As far as the question goes I will say yes it out ranks the rec cards. However like others have said you may nnot be able to get a nitrox fill with a tec or deco card. That's just the ignorance of the filler. But tings happen. I also only provide the min card needed for the dive. To many operators tend to buddy match based on cards.
Does TEC supersede REC?
- Thread starter Mouth Breather
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
as an active instructor and dive crew divemaster the statement I hear on the boat that worries me the most is "don't worry, i'm an instructor...here's my card". I've seen a tec instructor get bent on a 80' rec dive, another rebreather instructor forget his fins, not to mention the experienced instructor that went straight to the bottom and silted out a wreck we were driving.
Hey....I only forgot my fins because I was paying too much attention to my buddy!!
And I didn't jump....but it was close!
And I didn't jump....but it was close!
Yes, in my experience, operators do like to match divers based on cards. They like to keep similar divers together doing similar dives. That's why I always show at least an instructor card, so I will be matched with divers of similar ability. So why do you prefer diving with the least qualified divers? Is it because you like sharing your knowledge with others?
rgdiver1
Contributor
Although I have tec certification cards such as cave and trimix, I never take them with me on a recreational diving trip, since IME they don't really mean much to the average rec dive op. Advanced and nitrox cards are all I've ever needed. Personally I would not present a professional level card such as divemaster or instructor unless it was absolutely necessary.
Last edited:
The only really odd thing that ever happened to me because of disclosing my true qualifications happened in Turkey.
The operator was training a new DM (a Dutch guy as it turns out) who had about 100 dives in total to his credit. I signed up for a dive as a single diver and when they asked me what my qualifications were I told them openly. They asked me if I had ever dived on wrecks and I gave them my North Sea wreck resumé and a few anecdotal stories.
The operator then asked me, again, quite openly, if I would be willing to lead the dives that we were going to be doing that day (they were wreck dives) and dive with their DM to "break him in" a bit.
I agreed on the condition that I went for free and that the DM fully agreed to this construction. They (and he) agreed. Legally, everyone who dives in Turkey must have a guide because the government is afraid of divers looting valuable artifacts, so if I was leading or following this DM I would still have been diving with him.
I made two really good dives with him that day. One was shallow over a debris field from a Roman era wreck. There were a lot of amphora but we went looking for octopus. The other was a deep dive that included a penetration of a wreck from the 1970's. We found an unopened bottle of wine and some kitchen utensils that nobody had found yet. He was THRILLED by the experience and I was happy as hell to have helped him along in his dream of working as a dive guide.
Again, diving with novice divers really energizes me. In this case I got some free diving and some good dives with a guy I liked! Who can ask for more.
R..
The operator was training a new DM (a Dutch guy as it turns out) who had about 100 dives in total to his credit. I signed up for a dive as a single diver and when they asked me what my qualifications were I told them openly. They asked me if I had ever dived on wrecks and I gave them my North Sea wreck resumé and a few anecdotal stories.
The operator then asked me, again, quite openly, if I would be willing to lead the dives that we were going to be doing that day (they were wreck dives) and dive with their DM to "break him in" a bit.
I agreed on the condition that I went for free and that the DM fully agreed to this construction. They (and he) agreed. Legally, everyone who dives in Turkey must have a guide because the government is afraid of divers looting valuable artifacts, so if I was leading or following this DM I would still have been diving with him.
I made two really good dives with him that day. One was shallow over a debris field from a Roman era wreck. There were a lot of amphora but we went looking for octopus. The other was a deep dive that included a penetration of a wreck from the 1970's. We found an unopened bottle of wine and some kitchen utensils that nobody had found yet. He was THRILLED by the experience and I was happy as hell to have helped him along in his dream of working as a dive guide.
Again, diving with novice divers really energizes me. In this case I got some free diving and some good dives with a guy I liked! Who can ask for more.
R..
Now that I mention it.... I did have an experience in Egypt when I was asked to "sweep up stragglers".
The group was to dive through some coral tunnels. The guide asked me to pull up the rear and I agreed.....
As we were diving through the tunnels I noticed that the DM started increasing tempo. The group started getting spread out and at one point a diver just ahead of me ducked into a tunnel (I assumed he knew where he was going) and then came back out again when I got there...... He had lost contact with the group. I looked at my buddy and he rolled his eyes like "un-fn-believable".
The problem then was that we were essentially in a (semi) overhead and none of us knew where to go. I remembered a chamber a couple of rooms back where I could see the surface and decided to back track so we could at least get to the surface. I took them with me and went back to that room. Once there we dove up and over the reef and encountered the DM coming toward us because he had had the same idea, to dive down through that opening and look for us.
We all got out of that ok but I've often wondered how it might have ended if someone else had been sweeping up the rear and decided to keep going through those tunnels looking for an exit.
R..
The group was to dive through some coral tunnels. The guide asked me to pull up the rear and I agreed.....
As we were diving through the tunnels I noticed that the DM started increasing tempo. The group started getting spread out and at one point a diver just ahead of me ducked into a tunnel (I assumed he knew where he was going) and then came back out again when I got there...... He had lost contact with the group. I looked at my buddy and he rolled his eyes like "un-fn-believable".
The problem then was that we were essentially in a (semi) overhead and none of us knew where to go. I remembered a chamber a couple of rooms back where I could see the surface and decided to back track so we could at least get to the surface. I took them with me and went back to that room. Once there we dove up and over the reef and encountered the DM coming toward us because he had had the same idea, to dive down through that opening and look for us.
We all got out of that ok but I've often wondered how it might have ended if someone else had been sweeping up the rear and decided to keep going through those tunnels looking for an exit.
R..
@Diver0001, my anxiety level went up just reading your last post...yikes! Thanks for sharing.
DevonDiver
N/A
Sounds like you all needed some semi-overhead environment training.
They should have insisted on everyone taking the semi-cavern course, or even the full semi-cave course....
At the time it happened I never questioned it. I was an experienced North Sea diver an accustomed to being in/around wrecks and I had had IANTD ice training, which I'm sure you're familiar with . When it was happening I was just in problem solving mode..... After the fact, however, I felt uncomfortable about it.
R..
Similar threads
