Master.........Really?

[TMHeimer]

I have been following this thread for awhile now and I've found it pretty interesting. I've been trying to figure out how to convey my thoughts and katepnatl nailed it. I'm 1 dive away from my AOW certification. Do I think I'm an advanced diver? No, far from it. I like to think a majority of divers can self evaluate their skills and recognize they may not be advanced or master as the certification title may suggest

Yes I felt the same way, and I'd LIKE to think the majority can self evaluate. Wonder what the % is that can? I knew that after getting my 50th dive in to qualify for MSD that I was no master in any sense of the word. But who knows what some people think.

 

[Bob DBF]

For whatever that's worth. It's just a title, and I think what it means varies a lot from diver to diver regarding experience.

And a difference between agencies, NAUI MSD is the non leadership portion of the DM cert, which is quite different than the PADI MSD.

I only got involved with it to get my daughter to get more training after OW. She was talking about being a DM and I said I could be a MSD before that ever happened. Needless to say she got off her butt and became an SSI DiveCon and later a PADI DM. I probably would not have got the cert, but my instructor sent it in, paid for it, and embarrassed me in front of a large group of students on a beach when he handed it to me. Otherwise I would be a career OW diver with a nitrox cert, like a couple of my buddys.



Bob

 

[Scuba Christine]

I'm looking forward to my NAUI Master Scuba Diver class, not for the opportunity to collect a card but for the chance to do some more in depth classes with a phenominal instructor.

I learn so much everytime we dive together, when I get to take a class with him I feel privileged. It's not the value of the cert that is exciting, it's the value of the knowledge and skills imparted and a chance to confirm my understanding of a range of concepts that is appealing. Is this the NAUI difference?

 

[lv2dive]

It's not the NAUI difference, it's the difference of having a valuable instructor. All the agencies have good ones and bad ones, some more than others perhaps, but no one agency has any marker cornered .

I'm looking forward to my NAUI Master Scuba Diver class, not for the opportunity to collect a card but for the chance to do some more in depth classes with a phenominal instructor.

I learn so much everytime we dive together, when I get to take a class with him I feel privileged. It's not the value of the cert that is exciting, it's the value of the knowledge and skills imparted and a chance to confirm my understanding of a range of concepts that is appealing. Is this the NAUI difference?

 

[Downing]

When I took my PADI OW class years ago, the Instructor introduced the Dive Masters who would be assisting us. I thought, "Wow, Dive Masters! Probably here to supervise the Instructor." Lol. I was in awe.

When I got my Advanced OW Card, I was very much aware that I wasn't advanced in any normal sense of the word. I just wanted to get in a deep dive before I went to Belize and dived the Blue Hole.

Now that I'm a "Master Scuba Diver," it rarely comes up but when it does I tell people that my MSD rating plus $2 will get me a cup of coffee at Starbucks. I'm never going to be in the dive business, so I'm probably never going to become a Dive Master. Nobody, including me, cares about my cards. But I enjoyed and still enjoy taking the occasional specialty class, learning something new and having fun along the way.

And even though I now know Instructors outrank Dive Masters, I'm still in awe.

 

[TMHeimer]

Downing, Exactly the same with me on both points. When taking OW our instructor said "This is Alan, my Divemaster". I figured he was there to evaluate instructor Tara. Ironically, 7 years later I was Tara's DM....
Before that I got the MSD and put the patch on my cap,-- shortly after learning on SB that said cap is not to be worn around divers. At the campground though I did wear it. A guy said "You're really not a Master Scuba Diver, are you?" I said "Why yes, I am". Sounds like a tale from The Far Side.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Yup, I tend to avoid anyone with master, professional, or whatever tacked to their name. In my opinion there are those who do the job, and those who talk about how good they are at doing the job.

I just finished my NAUI Master Diver course - so does that make me a hypocrite? Personally I didn't see much difference between OW, AOW, and Master Diver.

This is a funny thread!

I too have a NAUI Master Diver certification. I did not "buy" it in the usual manner though. When I took my Scuba class in 1969 there were (if I recall correctly) two levels of certification: Scuba Diver and Instructor. The instruction back then (at least with NAUI) was a bit more thorough than what you get with, say, PADI OW. At this time "Scuba Diver" seems to mean you are qualified to dive in a swimming pool accompanied by an instructor or dive master. When I started going on dive boats they did not seem very impressed with my Scuba Diver C-Card so I wrote NAUI and asked for an updated card. They sent me the Master Diver card based upon my original course plus the additional NAUI course that I took in 1983 which was just to make sure they taught my X-wife correctly. Add that to about 45 years of diving experience (at that time) and I guess you get the next step beyond AOW. Since I am now a "Master" I do not need to receive any additional training even though I've never used a dive computer, a dry suit, Nitrox. have never dove in icy water or done a decompression dive. Hey, I'm just kidding. To me it means that I can get on the "Advanced" boat and can make up my own mind if I'm qualified or capable of whatever dive may come along. So, if you can't get your computer to work I'm the guy to ask. I'll show you my copy of the Dive Tables

I always wondered about the whole certification process. When I first started scuba diving I naturally assumed that anyone with a C-Card had the same level of training that I did. After rescuing or in some way assisting most of the certified divers that I dove with I began to wonder. My training included rescue. Some of them were not even taught how to enter/exit through the surf. I heard stories of my classmates rescuing instructors (from other agencies).

 

[TMHeimer]

JamesBon92007, Yeah, I always get a kick out of these Master ones. So what sort of an "additional" course did you take in '83 that they gave you Master? Just curious as to what was included in the course. I have always felt that rescue taught in the PADI Rescue Course should be included in OW, but that won't happen. I can see though how some divers today wouldn't know how to enter in surf--many take the course inland -- even here in NS we do them in a bay off the ocean where anything bigger than annoying surf won't happen.

 

[Sam Miller III]

I agree with JamesBon92007
I just don't log dives
Location: Southern California...

"This is a funny thread!"

Indeed it is........

Did any of you ever question your instructors how this step marketing dive instruction began?
When?
Where?
Why
Whom?

SDM

 

[JamesBon92007]

In response to TMHeimer: These were people who were certified in Southern California, the same as me. I'm guess they had all of their ocean dives from a boat.That means they paid more for their certification but apparently got less training for their money.

My mind is a bit foggy these days but I recall that some degree of rescue training was involved (both in 1969 and in 1983) plus they touched upon such things as cave and shipwreck diving and navigation with a compass. At the time I was also reading a lot about diving so I can't verify exactly where I got my information. We were also taught decompression dives but didn't actually do any during the course. Since I don't know what they don't teach now in a basic course it's difficult for me to say what all of the differences were. Of course we didn't have BCs so we learned about proper weighting. Everyone had to do a free ascent from about 35 feet. During the pool training all of our gear would be at the bottom of the pool and we jumped in, turned on our air, and put on all of the stuff. During one exercise our masks were blacked out with aluminum foil and the instructor would do such things as drop our weight belt, turn off our air, or yank the regulator out of our mouth. Hopefully all of the book-learning is still included in even the most basic course as I view it all as necessary. My original course even included a bit of survival training and how to make sushi before I'd even heard of sushi. Since very few people had a SPG we relied upon our dive watch to determine when to surface or head back to the beach. I now know that many of my dives could have been a little longer.