Do not ever say you are a rescue diver

[Rose Robinson]

There has been a lot of threads about how a diver should introduce herself or himself to a new DS. I have a DM C- Card but I never claim I am a DM as I have never worked as such. I always say I am a Rescue Diver. 90% of the time, I dive with my wife as a buddy. I jump first, tell her I am ok and watch her jumping. I am more experienced than her and I want to be there if she has a problem (overweighted, valve problem,…).
Last week, diving in the Philippines, the DS decided that we would be three in a group. Two groups of 2 including the guide or DM and our group at the back. To make a long story short, the third « buddy » jumped without inflating his BCD and was probably overweighted. He immediately sunk. He was AOW, and should have been able to correct that rapidly but he was not. I saw it, went down in a rush but I could not equalize fast enough so had to slow down.
Eventually, the diver managed to to inflate his BCD and get back to the surface. A bit too fast though so we aborted the dive. Then, one Dive Director blamed me for not helping him and said I thought you were a rescue diver. I think he will never say that again after the sh*** I gave him but the point is:
1- If it was my wife, I would have risked rupturing my inner ear. I won’t do it for an insta-buddy.
2- I was a customer and not a guardian. Of course, you care for your buddy (even in a 3 guys team) but there are limits.
3- I should never have said that I am a rescue diver. Those folks believe that I would help them protecting their customers. From now on, I am just AOW with a 40 meters clearance.

Dody,

Professional accreditations are ones own business, personal and private, period.

If for instance it's an advanced dive, and you can produce an AOW certification card, then that's all you need to produce.

This is especially important if you only take courses to collect certification cards and have no practical experience in the specialty.

If you are a braggart, and want to brag about qualifications you don't have, even if you do have the specialty card, it won't be a matter of if you will find yourself in trouble, but when and how soon.

Rose

 

[MB NZ]

I generally show my ancient BSAC Dive Leader card as it states a depth limit of 50 metres. Not that I want to dive to 50 metres on most dives, but I might!

 

[neeka]

I think the term Rescue Diver gives ya some street credibility but it's not a class I would take with such newbie level of diving experience.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I think the term Rescue Diver gives ya some street credibility but it's not a class I would take with such newbie level of diving experience.

Given the way some rescue classes are run, I wouldn't give any cred to it until I saw the person in the water or personally knew the instructor.
There are perhaps thousands of 'rescue divers" who haven't practiced a single skill since they took the class anywhere from years to months ago.
As for new divers taking the class, my thinking and the way I taught, was Rescue should be the 1st class after open water.
A good class is as much about prevention before the dive as it is in water responses. And most in water responses to serious accidents are not rescues. They are recoveries and a recreational rescue diver has no business doing those.
BUT, a new OW diver should be able to recognize pre-dive stress, equipment issues that could lead to an accident, doing a rescue tow, and helping a panicked diver on the surface safely. As well as knowing CPR/First Aid.
There is nothing preventing them from successfully learning to prevent an incident.
They don't need to know how to navigate because in a true missing diver search they are going to be used as surface support only while Pro's or a trained PSD team do the actual underwater search.
Making new divers wait to take rescue only makes the activity of diving less safe and increases risk.

 

[wreckdiversam]

I had been AOW for 7-8 years before getting my Rescue cert. I mainly got mine because my son just started diving (at 10 years old) and I wanted to know more about rescue procedures. My son's friend is also going to get certified so I will be diving with them a lot. Still, I've never shown my Rescue diver card. Only my AOW and Nitrox (when appropriate). I'd risk my life for son (and even his friend) but probably not for anyone else.

 

[BoltSnap]

I'd risk my life for son (and even his friend)

Don't risk your life or risk anything, just think defensively and proactively to PREVENT issues before they happen BUT be ready to deal with issues should they happen. Prevention is the key.

May Allah protect and bless your family and enjoy awesome diving in all safety and health together for many decades to come.

 

[Dan Snellgrove]

There has been a lot of threads about how a diver should introduce herself or himself to a new DS. I have a DM C- Card but I never claim I am a DM as I have never worked as such. I always say I am a Rescue Diver. 90% of the time, I dive with my wife as a buddy. I jump first, tell her I am ok and watch her jumping. I am more experienced than her and I want to be there if she has a problem (overweighted, valve problem,…).
Last week, diving in the Philippines, the DS decided that we would be three in a group. Two groups of 2 including the guide or DM and our group at the back. To make a long story short, the third « buddy » jumped without inflating his BCD and was probably overweighted. He immediately sunk. He was AOW, and should have been able to correct that rapidly but he was not. I saw it, went down in a rush but I could not equalize fast enough so had to slow down.
Eventually, the diver managed to to inflate his BCD and get back to the surface. A bit too fast though so we aborted the dive. Then, one Dive Director blamed me for not helping him and said I thought you were a rescue diver. I think he will never say that again after the sh*** I gave him but the point is:
1- If it was my wife, I would have risked rupturing my inner ear. I won’t do it for an insta-buddy.
2- I was a customer and not a guardian. Of course, you care for your buddy (even in a 3 guys team) but there are limits.
3- I should never have said that I am a rescue diver. Those folks believe that I would help them protecting their customers. From now on, I am just AOW with a 40 meters clearance.

Excuse me about getting in on the conversation late, I fully agree with your reasoning / view point, there is something to be said for promotiing yourself only as an "experienced Open-Water" diver regardless of your training class or experience. I beleive your primary concern should have been your wife - but as was mentioned not knowing the "new buddy" should have promoted a concerned topside conversation or predive check between you & him. On another note - Distance between you and a agitated / panicked diver is often the critical time factor where aid or intervention can be offered. As always awareness of surroundings (divers) often determins your attention to the diver in question. Now days, personal responsibility is downplayed and attiudes of " O someone else will be resonsible" is all too prevelent. Off hand, Darwins' natural selection process often eliminates problems!

 

[MB NZ]

I've visited a few dive centres recently on my travels. Without doubt, their number one question, in fact only question has been "what is your certification level". It seems a little odd. I'd have more faith in an Open Water diver who has done a thousand dives and most importantly, dives regularly than someone who holds a Rescue Diver or Divemaster ticket, but has done fewer dives and hasn't been in the water for a long time. As it turned out, I've declined to go diving with any of them apart from one and that didn't go great (see the solo diver forum). Typical holiday diving for want of a better description just isn't my thing.