Overly Dramatic Title: The Curse of The Most Experienced Diver

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Maybe some experience outside of cattle boats would help.
I think it is easy to dismiss this post as being a but curt, but I think it is the best advice.

I always show an instructor card of some sort, and I love the benefits I get from it. If there are multiple groups, I am placed with the most experienced. I get a lot of freedom to do my thing, and I am not mother-henned. I was on a dive on a large boat on the big Island in Hawai'i. They divided the divers into 3 groups. Our group was assigned a DM trainee because they felt we didn't need a DM. Everyone in our group had at least twice as many dives as the DM. We pretty much did what we pleased for as long as we pleased on that dive. The other two groups were composed almost exclusively of OW and some AOW divers. Many were rank beginners. I wonder how many instructors who had smugly fooled everyone by only showing an OW or AOW card were in those groups.

I have ALMOST NEVER had the experiences you describe, and since you suggest that you ALMOST ALWAYS have them, then there must be something very different between our experiences.

Let's take the last case in which I had a less than stellar dive experience similar to yours. I was with a small group with a single boat dive operator, and one of the divers in our group turned out to be such a beginner that we had no choice but to have beginner dives. Whose fault was it? Mine! I was going with a new operator that had been suggested to me by someone, and it was against my better judgment. In that area I had usually used a different operator with multiple boats, someone who would have made sure that didn't happen.

In summary, I plan my diving carefully, and I don't go to places or with operators where that is going to happen.
 
This is one of those times where making sure everyone knows how experienced you are and how many c-cards you have makes you a victim of something you have done to yourself - so stop bragging! :D

kidding :wink:

Anyway, I carry one card on trips it's a tec card that shows I am at least AOW and can use nitrox. That's it...never a problem.
 
If anyone asks about my rescue card I just say "oh it's expired". One of these days James is going to fix it so I can't say that though.

The only card I carry is for nitrox. If someone doesn't accept that as advanced I'll just laugh at them and say something like "well diving nitrox at 30' would be pretty stupid, wouldn't it?"
 
Diving Professionals of the World Unite: Stamp out Instructor Exploitation and Abuse!!

Put together a dive with your equally qualified pros, where you can dive your plan, and not be the unpaid nanny that the dive boat operator is using you for.

Short of that, show your lowest level C-card appropriate for the dive you are undertaking, or take the Nancy Reagan route and "just say no".
 
If anyone asks about my rescue card I just say "oh it's expired". One of these days James is going to fix it so I can't say that though.

The only card I carry is for nitrox. If someone doesn't accept that as advanced I'll just laugh at them and say something like "well diving nitrox at 30' would be pretty stupid, wouldn't it?"
And still, the nitrox card really is worthless to prove that youre an AOW diver unless they check the DB.. It can even be taken together with basic OW and have no other requirement..
 
Let em check if they want. Usually the only one they check has the word VISA printed on it.
 
I think it is great that highly experienced divers and instructors only show basic cards to hide their true diving level. That way when the dive operators divide their customers up by ability for the dives, the following two benefits will occur:

1. The most basic and beginner divers will have highly skilled divers and professionals with them at all times.

2. There will be fewer people cluttering up the more experienced group, which is where I'll be.
 
Anyway, I carry one card on trips it's a tec card that shows I am at least AOW and can use nitrox. That's it...never a problem.

It can be. Last time I went to Bonaire I brought my Trimix card, thinking I might do the windjammer if I had an opportunity, and that it would serve double-duty as a nitrox card for my other dives. The guy didn't want to take it for nitrox. I finally told him "OK, give me trimix, just don't put any helium in it." He thought about it for a couple seconds and started laughing ... and ended up accepting the card for EAN32 fills.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
 
Buy split fins and stitch a Master Diver patch to your hat.

Even better? Get it as a tattoo.

You'll be fine.

Holy crap, I've done both those things! Well, I never wear that cap around other divers and actually I won the fins at a treasure hunt.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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