I f*** up and I am ashamed

[Raphus]

You go to a place and they ask for your highest certification level. Are you not going to reply you are DM certified?

Working professionally or not you are DM certified. Be what you are

Even when not asked, they can just look your up.
As a DM there is some responsibility, even when not guiding/teaching.

 

[Edward3c]

Here the CMAS equivalence:
Dive Agency Crossovers BSAC, CMAS, SSI, NAUI & SAA to PADI

Here the FIPSAS (Italian CMAS branch):
Equivalenze livelli brevetti subacquei internazionali | ASD Universo Blu | Corso Sub a Roma e Bracciano

Here the French equivalence for ANMPI (it is not a CMAS branch):
Reconnaissances de niveaux

The following document describes the French equivalence for FFESSM (CMAS branch); apparently, rescue + deep + some integrations are sufficient for the 3rd level, while AWO + integrations are sufficient for the 2nd level:
https://www.edenplongee.fr/docs/Telechargement/Passerelles.pdf

It is a bit confusing. In general, one can say that rescue is equivalent to CMAS** and DM (with deep) to CMAS***. However, I believe that each agency can set the agreements they prefer, as long as they satisfy the minimum CMAS requirements. But this is what I think... I am not sure

All crossover tables are designed to take a qualification over to the next ‘lower’ level. This is to stop someone switching agencies and moving up the ladder. Yes, it used to happen.

 

[BlueTrin]

I usually reply with the lowest certification that would allow me to dive.

Is that so they don’t pair you with someone to look after?

 

[ginti]

Is that so they don’t pair you with someone to look after?

No, it's just that I do not see any reason to provide a trimix card for a rec dive at 20m...

 

[boulderjohn]

No, it's just that I do not see any reason to provide a trimix card for a rec dive at 20m...

Something else to consider....

While you don't have to show a trimix card for a 20m dive, there are benefits to showing a high level card on recreational dives.

• If the operator is dividing divers into groups, it will usually be by ability, and if you want to be with the good diver group, make sure the operator knows your credentials.
• If you are a single diver on such a trip (as I often am) and a buddy is required, you will be matched with someone or some group of high ability. I have never had the mythical experience of being paired with a beginner for the safety of the beginner. Only an idiotic dive operator would want to piss off a customer like me, someone who is likely to return and recommend a good operator.
• If you are a single diver on such a trip (as I often am) and a buddy is required, that requirement may be quietly waived for your case.
  
• In one case two years ago, I did quite a few dives with a dive operator who specialized in 20m dives, and I showed my Trimix instructor card. I was given all the leeway I wanted on the dives. I had great chats with the dive operation owner (who went on the trips) during the boat rides. One day we had a new DM on the boat, and when she had time from her duties of getting everyone else ready to go and making sure everyone had a buddy, she sat down by me and told me she had been told that I was a special diver and should be allowed to do whatever I wanted. She wanted to know what I wanted so she could make sure I got it.

 

[ginti]

Something else to consider....

While you don't have to show a trimix card for a 20m dive, there are benefits to showing a high level card on recreational dives.

• If the operator is dividing divers into groups, it will usually be by ability, and if you want to be with the good diver group, make sure the operator knows your credentials.
• If you are a single diver on such a trip (as I often am) and a buddy is required, you will be matched with someone or some group of high ability. I have never had the mythical experience of being paired with a beginner for the safety of the beginner. Only an idiotic dive operator would want to piss off a customer like me, someone who is likely to return and recommend a good operator.
• If you are a single diver on such a trip (as I often am) and a buddy is required, that requirement may be quietly waived for your case.
  
• In one case two years ago, I did quite a few dives with a dive operator who specialized in 20m dives, and I showed my Trimix instructor card. I was given all the leeway I wanted on the dives. I had great chats with the dive operation owner (who went on the trips) during the boat rides. One day we had a new DM on the boat, and when she had time from her duties of getting everyone else ready to go and making sure everyone had a buddy, she sat down by me and told me she had been told that I was a special diver and should be allowed to do whatever I wanted. She wanted to know what I wanted so she could make sure I got it.

I never considered these things. To be honest, they do not really apply to me for several reasons, but for sure I will take them into account in the future if my diving needs will change. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Dody]

I never considered these things. To be honest, they do not really apply to me for several reasons, but for sure I will take them into account in the future if my diving needs will change. Thanks for sharing!

A very naive question. I have often heard of diving with buddies of the same level. What does it really mean? I understand that a diver with several hundreds of dives might resent being buddied with a newbie that don’t even master buoyancy, finning techniques, orientation, hand signals, or any basic procedure and has no experience dealing with issues . But what would be the problem for a 1000+ diver to be buddied with a 200+ diver?

 

[Edward3c]

I never considered these things. To be honest, they do not really apply to me for several reasons, but for sure I will take them into account in the future if my diving needs will change. Thanks for sharing!

I will echo @boulderjohn in you can get to do the dives you want. I’ve been paired up with a tec guide so I could do accelerated deco, or go off and take the pics I want, in peace.

 

[Dan]

But what would be the problem for a 1000+ diver to be buddied with a 200+ diver?

It would be less a problem than pairing with <50 logged dives’ diver. Sometimes you have not much of a choice.

 

[boulderjohn]

But what would be the problem for a 1000+ diver to be buddied with a 200+ diver?

On most dive operations, a 1,000 dive+ diver would hope to be buddied with a 200+ diver. That would be about the best you could expect. Only a very small percentage of divers reach 200+ dives.

Additionally, I would expect a 200+ diver to be pretty good, well able to handle pretty much anything on a recreational dive. If I need more than that in a buddy, I will bring my own.

The reason people fear the newbie is their lack of skill required for handling the dives you want to do. It is hard to tell by the number of dives, though. Here is a story that will illustrate the issue perfectly:

Two friends and I were diving in Akumal, Mexico. The dives there required boats, but the trips were very short, so the dive operation did 4 one-tank dives a day. On our third day of diving, we had a DM we had not had before. As we walked back toward the shop after the first dive, the DM talked to the three of us. He said he noticed we were much more skilled than the other divers on that dive. He said we were the only three people signed up for the next dive. Would it be OK if he took us to a much more advanced site, one more befitting our skills and experience? "You bet!" we responded.

As we suited up for the next dive, we saw another couple suiting up as well. They had signed up for that dive late. When we got to that more advanced dive site, it was obvious in the first minutes of the dive that the wife was not up to it. Her buoyancy control was miserable. The DM took 5 minutes of our dive to give her a buoyancy lesson while we watched. Even when done, she didn't have a clue. We spent the entire dive floating over the top of the reef, and down below I could see the narrow canyons and swim-throughs the DM had intended for us. It was not a good dive.

After the dive, the DM apologized. He said that the other couple only had about 25 dives total, not the vast experience the three of us had. I pointed to my two friends and said, "I finished certifying them yesterday. The dives you did with us today were their first two dives as certified OW divers."​