Night diving, qualification required?

[redacted]

He does? Cool. I'll look out for him the next time. Myself, I'm more concerned about being able to read my computer and my compass, but we all have our concerns, I guess.



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That is why you have spare lights. Plus, as a recreational diver, you have direct access to the surface, which can be done safely without light.

 

[NAM001]

Everyone has thier own standarrds for who and who they wil not dive with. Seldom are those standards in print . It takes but a time or 2 of getting bit to say no more. His pst esxperience may be that ow's dont stay together and there for no ow's at night. He may be doing anight dive to 80 ft and holds to the rule of ow's are 60 ft and less. There are numerous threads that deal with these issues. Bottom line is you cant make some one dive with you. I would guess he does not want the liability of an OW on a dive that is less than an optimal dive.

Reminds me of another thread about why collect cert cards. I dont have many but there is not much that i cant do with nitrox night boat nav deep and a min of an AOW card.

 

[sheeper]

You can be sued for whatever, even if you take the diver with the c-card.

And just because there is a c-card, does that mean it's always a necessity? That's what we are arguing here.

well you could argue that no c-card is ever necessary. look at how many people on SB started diving without being certified.
the training is what gets you a c-card. and I'm a BIG fan of training. So do you need training to night dive (or anything)? Maybe not but it sure helps.

 

[Charlie59]

I'm just impressed the original poster had 140 dives in their first year. Lucky guy.

I'm sure I feel like others here that the name "advanced open water" is not really what the AOW certification indicates. It means you have taken more dives with an instructor with basic information about different types of dives, it does not mean you are an advanced diver. Maybe it should stand for additional instruction.

Anyone should be able to night dive if they go with someone with experience with night diving (and they won't shine their light in my eyes).

 

[Mustard Dave]

Lets not forget the real purpose of a c-card beyond actual training and learning. As a dive op (DM or instructor) if I take you on a night dive and something happens to you, I can and will be sued if you don't have that c-card.

I have people ask me things like this a lot. On a recent trip we ran someone asked me if her boyfriend could dive nitrox even though he was not certified for it. As an instructor I have to say "NO". I would not knowingly dive with or allow (if within my power) someone to dive in conditions or limits past their level of training. I don't like being sued.

To be liable for damages, three criteria have to be met - you have to owe somebody a duty of care, you have to fail in that duty of care and somebody has to suffer a loss or injury. There is nothing in the open water manual that says you cannot dive at night without an additional cert card, and as others say, there are plenty of other diving activities that you can do that PADI offer a card for that we do all the time. I don't have a DSMB card, and I don't know anybody who has, but every skipper in the UK expects us to launch one before we ascend - would that make them liable if the reel jammed and the diver was dragged up with it and bent?

Over here, skippers don't even ask to see any cert card. The view of many is that they are asking for trouble, as they are effectively making the decision as to what that diver is capable of. As qualified divers, we are all taught the limits of our certification. If we chose to exceed them and end up in trouble, that is nobody's fault but our own.

I have never actually done a night dive; my club are a shower of piss-cats and night diving is seen as a waste of valuable drinking time. One of the sites I dive at is an old slate quarry. There tends to be an algae bloom at the top, but it clears at depth. The result though is little light gets through, so it is pitch black. If I turn my torch off, I'll see bugger all. I'm therefore pretty sure that I could survive a night dive without doing myself a mischief. I'm also pretty sure almost any dive operator would take me on a night dive, even without a bit of plastic from PADI.

 

[Storker]

That is why you have spare lights.

My point exactly. Post #20. That's also the big difference between day dives in poor viz, and night dives. On a night dive I always carry a backup light.


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[Jim Lapenta]

And everybody knows, THAT is when the Bogeyman comes out.

I am going to certify John Wick. He's who you call to kill the boogeyman and I'll do all my night dives with him. In one of our local lakes a dive at more than 60 feet is a night dive. Even at high noon. I was glad to find out that you don't need a special card to dive at night. But a good class for actual low vis conditions can be a wise choice for many divers. It's one thing when you can light up a large area with a 21 watt hid. It's another when diving in conditions where that same light is a faint white blob at the end of your arm and you can't see the whole arm it's attached to.

 

[Papa3]

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".

Thanks all, confirms what I thought to be the case. I am very lucky to live in a sub tropical climate with cheap and easy access to diving. As mentioned I have dived at night on several occasions, most before completing the AOW with PADI. I always carry 2 spare lights.

I quoted the above as we do have some strange rules, most due to our location. The lee of the island, generally, provides near perfect dive conditions, little current, almost no swell for 11 months, great vis and temps of 16c in winter to 26c in summer. Ideal. A very short distance out of the lee shore and the full force of the South Atlantic makes itself known. Some of the best diving is in these waters (I am told) but the currents can be wild and the sea state changes from flat calm to 6m swells regularly. I am now confident enough in my diving to visit these sites but the last two attempts were ditched due to the sea state. Next try is in a few weeks time!

The biggest reason that visiting divers must be accompanied and it is a legal requirement not a house rule, is the lack of a chamber and the 5 day voyage required to get medical help. There are no live aboards and, as mentioned, only 2 operators. In a similar vein wreck penetration is prohibited in law, a real shame as we have some superb wrecks to dive.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Everyone has thier own standarrds for who and who they wil not dive with. Seldom are those standards in print . It takes but a time or 2 of getting bit to say no more. His pst esxperience may be that ow's dont stay together and there for no ow's at night. He may be doing anight dive to 80 ft and holds to the rule of ow's are 60 ft and less. There are numerous threads that deal with these issues. Bottom line is you cant make some one dive with you. I would guess he does not want the liability of an OW on a dive that is less than an optimal dive.

Reminds me of another thread about why collect cert cards. I dont have many but there is not much that i cant do with nitrox night boat nav deep and a min of an AOW card.

I have a drawer full of cards. Other than my full cave, trimix and instructor cards, they've stayed in the drawer since the day I received them and tossed them in there ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[FinnMom]

The posts about two lights are absolutely correct. Preferably everyone would have 2 lights, and this is no problem considering that a very basic 30m flashlight can be had for $20.

I also consider how very unhappy some divers might be if the lost their only light, and when we have people who haven't made a lot of night dives I often carry a 3rd just for the purpose of offering it to someone with only 1 light that looks a little jittery. In their situation it is much easier to be happy just knowing that the backup light is there and preferably now be stowed away; all they should need to do is find it with their fingers and turn it on. Especially if he's my buddy I want the diver as calm and happy as possible -that's the safest/easiest situation for me.