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Sounds like NC boat diving except the buddy pairs is also optional at least on the boats I go on.
So far I haven't been on a single organized dive - shop, op or club - that (officially) condoned solo diving¹. OTOH, since we don't have a babysitter with us, no-one can check if you dive same day, same ocean or if you dive as proper buddies.

For shore or private boat diving, anything goes, of course. But IME rather few in my diving community is comfortable with solo diving.

¹ Most of the clubs here are affiliated with our national Diving Federation. They don't condone solo, and every club is required to have a set of safety rules which have to be at least as strict as the Diving Association's template rules. Those template rules explicitly state that all diving should be done with a buddy. So 99 (or about that) percent of our clubs aren't allowed to condone solo diving.
 
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Most of the NC dives are boat dives. Note that the DM are often diving solo twice at each site to hook and unhook the boat. There are some spearos around. They are usually solo. By mutual agreement sometimes one diver will go up while the other stays down a bit longer.
 
An electronic watermark-like stamp for electronic logs would be cool. A DM or instructor could transfer it to your device upon request.
Ooooh, now you are getting techy! I like that idea. I sign some electronic log sheets with Adobe, it would seem a logical step to come up with an electronic stamp.
 
Most places ask to see a card that requires OW. If you happen to show them the solo card or a DM card then you have also verified in a sense a certain number of dives. Found the solo card useful on occasion in the Keys.
What I am going to say directly contradicts the advice many people give on ScubaBoard. I believe there are definite advantages to showing cards well beyond the most basic needed. I always show one of my most advanced cards, and it has many advantages.

The disadvantage people cite is their belief that the dive operation will stick them with a beginning diver in order to help that diver. This has not only never happened to me in all my years of diving, my experience has been the opposite. Dive operations almost always do their best to match divers by ability, not mismatch them. If you want to make it most likely you will be matched with the best divers, show your best card. If you want to be matched with their least experienced divers, show your least experienced card.

Here is an example to illustrate what I mean. I signed up for a dive the day before at the shop, and the shop owner took my information. I showed my instructor card, and we had a pleasant chat about my experiences as an instructor. The next day I showed up at the boat, and the DM set about finding me a buddy, since they did not allow solo diving. I noted that he did not ask one word about my experience, and I (stupidly) did not volunteer any information. I realized from the way he talked to me that he assumed I was a raw beginner, and I (stupidly) let him continue on that belief because I was peeved. He set me up with a father and son, who grudgingly accepted me as a buddy, despite the fact that they clearly resented having to deal with a beginner. When I saw they were setting up their gear incorrectly, I quietly helped them out, which obviously embarrassed them. At that point, the dive shop owner got on board, saw me, and came over to chat. He asked me who I was diving with, and when I showed him, his eyes grew wide with horror. He went across the boat, talked with some obviously very experienced divers, and I suddenly had new buddies.

Aside from getting matched with the most experienced divers on a trip, there are other advantages. You will get the benefit of the doubt during dives--DMs will let you wander more, and they won't be analy checking your gas pressure every few minutes. You get nice collegial chats with crew members. One time I even got a free dive. The boat was doing a specialty dive (sharks), and they needed a certain number of professionals in the water for their insurance. They were one pro short, and I became a crew member for the dive. All I had to do was go in the water first, direct the customers to the dive site (it was obvious), do the same dive I would have done otherwise, and then bring up the rear at the end of the dive. No problem.
 
Aside from getting matched with the most experienced divers on a trip, there are other advantages. You will get the benefit of the doubt during dives--DMs will let you wander more, and they won't be analy checking your gas pressure every few minutes. You get nice collegial chats with crew members. One time I even got a free dive. The boat was doing a specialty dive, and they needed a certain number of professionals in the water for their insurance. They were one pro short, and I became a crew member for the dive. All I had to do was go in the water first, direct the customers to the dive site (it was obvious), do the same dive I would have done otherwise, and then bring up the rear at the end of the dive.
Very good points, John. I will also show my high cards most of the time, for the very reason that it usually means I will be given a bit of latitude. And, if I can help out by my presence, I am happy to do it. I have never been asked to buddy with an inexperienced diver
 
What I am going to say directly contradicts the advice many people give on ScubaBoard. I believe there are definite advantages to showing cards well beyond the most basic needed. I always show one of my most advanced cards, and it has many advantages.

The disadvantage people cite is their belief that the dive operation will stick them with a beginning diver in order to help that diver. This has not only never happened to me in all my years of diving, my experience has been the opposite. Dive operations almost always do their best to match divers by ability, not mismatch them. If you want to make it most likely you will be matched with the best divers, show your best card. If you want to be matched with their least experienced divers, show your least experienced card.

Here is an example to illustrate what I mean. I signed up for a dive the day before at the shop, and the shop owner took my information. I showed my instructor card, and we had a pleasant chat about my experiences as an instructor. The next day I showed up at the boat, and the DM set about finding me a buddy, since they did not allow solo diving. I noted that he did not ask one word about my experience, and I (stupidly) did not volunteer any information. I realized from the way he talked to me that he assumed I was a raw beginner, and I (stupidly) let him continue on that belief because I was peeved. He set me up with a father and son, who grudgingly accepted me as a buddy, despite the fact that they clearly resented having to deal with a beginner. When I saw they were setting up their gear incorrectly, I quietly helped them out, which obviously embarrassed them. At that point, the dive shop owner got on board, saw me, and came over to chat. He asked me who I was diving with, and when I showed him, his eyes grew wide with horror. He went across the boat, talked with some obviously very experienced divers, and I suddenly had new buddies.

Aside from getting matched with the most experienced divers on a trip, there are other advantages. You will get the benefit of the doubt during dives--DMs will let you wander more, and they won't be analy checking your gas pressure every few minutes. You get nice collegial chats with crew members. One time I even got a free dive. The boat was doing a specialty dive (sharks), and they needed a certain number of professionals in the water for their insurance. They were one pro short, and I became a crew member for the dive. All I had to do was go in the water first, direct the customers to the dive site (it was obvious), do the same dive I would have done otherwise, and then bring up the rear at the end of the dive. No problem.
I have often had this exact same experience. I show my nitrox instructor or tech DM card. They are the only 2 I carry.
 
I have often had this exact same experience. I show my nitrox instructor or tech DM card. They are the only 2 I carry.
So, Frank, as an experienced dive operator, which of the following would come closest to the approach you used when having highly experienced and/or professional divers sign up for your trips?
  1. I will stick him or her with an absolutely beginner, someone who may never dive again, to keep that beginner safe, even though I know the experienced diver/professional will be pissed as all Hell about it.
  2. I will give him or her the best possible experience so that he or she will want to come back frequently, bring friends, and recommend my operation to students and to other professionals.
 
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OMG, that is amazing. I think such a standard, while apparently functional for the instructor from a liability perspective, would significantly limit his pool of potential subjects. I 'grew up' in a shop that did not have a stamp, until I had one made for them several years after I became an instructor. A number of my students were asking if we had a stamp and I became frustrated with having to tell them, 'No'. :)

On my first "public" dive boat on Maui I got a sticker, not a stamp. I never got a stamp until last month. Of course, inbetween those two I never even asked because the only reason I even put anything in my log book is so I can look up when I went where.
 
I actually do have a couple of stamps in my book. One of them came on my trip to the Galapagos. The boat captain told us that his boat's stamp was one of the old passport stamps from the days when the stamp for the Galapagos was different from Ecuador's. I don't know if that is true, but if it is true, it has that bit of history going for it.
 

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