Night diving, qualification required?

[Papa3]

I have been diving for almost a year and have accumulated 140 dives in that time. I recently completed my PADI AOW course including the night dive.

This was something of a superfluous outing having already logged 30+ night dives for which I had no special training, just an explanation of the different signals and light control/usage.

This week I was chatting to a local DM, not my regular outfit but a friend with whom I have dived before, about arranging a night dive in the near future and inviting 2 divers who have completed their OW cert and have 15-20 dives each. He became quite offhand and refused to lead a dive where participants were not suitably qualified as they would require their AOW to dive at night.

This is not something I have encountered before and certainly not what my regular operator enforces.

Who's right?

 

[tomfcrist]

They are both right. Each of them reserves the right to create any policy they feel is prudent to protect them from liability. That being said, find someone else to go diving with..this DM is an idiot.

 

[Papa3]

Thanks Tom, limited choice here, there are only 2 operators. He is normally a very level lad but seemed to have his panties rather bunched about this point. I take it then PADI has no such requirement amongst their myriad of certifications?

 

[KeithG]

DMs, like operators, are free to make up any rules they want. their op, their rules. and they make up lots of strange ones.

i have never encountered the AOW for night dive rule. but then, i no longer ever use an operator that requires a DM. too many strange rules out there.

in many (most?) parts of the world there is no rule requiring a DM. so anyone can night dive.

 

[Papa3]

No rule here that requires a DM, though tourists must be accompanied by a local diver, but if you want to dive from a boat you need an operator.

 

[KeithG]

.. though tourists must be accompanied by a local diver...

and there is another strange rule...what is so special about "tourists"?

we tend to split our vacation dives between bonaire and a couple of liveaboards. this seems to reduce the number of strange "house rules".

our only rule is "never dive with an operation that requires guided dives".

 

[diver 85]

"Night diving, qualification required"............

A flashlite & some say a backup ------just in case...

ALWAYS remember----AOW cards are a cure for everything, from the common cold thru GBM4..........(like the diver that completed his/her OW certification 1 weekend & gets their AOW the next----I mean to tell you they are really advanced divers---lololololol.....means jack poo poo to me, but to the instructor/DM/ & or shop that got to charge them for it, it means something....)........


EDIT:.......also remember, the SCUBA police are out more @ nite vs daytime...

 

[redacted]

Remember, there are some folks who are afraid to walk in the park at night and need a bit of hand-holding to get over their fear of the dark. Maybe your friend was one of those and struggled with night diving.

 

[dmoore19]

Never been anywhere that required anything other than OW to go on a night dive. I did my first night dive on about dive#5 after OW certification.

I can see where some places might require it. Getting served papers for a lawsuit may cause some to be a little cautious. It might be an insurance requirement for some places.

Lots of people love night dives, they aren't my favorite so I could not go and it wouldn't really bother me though.

 

[flyin01]

As you can see from the above responses grab a light or two and go have some fun!