Chicken or the egg?

[msg]

I was looking at some of the dive sites for North Carolina, and was wondering, how do you get aboard some of the boats for the wreck diving. They are requiring that you have at least 5 dives below 100', yet if you don't make the dives, how do you get the experience? If the only 100'+ diving around me is in NC, how is it possible? Dive insurance is also a prerequisite. Why not a waiver? Has the legal system screwed us that badly?

 

[gconner]

The experience requirement is to help protect you as well as the dive shop. The dive shops don't want you diving beyond your skill level and being involved in an accident. Plus, having unskilled divers get hurt on their boats is bad for business.

Most of the shops in NC have the option of hiring one of their DM's if you don't meet the minimum experience requirements. I highly recommend this approach if you don't have the experience or you are new to diving off the NC coast. The conditions can be difficult and the wrecks can pose some unique challenges (long and rough boat rides, entanglement hazards, unpredictable currents, narcosis issues due to depth) that require experience to deal with. Don't underestimate the skill level needed to safely dive along the eastern seaboard. Diving in NC puts you out in the Gulf Stream and in the open ocean.

As for the dive insurance. That's to protect you, not the dive shop. The cost of evacuation and treatment for a diving related injury is extremely high and not covered or only partially covered by conventional insurance. The cost of evacuating a diver from a boat 30 miles offshore and flying them to the nearest medical facility capable of treating them will be more than most people can handle.

Hope this helps provide you with a little more perspective.

-- Gary

 

[msg]

Thanks.

I don't under estimate the diving off of NC. It was a bit disappointing to see the requirements, especially when they want divers to come and make the dives. Is the DM an extra charge for the dives?

 

[gconner]

Yes, and I'd suggest checking with the dive op to see how much. I don't think it's very expensive and if you're doing multiple days they will most likely recommend hiring the DM for the first day just to help you get comfortable.

-- Gary

 

[DevonDiver]

Do an AOW course....?

 

[Tortuga68]

According to his profile, he's already AOW... but yes, doing a course - deep specialty perhaps - or hiring a DM would be ways to gain the required experience

 

[waterpirate]

Most dive op's in NC have intro dives or shallower dives on their schedules. These can be "check out dives" for the boat and for you. If you decide to train and dive deeper, most of the six pack boats in the mid atlantic require check out dives or refferal from a known capt. prior to doing anything beyond 100fsw. Some boats even schedule "new diver days" for divers new to the boat and or people new to depth or the ocean.
Eric

 

[Tanked]

Do the dive ops actually enforce this rule? I made my 5th through 12th open water dives in Morehead City. All were deeper than 100 feet, and they were my first deep water dives. No one questioned my lack of experience. Of course this was back in 1997 so things may have changed.

 

[Tanked]

Of course I'm not recommending you dive beyond your comfort level. I'm just sharing my experience.

 

[Colliam7]

I was looking at some of the dive sites for North Carolina, and was wondering, how do you get aboard some of the boats for the wreck diving. They are requiring that you have at least 5 dives below 100', yet if you don't make the dives, how do you get the experience? If the only 100'+ diving around me is in NC, how is it possible? Dive insurance is also a prerequisite. Why not a waiver? Has the legal system screwed us that badly?

I am not sure which particular sites you looked at, but I presume that Discovery is one of them. In that case, I don't think that you necessarily have to show 'at least 5 dives below 100ft'', rather 'we require that divers show proof of training or experience in depths greater than or equal to 100', a total of at least 5 dives, and one dive in the past 12 months'. They are looking for at least some training (e.g. AOW) or experienbce for deeper dives, a reasonable body of overall experience - at least 5 dives TOTAL, not 5 dives deeper than 100ft - and currency (have dove sometime in the past 12 months. Discovery's neighbor, Olympus, doesn't appear to have the same stipulation. I have never found either Discovey or Olympus, or any other NC charter operator, to be 'log book checkers'. (I did notice that this year, Aquatic Safaris in Wilmington has added a new policy about C-cards.) In any event, if you have >200 dives, and AOW, I would be surprised if you had any difficulty booking a NC coastal charter. As for insurance, 'Olympus Dive Center suggests DAN membership for all of our customers!' (my emphasis added), but I am not aware it is required. Of course, if you are willing to spend the money to drive from Charlottesville to Beaufort, to pay for a charter, and in general to dive with any frequency, the <$50 annually for DAN membership could be viewed as a relatively trivial, but incredibly valuable, investment.