Do not ever say you are a rescue diver

[Wibble]

Weak divers should never pretend to be a Rescue Diver.

Nor DiveMASTER
Nor Technical diver
Nor Rebreather diver
Nor Cave diver
Nor Solo diver
Nor DPV CCR multi-stage exploration diver
Nor Deep record depth diver
Etcetera...

 

[Dody]

What is a weak diver?

 

[BoltSnap]

What is a weak diver?

Weak knees maybe? Firmware hasn't been updated for a while perhaps?

 

[Leatherboot69]

Why are so many people irritated by the title of Divemaster? The ‘master’ bit doesn’t refer to mastery of diving as a skill, it refers to being master of a group of people, in the sense of being a leader or a guide.

 

[BlueTrin]

Why are so many people irritated by the title of Divemaster? The ‘master’ bit doesn’t refer to mastery of diving as a skill, it refers to being master of a group of people, in the sense of being a leader or a guide.

We just need something to complain about.

Is it time to talk again about the “Master Scuba Diver” title? Has been at least 5 mins I didn’t read a post about it.

More seriously, I think some people can get offended by tiny things quickly but the vast (and silent) majority does not care too much

 

[drrich2]

Why are so many people irritated by the title of Divemaster?

My irritation is the misunderstanding and misuse of it so widely. Divemaster is a certification that reflects passage of specific course work.

But the term is often used as a synonym for dive guide. Some guides don't have that certification and some guides are recreational dive instructors.

I'm not bothered by the term itself. I don't loose sleep over its misuse; it's just a minor irritant.

 

[johndiver999]

My irritation is the misunderstanding and misuse of it so widely. Divemaster is a certification that reflects passage of specific course work.

But the term is often used as a synonym for dive guide. Some guides don't have that certification and some guides are recreational dive instructors.

I'm not bothered by the term itself. I don't loose sleep over its misuse; it's just a minor irritant.

I think most (maybe all?) instructors have to get the DM certification before instructor.

So if an instructor is not instructing, but is instead serving as a guide on a dive, I think it would be reasonable to refer to that individual as the dive guide or divemaster. After someone has been a guide for a few hundred dives, it probably makes little difference what certification they have - unless an accident happens and then it might be really important.

 

[SlugLife]

But isn't that the point, really? Fear of saying you are a RD because then you might get sued? Solid information on the likelihood of this -- as opposed to scaremongering and hearsay -- would be useful.

in any case, we keep getting told that SB does not fact-check, so when somebody posts something quite wrong about (in this case) suing and past suits, it is we readers who must correct that info for posterity.

If ScubaBoard did start that "fact checking" nonsense, I'd leave.

Why are so many people irritated by the title of Divemaster? The ‘master’ bit doesn’t refer to mastery of diving as a skill, it refers to being master of a group of people, in the sense of being a leader or a guide.

Is there a culture, where the term "master" frequently refers to a "guide" or "person who leads around other people?" Sometimes there are sometimes notable differences in use of the English language from one country or region to the next.

 

[tursiops]

Is there a culture, where the term "master" frequently refers to a "guide" or "person who leads around other people?"

Yes, quite common in the Scuba culture....not used by itself, but as in Divemaster, i.e. the person in charge of the dive. It is the title given to that person....whether they are credentialed as a guide, a Divemaster or an instructor.

 

[Leatherboot69]

If ScubaBoard did start that "fact checking" nonsense, I'd leave.

Is there a culture, where the term "master" frequently refers to a "guide" or "person who leads around other people?" Sometimes there are sometimes notable differences in use of the English language from one country or region to the next.

Yes, certainly in British and American English, it’s literally one of the dictionary definitions - words can have multiple meanings. In this usage it simply means ‘in charge of a dive’ (as Tursiops says), not ‘mastery of diving skills’.

Like how a ‘harbour master’ describes one who is in charge of a harbour, not a master of all harbouring skills.