Hiding your certification level

[boulderjohn]

Why would a dive operation need to hold your card after showing it?

They don't, so it is indeed curious. I have never heard of this before, and I don't know the precise details opf how people do it, so I am hazarding a wild guess.

There is a similar process among some car dealers. When you start discussing a possible deal at the early stages, they take your drivers license for some bogus reason or other and take it to someone in some back room. Later on, if the deal isn't going as you hoped and you want to leave, somehow your license is hard to locate. The person who has it is away from the desk, etc. That way they keep you in the store long enough (hopefully) to get you back into a buying mood.

Perhaps it is something like that. If you grow dissatisfied and want to switch to a different operator after a day of diving, you can't because you don't have your card at the moment and it will be a hassle to get it back.

 

[ItsBruce]

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

The one you obviously thought you had and which led you to show an OW or AOW card instead of a DM or Instructor card.

BTW: This post pushed me over the edge: You've convinced me it is a good idea to show an OW or AOW card instead of a DM or Instructor card. And, there is no further reason to quote me or for me to post in this thread.

 

[jupitermermaid]

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.

As far as a regular dive op, I don't know why they'd want to keep your c-card. I can only imagine that maybe if you have an accident they don't have to rummage through your stuff to find it???? I dunno....that's never happened to me.

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?

On a live aboard it's more for customs. I suppose they also want it in case something happens? I didn't have a problem relinquishing it on the Aqua Cat.....I knew I'd get it back at the end of the trip, and I didn't need it for anything while I was out as sea.

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?

Exactly. That's why I didn't have a problem. I'd rather they deal with customs rather than wait in a long line while each and every passenger produced their info. I don't know if all live aboards operate this way, as I've only been on the Cat.

 

[Zieg]

On a live aboard it's more for customs. I suppose they also want it in case something happens? I didn't have a problem relinquishing it on the Aqua Cat.....I knew I'd get it back at the end of the trip, and I didn't need it for anything while I was out as sea.



Exactly. That's why I didn't have a problem. I'd rather they deal with customs rather than wait in a long line while each and every passenger produced their info. I don't know if all live aboards operate this way, as I've only been on the Cat.

I'm not talking about customs. What does c-cards have to do with customs. I'm talking about c-cards here. Once they've seen the cards, they no longer need them. Why don't you let them hold your driver's license or maybe your credit card, you're not going to need them for anything while out at sea?

 

[jupitermermaid]

I honestly don't know why. It's their policy and I had no trouble with it. If I had a problem I wouldn't use the op again. This was a live aboard, and I wasn't going anywhere, so it wasn't a problem. On the other hand, if I was at a vacation spot on land, there's no way a dive op would take my card. On a live aboard, it's one less thing to deal with, I know it's safe, and I get it back before the final bill is paid at the end of the trip.

 

[Walter]

How do you know it's safe?

 

[H2O Gal]

Well, I guess if the boat were to sink or catch fire it wouldn't be....

 

[leapfrog]

In some countries, the law mandates that the boat captain carries the C cards and the dive insurance cards of all the divers on board.

 

[bleeb]

In some countries, the law mandates that the boat captain carries the C cards and the dive insurance cards of all the divers on board.

Do you know which countries do this?

 

[leapfrog]

Yes, I live in one that does, Spain.

So although I don't have any hard data to substantiate this for other countries, it would seem pretty logical that some Latin American and other Mediterranean countries would require this.

I have been stopped twice (once at sea and once after mooring) by the Spanish Civil Guard (the "competent authority" in the matter) and asked to produce C Cards and insurance cards of the divers on board as a matter of routine.