Dive operator: "We won't let you ..."

[RTee]

Bill, if after 50 dives and an AOW certification you still feel like a novice diver and not confy with any dives deeper than 60 ft, than perhaps you should restrict your dives to those profiles. I, for one, applaude the answer you received, ie if you are comfortable and we deem you safe following your orientation/check out dive then we will have no problem with you signing for those types of dives. However, the unsaid is also as important, if you do not feel comfy and/or we do not have that warm and fuzzy feeling, then you will be restricted to the shallower dives.

By the time I did my AOW training, not only was I already EAN certified but had also conducted drift, boat, deep and night diving. A lot of these dives were done with dives ops who operated by the same general principles as the ones you described. I therefore have no problem whatsoever with the reply you received.

 

[Insta-Gator]

Bill, if after 50 dives and an AOW certification you still feel like a novice diver and not confy with any dives deeper than 60 ft, than perhaps you should restrict your dives to those profiles. I, for one, applaude the answer you received, ie if you are comfortable and we deem you safe following your orientation/check out dive then we will have no problem with you signing for those types of dives. However, the unsaid is also as important, if you do not feel comfy and/or we do not have that warm and fuzzy feeling, then you will be restricted to the shallower dives.

By the time I did my AOW training, not only was I already EAN certified but had also conducted drift, boat, deep and night diving. A lot of these dives were done with dives ops who operated by the same general principles as the ones you described. I therefore have no problem whatsoever with the reply you received.

Ditto.

Using old fumble thumbs via Tapatalk 2

 

[Tigerman]

I actually did a deep dive before my AOW as well. It was not a training dive, but my buddy was an instructor (infact my OW instructor - this was NOT during OW training I should add)

 

[ADeadlierSnake]

I found that after getting my basic Open Water cert that I was able to dive deep and there were no issues.

Does anyone else find this sort of comment dangerous? Just because there were no issues doesnt mean that they couldnt have happened.

Anyways....
OP, if you dont feel comfortable with a dive, dont do it. And I also agree 100% with the people who said that just because you are allowed to do a dive, or you feel safe at the time (despite lack of training) doing a given dive, doesnt mean you should be doing the dive. I do not believe you are an overconfident diver though. I am happy to see that after 50 dives you still consider yourself a novice diver. Thats a good thing! I think it shows that you have some respect for the guidelines, and some humility. I trust you will make the right decisions about the dives you do. Happy diving!

 

[John_B]

IANAI, but the two valuable skills you get from the AOW deep dive are the demonstration of how much slower you process information due to being narc'ed and how much faster you burn through a tank at depth.

Many dive ops look for AOW assuming the diver had those experiences, and IMO the OP got screwed out of that by his instructor. Nobody asked, but I'd report that AOW instructor to his agency in a heartbeat.

(And, yes, you can get those experiences without doing your AOW, but that's the bellwether that many dive ops use to determine who should and shouldn't do the deeper dive sites.)

 

[Rogersea]

Does anyone else find this sort of comment dangerous? Just because there were no issues doesnt mean that they couldnt have happened.

My short answer is no I dont find this comment dangerous.

As a SCUBA Instructor I am all about continuing education, but I also believe that there is room for both self exploration/experienced based learning and the Industry CON ED model.

Cheers,
Roger

 

[ADeadlierSnake]

My short answer is no I dont find this comment dangerous.

As a SCUBA Instructor I am all about continuing education, but I also believe that there is room for both self exploration/experienced based learning and the Industry CON ED model.

Cheers,
Roger

Oh, I completely agree with that. Although I dont think the time for self exploration is immediately after OW

 

[Wookie]

Oh, I completely agree with that. Although I dont think the time for self exploration is immediately after OW

The OP has 50 dives. I consider that quite a bit of experience, and certainly wouldn't call it immediately after Open Water. It's damn near enough to start DM class.

 

[Ayisha]

billt4sf, your Advanced o/w cert has a recommended depth limit of 100 feet. If you're not comfortable doing deep dives (I don't recall that you specified the depth), then you shouldn't do them. Like Peter said, work your way slowly up to those dives.

What the dive op said doesn't surprise me. Many dive ops trust their eyes and gut feeling more than the cert card(s) a diver holds. Probably within the first 5 minutes of you placing and setting up your equipment, the captain and DG already have a handle on what kind of diver you are and how comfy you are. By the time you jump in, and in monitoring any situations that might occur with you, they know if they are comfortable with you doing deeper/more challenging dives on their boat. If you listen to your gut, you will know too. How is your buoyancy control, gas consumption, comfort in the water? Do the shallower dives and see how it goes...

 

[ADeadlierSnake]

The OP has 50 dives. I consider that quite a bit of experience, and certainly wouldn't call it immediately after Open Water. It's damn near enough to start DM class.

I wasnt talking about the OP. Read my posts