Do not ever say you are a rescue diver

[tursiops]

When you are asked what is your highest cert,

I'm immediately on alert if someone asks this. They need to say why they are asking, otherwise the question is ill-posed. Is Trimix a higher cert than OWSI? Is CCR a higher cert than Full Cave?

 

[Dody]

I tried never to dive with anyone who brought up their experience or certification level unsolicited.
And avoided charters and cattle boats like the plague.

I try never to hang around biased people but sometimes… A lot of DS ask your highest certification level. In fact, it is normal practice when you send an email to a foreign country asking for information. I did not discuss this with anyone on the boat. But the DS knew. As I said I never say DM because I don’t fell I am one even though I have the certification. I won’t say Master Diver because it does not really mean anything. I used to say Rescue Diver. Now I will just say AOW.

 

[Dody]

I'm immediately on alert if someone asks this. They need to say why they are asking, otherwise the question is ill-posed. Is Trimix a higher cert than OWSI? Is CCR a higher cert than Full Cave?

When you send an email to a DS telling them that you consider diving with them, this is one of the first questions and this is normal. If you are just OW, you can’t dive to 30m. If you are not deep certified, you can’t go to 35m. So they need to know to prepare a plan for you.

 

[tursiops]

When you send an email to a DS telling them that you consider diving with them, this is one of the first questions and this is normal. If you are just OW, you can’t dive to 30m. If you are not deep certified, you can’t go to 35m. So they need to know to prepare a plan for you.

I understand why they need to know....so maybe they ought to just ask, do you have AOW? The problem is, having AOW does NOT mean you are prepared to go to 100 ft, possibly with a buddy that is equally unsure. Is Rescue highe than AOW? In PADI, yes; in some other agencies, no.
"HIghest cert" is undefined, and of dubious value.

 

[Nemrod]

IMO announcing to all that you are a rescue diver, dive master, assistant instructor, instructor or a dive professional of some nature is to potentially undertake some responsibility for others. And we are always responsible for our buddies, if not, do not take them on. Refuse the buddy. I do it all the time, I get asked frequently to take on a buddy. Sometimes I do and other times I say no. Because I do not want that responsibility and not in the plan and purpose I have for the dive.

BTW, I do not inflate my wing before going in, never have, never will and I do not need to be rescued by a rescue diver.

 

[SlugLife]

3.) Not everyone took the course to become 'Scuba-Lifeguard' and not everyone does anything to stay fresh on the content. If someone got Rescue Diver certified over a decade ago, how much he/she retains now may vary widely?

Strongly agreed with this. There's a major difference between:

(1) a "rescue diver"
(2) someone who took a "rescue diver course."

1) The first category may cover instructors and dive-guides. Essentially people who perform a role in the dive-industry, whereby a diver-rescue may come with the job.
2) Most everyone else is taking the course because they care about safety, being useful in an emergency, and/or advancing their skill.

If we're talking professional credentials,

You miss the point. When you are asked what is your highest cert, you either lie or say the truth. You should not care about optics or bias from others.

I'm immediately on alert if someone asks this. They need to say why they are asking, otherwise the question is ill-posed. Is Trimix a higher cert than OWSI? Is CCR a higher cert than Full Cave?

I sometimes resort to answering the question not asked. "This is a deep/night dive and I've taken a deep/night course."

I understand why they need to know....so maybe they ought to just ask, do you have AOW? The problem is, having AOW does NOT mean you are prepared to go to 100 ft, possibly with a buddy that is equally unsure. Is Rescue highe than AOW? In PADI, yes; in some other agencies, no.
"HIghest cert" is undefined, and of dubious value.

My opinion is that the appropriate question to ask is: "The dive site and plan is 100feet, with limited visibility. Do you have AOW or an equivalent course, and are you comfortable with that dive?"

Using me as an example, I probably have about 100 dives in near-zero visibility (2-feet to 2-inches), but almost zero dives in a current.

 

[boulderjohn]

You

You miss the point. When you are asked what is your highest cert, you either lie or say the truth. You should not care about optics or bias from others.

I am not talking about people who either lie or tell the truth when asked about their highest certification.

I am talking about people who get on the boat and then tell everyone what their highest certification is without being asked.

 

[BlueTrin]

Geez. Does not inspire confidence in them. Wonder how many are zero to hero.

He said that they didn’t pay to get the hero part

 

[Blackcrusader]

. 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,…).

Why Dody? Why would she be over weighted when she should already know how much weight to use? You should not babysit her so much and let her go in by herself. IF she has an issue she should learn to deal with it herself. You doing everything will not help her improve.

 

[doctormike]

BTW, I do not inflate my wing before going in, never have, never will

I have never splashed with a deflated wing, except in a few cases when we were doing a "hot drop" - somethign I don't care for. Otherwise, it always seems safer to make the final decision to descend when you are actually in the water, rather than on the boat deck.

and I do not need to be rescued by a rescue diver.

How do you make God laugh? Tell him your plans.