Hiding your certification level

[Walter]

Bring it on.

 

[diverdoug1]

The good news is that it is unlikely that there will be an incident that will cause anyone to even ask about the levels of the various divers. As such, it is unlikely to matter what card one shows a dive operator beyond showing sufficient competency to do a particular dive.

However, in the unlikely event of such an incident, don't be surprised if a lawyer should try to use your failure to disclose your highest level as the basis for an argument that you were trying to avoid your responsibility.

No failure to disclose, I will just leave my other cards in my dive log at home, and I always cary the nitrox one in my wallet because I use it to get my tanks filed when I am on my way home from work . I will give them the highest level card I have with me. If they ask if I have any other certs, I will tell them. .

 

[adurso]

The really funny thing about the question in this thread is that I remember this very same question being posed in the 70s......

And throughout all these years have yet to hear of litigation involving an instructor involved in civil litigation for being an instructor near where someone had an accident, or being buddied with someone who blah blah.

Does anyone have any case law to cite regarding this? Peter Guy did post a case having ramifications at one time but it was not specifically dealing with this thread subject.

 

[jupitermermaid]

Well, I am heading out on the Aquacat for a week, and I will only be showing my nitrox card. Thanks for all the replies to the post!

On the Aquacat, they will collect your C-card (whichever one you hand them) and will keep it safely inside an envelope that will be returned to you at the end of the trip. They will ask you if there are any special dives you would like to do. Personally, I would recommend Jake's Hole and the Washing Machine. They were my two favorites when I went out with them 2 years ago. They have an excellent crew, and no one will ask you to assume any of their responsibilities. Everyone is responsible for finding their own buddies and to dive within their limits.

Have fun!

 

[Scott L]

The good news is that it is unlikely that there will be an incident that will cause anyone to even ask about the levels of the various divers. As such, it is unlikely to matter what card one shows a dive operator beyond showing sufficient competency to do a particular dive.

However, in the unlikely event of such an incident, don't be surprised if a lawyer should try to use your failure to disclose your highest level as the basis for an argument that you were trying to avoid your responsibility.

What responsibility? We are discussing off the clock pleasure dives...

 

[Zieg]

On the Aquacat, they will collect your C-card (whichever one you hand them) and will keep it safely inside an envelope that will be returned to you at the end of the trip. They will ask you if there are any special dives you would like to do. Personally, I would recommend Jake's Hole and the Washing Machine. They were my two favorites when I went out with them 2 years ago. They have an excellent crew, and no one will ask you to assume any of their responsibilities. Everyone is responsible for finding their own buddies and to dive within their limits.

Have fun!

So why do they keep the cards til the end of the trip? Once they've seen the cards, why do they have to keep them, you aren't going anywhere?

 

[H2O Gal]

On the Nekton Pilot trip we just took to Cay Sal they did the same thing both with our passports and our C cards.

 

[Walter]

No one is keeping my passport.

 

[cappyjon431]

I don't know why c-cards are kept, but I do know why passports are collected and held. The purser collects guest passports because he/she must go in to clear customs and in the Bahamas, this is done by tender. The guests stay on the boat while the purser handles the "clearing-in" process. The passports are then kept in the ship's safe until the boat returns for two reasons: 1. If the ship is boarded by either US or Bahamian coast guard, the captain needs quick access to the passports. If divers are in the water or on a shore excursion they would not be available to produce their passports. 2. When it is time to clear back into the US for customs and immigration it is the purser's responsibility to organize the passports for the customs and immigration officers.

When the boat was based in Belize, we did not have to collect passports because guests cleared customs/immigration on their own at the airport.

Over many years, hundreds of charters and thousands of guests, we never had a guest refuse to give their passport to the purser for customs/immigration and safekeeping.

 

[Zieg]

But why do some operations want to hold my c-card. I once tried to dive through an operation that insisted they were going to hold my c-card while I was out on their boat. I asked why and the person working that morning didn't have an answer other then that is the policy.

The subject of this thread is what card to show, so after showing your card of choice, why would you allow someone else keep your card? Why would a dive operation need to hold your card after showing it?