Key Largo Shop recommendation for learning to be a Dive master

[Saniflush]

The issue is the problems that happen that you may not have even noticed. Somebody splashes off your boat with their air turned off and drowns. Their spouse decides, as a pro, you had a duty of care to check their gas before they splashed. You didn't do that, so you're found negligent (because the spouse had a better lawyer than you did).

@stuartv I get what you are saying and that is certainly food for thought. I guess I just feel that if we truly believe this mantra that we constantly say to ourselves and each other, that we are responsible for our own safety, then we have to accept the converse of that which is we (the individual) are also responsible for the stupid **** that we do.

My surface intervals are spent running a custom metal fabrication shop and safety is a huge concern for us. My high level job each day is to ensure that each one of my employees goes home to their family in the same condition that they arrived here. I do this through extensive safety training and developing a safety culture that permeates from the bottom up. As good as I think my safety programs are here they do not hold a candle to the overall safety culture that I have witnessed in the scuba industry. I say all this to say that anyone can be sued for anything by anyone but I will not allow the perfect be the enemy of the good. If someone is to worry about being sued then they are likely to miss out on a whole bunch of stuff in life.

 

[MichaelMc]

NAUI MSD?

Rumored here to be DM without the Demonstration Skill, Learning to Teach, or Dive Shop components......

NAUI MSD is great, it continues to expand on rescue, but does not require it and is mostly about individual aspects of diving - physics, physiology, equip, nav, safety, search, decompression. And rescue is typically about preventing or respond to one diver’s problems. Dive master adds worrying about managing a few people even when one has a problem you must deal with, and more evaluation and management of whether this person should actually be diving with your group.

As leader of a fixed club/group that dives together off someone else’s boat or shore, you could get most of that without DM. And without the added liability risk of being a pro. As the owner of the boat, you seem a hair away from having that risk anyway, so you might as well understand what you need to do to not have it, and have the chance to get liability coverage. With the understanding that you can’t later become not a pro.

Cavern, fundies, and solo would be great alternatives in giving you more safety consciousness. As would doing rescue again with a separate instructor. You could then use those new eyes in evaluating the safety of what other divers in your group are doing.

 

[Hoyden]

I know this thread has drifted to why DM is the wrong choice for you, but I would like to go back to recommendations - I highly recommend Rainbow Reef in Key Largo. It is a big operation with a lot of classes going on and a lot of boats going out daily. They also have an on-site pool. These factors allow them to offer their DM candidates a wide variety of experiences. In addition, they offer tech training so if you decide that route is the way to go for skills improvement, you can do that there as well.

Jackie

 

[PfcAJ]

I was in the keys a few weeks ago and I was really impressed with Rainbow Reef. Their whole operation was tops.

 

[Cap335]

DM does the same thing for people that Rescue classes do , it sharpens a divers situational awareness.
In Rescue you start to notice more of what's happening above the water predive. In DM you start paying attention to what other divers are doing during the dive.

 

[Diving Dubai]

I'm going to reiterate what some others have said.

If taught correctly you will learn new skills.

The skills circuit - demonstrating the 24 skills slowly and smoothly whilst keeping in a neutral mid water position in a poll that is only 5-6' deep will challenge most people. And then as @stuartv posted, keeping position on students while task loaded also improves buoyancy. I could already hold deco stops to a high degree of accuracy while being task loaded, and I learnt new tricks.

However if the establishment you choose teaches everything on your knees then you won't learn.

Also don't rush it. You can learn a lot by frequently diving with customers, you start to pick up an awareness of who will be okay and who needs watching. Yes you will need to work with day to day stuff. At the shops I work for everyone, from DMT through to Instructors, Course Directors and the Shop owner all pitch in to load and unload boats and sort out equipment, because that's what we do.

I went to PADI DM at almost 500 dive, I was already an equivalent level with BSAC, but I still learnt new things, both from teh course and from being around different instructors and divers from my normal circle.

 

[cmcdarris]

Pete,

I am 54, an attorney in NC, and got my Divemaster certification 4 years ago. I went through the same consideration and am more than happy to talk with you on the phone (too much info to post here). I can't figure out how to get my phone number to you without posting it in the public forum. If you can figure out how to private message me, I will get my number to you. I think I can give you some good insight.

Charlie