wasn't there so we just leveled off then she landed on top of me. On our final ascent, here light, which was still hanging down got caught on my primary's house. She was going up way to fast and ripped the reg from my mouth and drug me the rest of the way to the surface. It was here birthday so I didn't want to be too critical or reminder about some things. I was wondering if anyone has had an experince like this before w/ a diver or divemaster?

Hmmm ... would you mind providing some specifics? Like, was this a shop dive? And which charter you were out on? The reason I ask is that I don't know of any charter operation in Puget Sound that provides in-water divemasters ... and I believe I've dived with all of them. That would suggest to me that you were either on a shop dive or a club dive ... and the DM was not affiliated with the charter operation.

I do know of some dive shops that push people through DM classes when they shouldn't (it's good money, after all) ... but most working DM's I've met around here are reasonably competent.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

As I said earlier, stop being a part of the "Scuba Elite".

Pilot Fish ... part of the "Scuba Elite" ...

Isn't he the guy who keeps complaining that the DM's in Cozumel screwed up his vacation because they didn't plan his dives properly ... :huh:

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[fishb0y]

I am questioning the wisdom of letting a brand new diver get a bunch of cert cards while not requiring that diver to get real dive experience.

What the heck does a cert card give you? It tells the dive operator what this person has had experience (the bare minimum mind you) with. If you require more experience, take a look at a log book.

 

[fishb0y]

Pilot Fish ... part of the "Scuba Elite" ...

Isn't he the guy who keeps complaining that the DM's in Cozumel screwed up his vacation because they didn't plan his dives properly ... :huh:

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Oh yeah, I forgot about that...
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=130423

Honestly, I think PF needs to be concentrating on his own experiences, other than preaching to others about their lack of experience.

 

[Tollie]

I have thought it strange that a DM could be trained by an OWSI. This is true within the PADI system. I think that in SSI it takes a higher-level trainer to do that for a DiveCon but I’m not sure about that.

The PADI OWSI receives virtually no training at the IDC in how to develop a DM or even how to evaluate their demonstration of skills. All that occurs later at the IDC Staff Instructor level.

Now I’m sure that some OWSI’s can do a great job with DM training but I would be more comfortable with a program that turns out many DM’s and one that is staffed by instructors that have had specific preparation in training professionals rather than recreational divers.

I have heard some noise that perhaps PADI is considering such a move… by striping from OWSI’s the ability to make a DM. I for one would support such a move.

 

[billeelou]

All Agencies are in the business for 2 reasons, $$$ and standards.PADI is the easy target 'cause they are the largest.

Most OW's are holding their cards so they can dive on vacation in warm water and with a not very challenging depth-difficulty. It was a very few years ago, no one had any cards, outside a YMCA or military one, and there was not a diving Industry as we know it. As the SPORT has grown, the old timers/elites all believe everyone should have awreck/salvage/rescue ability to get an Ow card. Not going to happen, we are never going back, and inspite of it all, it is safer today than 20-30 years ago.

Ultimately it is up to the Diver not to exceed their limits, not the DM, not the captain, not the shop owner...anyone ever heard of personal responsibility?

 

[instructorgadget]

I've been on dive boats with good and bad divemasters. What I find is that most of the people working on the boats are just people who drop the hook for the captain. My question is- was this divemaster a certified divemaster and certified by who?

 

[Cacia]

Pilot Fish ... part of the "Scuba Elite" ...

Isn't he the guy who keeps complaining that the DM's in Cozumel screwed up his vacation because they didn't plan his dives properly ... :huh:

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Wait a minute. Pilotfish is a work in progress, like everyone. He just does it very publicly. I have seen his thinking evolve since then. Lots of people on this board NEVER "self reflect" and so are immune to host of guff those of us who come on and post our mistakes, get opinions, etc. There are people who expose themselves here and people who play it very safe....

 

[pilot fish]

Pilot Fish ... part of the "Scuba Elite" ...

Isn't he the guy who keeps complaining that the DM's in Cozumel screwed up his vacation because they didn't plan his dives properly ... :huh:

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

No, he is not that guy. You embelish to the point of distortion, but you know that.