Divemasters/Resorts making you flood and clear?

[TekDiveGirl]

I see no issue with this as well --- it should be a quick skills checkout and you are on your way. There are far too many people who can't do these simple skills out there who go on vacation that they need to be aware of. Show them you are a competant diver and I bet they leave you alone the rest of your stay.

 

[WeekendDiver]

I was in Roatan this past week (the south side of the island) and we also had to clear and drop/find our reg. And yes, my eyes also do not enjoy salt water, but it really is not a big deal

 

[TxHockeyGuy]

My eyes are irritated very easily and salt water downright hurts them. I'd rather not do this off the boat right before the dive unless they are going to let me get out, flush with freshwater, and then get on with my dive. If they want me to do this on the shore then fine, I don't have any problems with it. I have had a mask flood at depth on a seawater dive so I know I can do it and deal with the pain and discomfort, but I'd rather not if I don't have to. Even lake water screws with my eyes pretty good for about 5 minutes.

 

[docmartin]

i assume if you fail you'll have to pay for a refresher course? clever scheme. in any event, i guess i'd be okay with it unless someone new arrives every day which would mean each dive day starts with a bunch of divers watching the new guys taking of their masks. that would be a waste of my dive time.
on a different note, i have had major issues with stinging sunscreen to the point where i spent entire dives "crying". does anyone have suggestions for an effective non-stinging sunscreen? i now wear a cap with a visor on the boat so that i do not have to apply any sunscreen on the forehead. however, sunscreen below the eyes can get into your eyes, too, especially if someone makes you flood your mask.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

CCV does their checkout dive in the morning of your first day there. After that, they pretty much leave you alone to dive as you please.

My biggest complaint about this "system" is that it doesn't always take into account flight schedules. We arrived at CCV as that day's batch of divers were doing their checkout dive ... therefore we were not permitted to dive until the next day. Basically, we "wasted" a day of our vacation before being allowed to dive. That didn't sit too well with me ... but the 5 or 6 dives I got in every other day I was there made up for it ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Paco]

At AKR, this was not done on a paid dive. We were checked out at the dock before the boat left for the first dive. It was only done once and was no big deal. They even made the instructor in our group do it. It was also an opportunity for those of us accustomed to fresh water diving to get our weights zeroed in as well.

I´m not at all opposed to a dm checking out basic skills before heading out to a dive.

 

[scubatexastony]

CCV does their checkout dive in the morning of your first day there. After that, they pretty much leave you alone to dive as you please.

My biggest complaint about this "system" is that it doesn't always take into account flight schedules. We arrived at CCV as that day's batch of divers were doing their checkout dive ... therefore we were not permitted to dive until the next day. Basically, we "wasted" a day of our vacation before being allowed to dive. That didn't sit too well with me ... but the 5 or 6 dives I got in every other day I was there made up for it ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

IF the rules are still the same, on your next visit, you'll be a repeat customer, so you can hit the briney deep day one! (that'll mean at least 2 or 3 more dives )

won't even have to sit through the marys place orientation thing a ma' bob

 

[Paco]

I don´t know what they´d do if you couldn´t do the skill. Everyone on our boat did the skills. The whole thing went very quickly and painlessly. I would have been shocked if they had told someone they had to pay for a refresher course before they could go out on a dive.

 

[Ice9]

At AKR, this was not done on a paid dive. We were checked out at the dock before the boat left for the first dive. It was also an opportunity for those of us accustomed to fresh water diving to get our weights zeroed in as well.

Thats a pretty cool idea.

BTW, what does AKR stand for?

 

[SteveFass]

Heck, I was on a "follow the DM" dive in Roatan once where one of the divers had a mask flood, he bolted to the surface, and the DM told us all to surface to re-group.