Night Diving question

[rollosan]

I've been diving for about ten years now, for the most part with just an open water cert. Most of the diving was done in Japan and I did a few night dives.
Just recently moved backed to the states.
My son who is 18 yrs old is open water cert. A dive instructor who works for a LDS is telling my son that since he does not have the advanced cert that he is not allowed to night dive. She has also threatened my son that she can have his certification revoked if she catches him night diving.

Is this true? Can she do that?

From my understanding the advance cert is just a recommendation...also a night dive is not even required to get the advance cert anymore.

Thanks

 

[H2Andy]

ah.... what is she smoking?

some boats won't take you out on night dives or other "advanced" dives
unless you have the AOW card, but others will.

if your son is comfortable, just find a boat where this isn't an issue

if you can shore dive, go out and have a blast

 

[Daner]

And I've always heard that there were no scuba police.

 

[Mo2vation]

I've been diving for about ten years now, for the most part with just an open water cert. Most of the diving was done in Japan and I did a few night dives.
Just recently moved backed to the states.
My son who is 18 yrs old is open water cert. A dive instructor who works for a LDS is telling my son that since he does not have the advanced cert that he is not allowed to night dive. She has also threatened my son that she can have his certification revoked if she catches him night diving.

Is this true? Can she do that?

From my understanding the advance cert is just a recommendation...also a night dive is not even required to get the advance cert anymore.

Thanks

Far and away my favorite diving is night diving. There's simply more to see. And bad viz on a shore dive is much less of an issue... as I only need to be able to see as far as my light(!)

That said, night diving is different than day diving. Its usually colder. It usually generates heightened anxiety. Gas usage goes up on most night dives, etc. It makes sense that you take more comfortable divers into night diving than the swing-and-miss newbies.

As to the whole Night Dive police, "take your cert" thing - that's just a joke. This chick needs to have her bell rung. You should never, ever go back to her.

Be careful. Be wise, and go night diving. Be sure you have a good primary and a solid back up. Let people on shore know your plan, call when you go in, call when you come out, etc. I recommend going with people that know the site and are experienced night divers.

I've taken out lots of first timers locally. Never an issue. We've always had fun. Its just so different at night.

If you're not night diving, you're missing half the show.

---
Ken

 

[newportscuba]

I've been diving for about ten years now, for the most part with just an open water cert. Most of the diving was done in Japan and I did a few night dives.
Just recently moved backed to the states.
My son who is 18 yrs old is open water cert. A dive instructor who works for a LDS is telling my son that since he does not have the advanced cert that he is not allowed to night dive. She has also threatened my son that she can have his certification revoked if she catches him night diving.

Is this true? Can she do that?

From my understanding the advance cert is just a recommendation...also a night dive is not even required to get the advance cert anymore.

Thanks

Wow that is totaly not true.
I would seek another LDS or at least another instructor.

The LDS I work for sponsors a thing we call Night Dive Madness and since the shop sponsors it there are implied liabilites for us so we require all participants to be AOW or Night Dive certed to take part in THESE events. If some average Joe/Josephine diver wants to go out and do a night dive on their own that is entirely on them. It is always recommended that one gets the proper training for the diving they intend to do but no one can revoke a cert. That is just plain nonsence.

 

[Jstew]

No she can’t do that, you are set to go. If you are both comfortable in the water you should be all set then just follow mo2vation’s advice.

 

[nolatom]

No, she can't. Most of us have done night dives on just an OW certificate.

But is there anything more to this than meets the eye? Does this instructor know your son, or something about his dive experience or style that may lead her to try to "bluff" him out of doing a night dive? If she does, a quick conversation with her might not hurt, just to see if there's a "back story". If she's just shooting her mouth off, then ignore.

Your son's an adult, though just barely. Ultimately his decision. I just thougt I'd be the voice of caution here, even though instructor's advice, based solely on what you heard from your son, is wrong.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I've been diving for about ten years now, for the most part with just an open water cert. Most of the diving was done in Japan and I did a few night dives.
Just recently moved backed to the states.
My son who is 18 yrs old is open water cert. A dive instructor who works for a LDS is telling my son that since he does not have the advanced cert that he is not allowed to night dive. She has also threatened my son that she can have his certification revoked if she catches him night diving.

Is this true? Can she do that?

Ah ... no. She cannot revoke his certification. The certification is not a "license to dive" ... it's a verification that you have satisfactorily met the academic and in-water skill standards required by the certifying agency for that level of diving. At a non-professional level, once the card is issued it cannot be "revoked".

From my understanding the advance cert is just a recommendation...also a night dive is not even required to get the advance cert anymore.

Not sure which agency you're getting certified through, but I do know that NAUI requires a night dive as part of the AOW certification (we call it "Advanced Scuba Diver"). I also know that the YMCA program does. And I'm pretty sure that PADI does as well.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Web Monkey]

As far as I know, a C-Card can't be revoked, however there's probably more to the story than was presented here.

Are the conditions where he wants to dive exceptionally risky? Is it possible the instructor has been diving with your son and has seen abnormally risky behaviours?

There's something else going on. Either the shop is trying to make more money by scaring your son into more classes (unlikely given the bizzarness of the situation), or is trying to prevent a tragedy.

If I had to guess, I'd go for #2.

Terry

I've been diving for about ten years now, for the most part with just an open water cert. Most of the diving was done in Japan and I did a few night dives.
Just recently moved backed to the states.
My son who is 18 yrs old is open water cert. A dive instructor who works for a LDS is telling my son that since he does not have the advanced cert that he is not allowed to night dive. She has also threatened my son that she can have his certification revoked if she catches him night diving.

Is this true? Can she do that?

From my understanding the advance cert is just a recommendation...also a night dive is not even required to get the advance cert anymore.

Thanks

 

[lamont]

I've been diving for about ten years now, for the most part with just an open water cert. Most of the diving was done in Japan and I did a few night dives.
Just recently moved backed to the states.
My son who is 18 yrs old is open water cert. A dive instructor who works for a LDS is telling my son that since he does not have the advanced cert that he is not allowed to night dive. She has also threatened my son that she can have his certification revoked if she catches him night diving.

Is this true? Can she do that?

From my understanding the advance cert is just a recommendation...also a night dive is not even required to get the advance cert anymore.

Thanks

I never got my AOW cert, never took a night diving class. The SSI deep course that I took was basically a night diving class since once you are at 100 fsw under the springtime plankton blooms here its basically always a night dive. Later on in the fall the after-work dives started to push into dusk and pretty soon I was coming up when it was dark, then I was just doing night dives.

A night diving class with a very good instructor might give you some additional skills in passive communication, light signalling and other low-viz techniques if you haven't been exposed to them already, but the average course where you just jump in the water with an instructor when its dark isn't going to tell you anything you don't already know.