for those who wondered, there is training outside of padi, naui, ssi, dir, ect.....
living in the south pacific, we trained every day to dive deep, and it didn't have anything to do with padi or any of the other agencies that people hold so high on this side of the world. there is a whole other world out there, and people are not limited to what padi thinks you should and shouldn't do. lol.
now, when i am working as an instructor, i follow padi standards, and those of the local gov. but padi doesn't have a damn thing to do with what i do with my personal diving. in the south pacific, deep diving, training with local divers who have been diving everyday of their lives, for 40 or 50 years takes you well beyond what padi teaches and solo diving is also very common. i don't mean it to be offensive to anyone here, so please don't take it that way, but in my opinion and in most people's opinion who have lived over there, the dive philosophy in the south pacific is light years ahead of that around the north american region. and i say that in part, because a lot of the things that are common over there for decades, are usually adopted over here sooner or later (usually later).
remember, when nitrox first came out, padi called it a death gas. and was deadset against it for years and years.
anyway, i don't want to start a big mess here, that is not my intention. but i am just trying to say that people over here tend to get there underwear in a wad sometimes, over simple things, that most of the world doesn't consider crazy or wild. so that's all i have to say about that.
and thanks for the welcome SCUBA_VIXEN. i have been in st thomas for almost two years, but that was my first trip to st croix. and i am jealous. st croix looks much nicer than st thomas.
actually it was the salt river canyon, and it was beautiful. it reminded me a lot of the walls in belize, specifically lighthouse atoll, at half moon cay, in a dive site called dolphin pass.
i'm not sure what you meant about remembering, but it was a nice day of diving.
if you come to st thomas, let me know. the witshoal is a really nice wreck to dive. and of course there is the trip to the bvi, and the world famous rms roan. there are a lot of nice wrecks and reefs. thanks for the welcome.
and by the way, i love your avatar!