Club requires members to sign "no solo diving" contract - So I won't be renewing

[underH2Oman]

If a member wants to dive solo and has a certification card that says he/she can, follows all safe solo diving practices they should be permitted to dive solo. If the club has members that are not knowledgeable about solo diving they could not know if you are following safe solo diving practices or not. That's up to the solo diver to educate the club.

Many clubs worry about specialty areas of diving like solo because they just do not understand it. I have seen many clubs allow divers to exceed their level training on club dives without even batting an eyelash ( OW diver on a wreck at 120ft when there certification only allows them to dive to 60, 2 Junior divers diving as a buddy pair when certification requires each to dive with an adult buddy). The club can only strive to reduce the clubs liability and there are lots of ways to due this without limiting membership.

I think that the club should consider all its members and simply state that all members must dive within the limits of there training. Leave the training to the agencies and the want for further training to complete more advanced/specialty dives to the diver. Plan dives for your members and require them to be certified to complete the planned dive.

 

[DelrayDM]

I found a very similar phrase in the PADI "Standard Safe Diving Practices Statement of Understanding"

5. Adhere to the buddy system throughout every dive. Plan dives - including communications, procedures for reuniting in case of separation and emergency procedures - with my buddy.

I 'googled' that phrase and it appears to be very common. Perhaps all P.A.D.I. shops etc are using it?


I do not see any mention of the buddy system on the S.D.I. "General Liability Release and Express Assumption of Risk".

 

[Wookie]

( OW diver on a wreck at 120ft when there certification only allows them to dive to 60....

Where did you come up with this? I expect a Course Director to have a more intimate knowledge of the standards. An open water card is good to 130 feet, and any of the training staff at any agency or insurance company will tell you that. The 60 foot limit is only during training. Specifically, from the PADI website:

Q: How deep do you go?
A: With the necessary training and experience, the limit for recreational scuba diving is 40 metres/130 feet. Beginning scuba divers stay shallower than about 18 metres/60 feet. Although these are the limits, some of the most popular diving is no deeper than 12 metres/40 feet where the water’s warmer and the colors are brighter.

It makes me crazy when the folks teaching the instructors misapply standards. Maybe we need a separate thread to discuss this.

 

[WheelsUSN]

I found a very similar phrase in the PADI "Standard Safe Diving Practices Statement of Understanding"



I 'googled' that phrase and it appears to be very common. Perhaps all P.A.D.I. shops etc are using it?


I do not see any mention of the buddy system on the S.D.I. "General Liability Release and Express Assumption of Risk".

The PADI Standard Safe Diving Practices Statement of Understanding is not a liability release, it is just a statement saying that you have been informed of safe diving practices and is intended for students. What you should be comparing to S.D.I.'s liability release is PADI's "Liability Release and Assumption of Risk Agreement" for certified divers which states:

"I am aware that safe dive practices suggest diving with a buddy unless trained as a self-reliant diver."

 

[shoredivr]

Wondering why, then, so many charter boat operators want AOW for deep dives (whatever that means...80? 100? 120?.....is it just so the charter operator feels their a$$ is covered or something?

Where did you come up with this? I expect a Course Director to have a more intimate knowledge of the standards. An open water card is good to 130 feet, and any of the training staff at any agency or insurance company will tell you that. The 60 foot limit is only during training. Specifically, from the PADI website:

Q: How deep do you go?
A: With the necessary training and experience, the limit for recreational scuba diving is 40 metres/130 feet. Beginning scuba divers stay shallower than about 18 metres/60 feet. Although these are the limits, some of the most popular diving is no deeper than 12 metres/40 feet where the water’s warmer and the colors are brighter.

It makes me crazy when the folks teaching the instructors misapply standards. Maybe we need a separate thread to discuss this.

 

[Wookie]

I don't know, that makes me crazy too. It's adding another requirement that can't be backed up to an already massive liability exposure. Every restriction you put on your guests is taking on the liability as your own. Makes no sense to me either.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

OW diver on a wreck at 120ft when there certification only allows them to dive to 60

You have confused a suggested maximum depth with a certified depth limit.

 

[Wookie]

You have confused a suggested maximum depth with a certified depth limit.

You are so much nicer than I am.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

You are so much nicer than I am.

It only appears that way because text doesn't convey condescension very well, but that's probably for the best

 

[lindenbruce]

@lindenbruce: I have a buddy named Al, too. Al is short for Aluminum 40, redundant tank, comes diving with me solo when I am not sidemounting.
No alcohol involved.

LOL. It totally slipped my mind to think of Al as a metal. Maybe that's what grumpyoldguy was referring to. My brain must be frozen with these record lows around here the last few days. B.