How many times do you get burned by a hot stove before you stop touching it?
I said "we can hope"....not that our hope would be well founded.
"No decompression diving" at intro level.
Wouldn't receiving instruction trump that requirement? Wouldn't I be expected to dive to a depth greater than 100ft while taking a full cave course? Should the student stop at 100ft and thumb the training dive because she/he isn't allowed to dive deeper?
It's another agency, but when I was discussing deco training plans with my instructor, he called the agency and asked what the rules were. What I understood was that an instructor can take a student one level beyond their current level of training. So, if I had AN/DP and Apprentice...I could do a Full Cave Dive with deco. However, as "deco" makes any cave dive a "Full Cave" dive....that's two steps ahead of an Intro cert (one step ahead in some as Apprentice can allow limited deco in some agencies, I'm just not sure of the specifics). Taking a course in Trimix means you're pushing one level beyond your certification, which is allowed....but that level push PLUS the Intro->Full two-level-push means you're now diving 3 cert levels beyond your current certification level which is a breach of standards. For me to take my deco course in the overhead environment, I had to be Full Cave certified first.
I know that the rules for deco training in an overhead environment get really wonky, and as I'm very prone to seasickness my instructor is helping me jump through the hoops to navigate my way to where I want to be. He has been in
intimate contact with this agency for me, making sure we followed all of the rules and met all of the standards regarding overhead and deco and training. PSAI even created a new course to more properly handle the situation, and I think I'm the first diver certified as a PSAI "Cave Staged Decompression Procedures Diver." I have really started feeling bad for him, as the rules are so tricky to navigate.
---------- Post added April 22nd, 2015 at 12:00 PM ----------
So if I am interpreting this thread correctly the instructor was teaching a class by another agency (a class that the NACD doesn't even offer) and through the teaching of this class the NACD says he violated their standards. This to me seems like a very slippery slope. Lots of instructors I know teach for different agencies and the standards vary from one agency to another so any violation of any NACD standard whether in a NACD class or not is now going to result in a suspension or expulsion from the NACD. I bet the instructor list for the NACD is going to get even smaller. What is next? A instructor goes on a fun dive with some friends and doesn't run a reel at JB, Peacock or Twin and is going to be suspended? What is the difference a standard is a standard no matter how insignificant it may be. If you aren't teaching a class for the NACD I don't see why they would get involved. Seems like they just opened up Pandora's box to me.
Victor it has always been my understanding if you are with an instructor trained to teach the next level class then you can dive one level above where you are trained with that instructor. This to me makes sense or are all these intro cave dives done at the end of a cavern class a standards violation also? I personally don't see what the NACD has to gain by getting involved but I see where they have a lot to loose by doing so. I have never been in LOG so I have no idea what it is like. I have a feeling that the ranks of NACD instructors are going to get even smaller after this.
These are certainly good points, and it's my biggest issue with his suspension. I'm FAR from a Neto fan, but I've asked myself the question of inter-agency standards as well. The fact that the NACD seems to have no provisions for Trimix diving seems extra Wonky, in my book.
Regarding "one level up" look at my response to Hetland (not sure of his/her real name). If I understood the rules right, this seems to be "three levels up." Like taking someone with no deco certs at all to Trimix I directly (DP, ER, T1).
