Master Diver specialties

[OMyMyOHellYes]

wreck, nav, deep, u/w ph

Sounds like a plan.

Interestingly, nobody tried to sell me hard on the PPB

You said you already had that down.

I took it because my OW was, IMHO, deficient in that area. I hit a boat in Roatan with like four 10 minute dunks in a shallow mud puddle with 2'-4' viz (which freaked me the frack out) as my only underwater experience outside the pool. Drove the DM crazy the first day and a half using the elevator buttons on my BCD as the only way I knew to go up or down. And was out of air at 35 minutes of an hour-long dive so I played solo diver and popped up to the surface (we were never that far from the boat and he knew I was going). There was a new OW class on the boat that finished up noon of second day and so we commenced the AOWing cert.

First AOW "adventure" was buoyancy because I so badly needed it. As soon as we finished AOW, we finished the PPB specialty. Don't consider that I had real good buoyancy control with those two buoyancy specialty qual dives, but it was a good basic platform that I refined greatly over the next 15-20 dives. Should that have been nailed in OW? IMO, yep. But the curriculum really doesn't allocate a lot that much time to it. At least in my class.

OMMOHY

 

[rick00001967]

Shouldn't a Master Diver be trained on how to dive at night? Again, the PADI MSD is watered down and the fact that you can get a PADI "Master Diver" Cert and never dive at night, should tell you something.

a master diver rating is simply a recognition of completing a certain number of specialties along with a certain number of dives or time at depth. it does not mean you know everything there is to know about diving and can stop trying to learn now.

 

[scubadada]

I had done many night dives before getting my MSD, don't think this should be a requirement unless you want it to be one of your specialties.

 

[TravelGas]

I never said a MSD "knows everything there is to know about diving".

According to the above, the MSD does not have to be trained to dive at night, below 60' or light penetration of wrecks. The PADI MSD cert as described now sounds like a participation trophy that you pay for and little if anything has been MASTERED.

 

[KatieMac]

I never said a MSD "knows everything there is to know about diving".

According to the above, the MSD does not have to be trained to dive at night, below 60' or light penetration of wrecks. The PADI MSD cert as described now sounds like a participation trophy that you pay for and little if anything has been MASTERED.

Well since you can't get MSD without AOW where one of the requirements is (admittedly a very light) Deep, then yes, MSD must (at least a bit) trained in deep.

 

[KatieMac]

i would say it depends on your goals.

your profile says you are from canada. do you dive up here? or only warm water?
do you only dive with a guide or do you dive independently? do you already dive a dry suit? have you done ice diving ?

you have nitrox and rescue which are both great certs to have.

personally i think wreck is waste of time unless you plan to pursue it further to an advanced wreck level.

deep is also i great course if taught properly. but it too is a waste of time if you never want to dive past 60 feet or so.

if a student of mine wanted to achieve master diver and already had nitrox and rescue, and wanted to dive in canadian waters, and extend their depth range, i would suggest dry suit, deep, and nav.

I will probably ... ultimately ... go diving in the St. Lawrence ... in late summer months. 75F is about as cold as I can handle, I think. Dry suit doesn't interest me. Not sure why but I think I equate dry suit to freakin cold.

 

[KatieMac]

Shouldn't a Master Diver be trained on how to dive at night? Again, the PADI MSD is watered down and the fact that you can get a PADI "Master Diver" Cert and never dive at night, should tell you something.

But why? Why is night diving so important to skills if one never plans to dive at night. Is there a chance I will get stuck underwater for 6 hours after my 2nd morning dive ... and still miraculously surviving on the same tank ... to end up in night waters? Is that why I need a night diving specialty?

 

[TravelGas]

AOW limit is 100', Deep is 130', they are two different classes. That's one reason why I suggested you do the Deep specialty as one of your 5 required certs.

 

[TravelGas]

But why? Why is night diving so important to skills if one never plans to dive at night. Is there a chance I will get stuck underwater for 6 hours after my 2nd morning dive ... and still miraculously surviving on the same tank ... to end up in night waters? Is that why I need a night diving specialty?

This brings to light some of the issues with the watered down standards that PADI has for their Master Cert. The Master cert' is supposed to be respected that you have Mastered the key skills to Recreational diving. Or you can be a PADI Master of diving during day light hours only, in clear water.

 

[boulderjohn]

This is the last place you should go for advice like this. You will get meaningless advice from individuals who are riding their personal hobby horses with no regard to you or your diving history and plans.

I suggest you find a really good, experienced instructor with advanced credentials, including tech if possible. Sit down and talk with him or her, describing your history and your goals for the future. Do a dive together if possible. Then pick out the courses that will work best to get you where you want to be some day. Maybe those will qualify you for MSD. Maybe they won't. It's the learning that takes you along the best path possible that counts.

You can do just fine with a PADI program if you have the right instructor. If you have the wrong instructor, any agency's program will suck.