How to answer "what is your highest certification level"?

[scubadada]

...As much as you like to mock warm, non-tidal reef diving, that is what the overwhelming majoirty of divers will do world-wide throughout their diving lives. Why should they train for something they will never do?

In addition, make sure that the training location has adequate conditions for the training. There have been numerous comments regarding borderline or inadequate depth for the deep AOW dive or the Deep specialty dives.

My son and I did our AOW and Deep in Grand Cayman in 2004. The dives were 108, 116, 130, and 102 feet. I don't remember much about the specific curriculum but recall that we shared air on the start of the ascent from 130 feet and the last dive was planned and executed solely by us. I would call our AOW and Deep course good.

 

[Wibble]

As much as you like to mock warm, non-tidal reef diving, that is what the overwhelming majoirty of divers will do world-wide throughout their diving lives. Why should they train for something they will never do?

Love that kind of diving. But don't tell us that we can dive anywhere in the world with those very basic skills learned in a resort location -- by definition a beginner has insufficient experience to know what the truth is like.

 

[inquis]

a beginner has insufficient experience to know what the truth is like

Meh, they can obviously tell it's significantly different than their experience thus far, and therefore worthy of treading lightly. Gradual building of experience and all that.

 

[boulderjohn]

Love that kind of diving. But don't tell us that we can dive anywhere in the world with those very basic skills learned in a resort location -- by definition a beginner has insufficient experience to know what the truth is like.

And who says otherwise?

Basic OW training tells you emphatically not to dive in locations that are out of your range of experience without proper preparation. I had more than 800 dives before I did my first dive in a location where tide made any difference, and I made sure to do those dives with friends from the area who knew what they were doing. Even if agencies did not give that warning, it should be common sense.

In terms of instructional theory, we are comparing just in case training with just in time training.

• Just in case training prepares you for things that can happen at any time and for which you need to be prepared--in diving, that's everything in the OW course.
• Just in time training prepares you for something that might occur in a specific anticipated situation later on and for which you have time to prepare.

You do not cover every possibility in just in case training because it makes the training too much for the student if you include everything possible, including things they may never encounter. More importantly, skills taught when the student has no anticipated need leads to forgetting if it is needed later on. Things like zero visibility, tides, extreme cold, ice diving, drysuit, altitude, and overhead envrionments are not included in standard OW training (unless needed locally) but are instead left to later training when the diver expects to experience those things. That is, in fact, the original point of AOW--giving the student a taste of different experiences beyond basic OW.

 

[Blackcrusader]

"Diving in warm, clear, shallow (as in 20m/66ft), non-tidal water on reefs barely compares with cold, low visibility, tidal, high current, dark and deeper diving (as in 30m/100ft) on wrecks."

Love that kind of diving. But don't tell us that we can dive anywhere in the world with those very basic skills learned in a resort location -- by definition a beginner has insufficient experience to know what the truth is like.

I get where you are coming from. I mostly do that sort of diving. Sometimes I do single tank deco dives with experienced dive buddies.
Now not sure what you mean cold as when I was in Bali the water temp was 22c at Crystal Bay for the Mola Mola dive. The site does have strong currents and some people get too far out to get close to the Mola and get swept away. One diver near me from another group run out of air struggling against the current.

In Lombok we went on designated fast current diving. Forget reef hooks the current is too fast. My bubbles would go horizontal and away from me. Visibility was sometimes only a few meters at best. We had one DM in training who said yes he was experienced for current diving. He panicked on the first dive had to be taken back to the boat. Even for myself I was like I hope I still have the skillset for these dives.

The second dive was a real ripper in the currents. Very hard to get over some walls. A real physical and mental workout. My dive buddy thought I must have hated that dive and was surprised to see me beaming. He really struggled at one point on the dive. I had a blast. I needed that type of dive. We did 4 days of strong current diving.

Definitely not for the average warm water diver with no experience in strong currents. Very easy to get separated from your dive buddy or the instructor and his wife leading the divers.

 

[Searcaigh]

Now not sure what you mean cold as when I was in Bali the water temp was 22c

Well the warmest it used to get when I dived off the west coast of Scotland would be around 13/14C.

Definitely drysuit diving. 22C for most UK based divers is warm.

 

[Wibble]

Well the warmest it used to get when I dived off the west coast of Scotland would be around 13/14C.

Definitely drysuit diving. 22C for most UK based divers is warm.

Nowhere in UK seas gets over 18C/64F! Winter is 7C/44F in the south and 5C/41F in the north.

 

[Blackcrusader]

Well the warmest it used to get when I dived off the west coast of Scotland would be around 13/14C.

Definitely drysuit diving. 22C for most UK based divers is warm.

I must admit, 22C in shorts and T shirts was a wee bit cold. My forearms would sting from the cold water. The rest of my was just cold.
I do own a warm sharkskin with long sleeve but did not bring it that day. Was a mistake. Some divers in 5mm wetsuits were calling the dive after 40 mins from being too cold. One chap in a 7mm semi dry was taking photos of me. He probably thought I was nuts.
In Lombok the water was 24c at lowest on the dives that was cold but ok.

The dive op owner loves posting the video's he took of me to show other divers it's not that cold lol I am missing the Lombok wild scuba dives atm.

 

[Wibble]

In the process of booking this year’s diving trips including multiple days of 60m/200ft and deeper dives in 9C/48F to 12C/53F, all will be 2h to 3h duration.

Suit heating definitely factors into the plans!

 

[Cthippo]

The fundamental problem I see is that no one trusts or respects anyone elses training or certification, at least in the recreational realm.

Someone certified as an Open Water diver may be fully competent to plan and execute a dive the recreational limits, and possibly including some light decompression. on the other hand, they are just as likely to be completely untrained and only competent to follow a DM around a site under close supervision.

Someone with AOW certification may be fully capable of planning and executing dives to any recreational depth, in reduced visibility, including navigation, etc, or they may be almost competent as an OW diver.

The same argument continues certainly all throughout the recreational cert ladder.

What does it say about a sport that there is not level of certification that most people participating in it will accept as an indication of competence?