PADI and 60 foot max?

[Garrobo]

What is this about a PADI OW cert only allowing a diver to go 60 feet maximum? Is this some urban legend or what. I've dove around 20 wreck dives in the area of 110 to 120 feet with an OW cert and the dive operators who I dive with don't seem to adhere to this policy. What's up with that?

 

[ucfdiver]

What is this about a PADI OW cert only allowing a diver to go 60 feet maximum? Is this some urban legend or what. I've dove around 20 wreck dives in the area of 110 to 120 feet with an OW cert and the dive operators who I dive with don't seem to adhere to this policy. What's up with that?

Darwin is the only form of "scuba police". Dive within your knowledge and skill level.

 

[Garrobo]

ucfdiver: Yeah but, I just read a post where the diver was only allowed to dive to 60 feet by a PADI shop because he only had a PADI OW cert. Is this common practice? Or maybe he only had a few dives so they restricted his depth. He didn't say anything about that. I dove a well known shop on Tavernier recently where all they did was check my log to see if I'd dove to the depth that they were diving that day and was OK'ed with no hassle. All he said was: "Good to go, Dude." and then tried to sell me something I didn't need.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

What is this about a PADI OW cert only allowing a diver to go 60 feet maximum? Is this some urban legend or what. I've dove around 20 wreck dives in the area of 110 to 120 feet with an OW cert and the dive operators who I dive with don't seem to adhere to this policy. What's up with that?

PADI has recommended limits for each of the following levels of certification ... OW, AOW and Deep Diver. Their recommendations state Novice 60 ft, AOW 100 ft and Deep Diver 130 ft. These are recommendations based upon training and experience. This is all PADI can or does do regarding depth ONCE TRAINING IS COMPLETED ... they make recommendations. They control depth during training, but once training is over it's in the hands of the diver. PADI is not the diving police nor is NAUI, SSI, SDI, etc.

What comes into play are what limits charter operators decide to apply. If they are giving you a ride to a site, it's there boat and they have the right to apply whatever limits they want. What many have done is take these recommendations and apply them as limits on their boat. Other boats on the other hand take these limits into consideration but yet also consider a divers individual level of experience. So it really varies from boat to boat.

 

[sixgears]

All too common practice. My wife and I were in Grand Cayman a couple of weeks back doing our OW referral. After we got certed our first OW dive was at 100 fsw maximum. We expressed our concern due to this being our first dive and was given a choice to stay shallower above the reef or join the group if we wanted. Our initial decision was just to stay at 60' but because both of us were very comfortable we decided to go ahead and dive deeper staying within the DM's sights and also watching our gauges and computers religiously. Our deepest dive to-date has been at 99 fsw with only an OW cert. As was stated above you basically do your own policing and only dive within your comfort and skill level.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

All too common practice. My wife and I were in Grand Cayman a couple of weeks back doing our OW referral. After we got certed our first OW dive was at 100 fsw maximum. We expressed our concern due to this being our first dive and was given a choice to stay shallower above the reef or join the group if we wanted. Our initial decision was just to stay at 60' but because both of us were very comfortable we decided to go ahead and dive deeper staying within the DM's sights. Our deepest dive to-date has been at 99 fsw with only an OW cert. As was stated above you basically do your own policing and only dive within your comfort and skill level.

You also have to factor in that one 100' dive is not the same thing as another 100' dive. A dive to 100' in Grand Cayman requires a very different level of skill, experience and equipment than a dive to 100' in Lake Huron. Each diver needs to know their limits and dive within them, gradually expanding your experience level as they go along.

If you stay with just an OW c-card, you do need to realize that there will in fact be some boats in some locations that will not let you do a dive. A buddy of mine who's an active member on this board has been diving for over 50 years. He went ahead and did his AOW a few years back because not having the c-card was causing too many problems. Did he learn anything? Absolutely not. Did it make his life easier on his dive trips? I believe that it did. I'm not making a value judgement one way or the other, I'm simply stating a fact. It is what it is.

 

[sixgears]

I definitely agree specially with different sites and conditions. I don't think we'd be doing what we did if conditions were not "easy". In cold, low vis conditions I don't think I'd make it past 40'.

 

[Doubler]

In cold low vis situations, like up here in the Puget Sound, I don't make it past the shore I get on a plane and fly to Belize or Caymans.

Jim

 

[Cajuncru Diver]

Several years ago wife decided to join me and got her certification. She had just completed her checkout dives(had 5 toatal dive) when we went to Anthony's Key. The second dive was wreck of the El Augila and the dm took us down to 108'. No breifing prior to the dive as to the depth we were diving, only to look for the large ell that hangs out on the bow.
ps- the Ell was there and it was a great dive---but probably one that should not have been made by an OW certified diver with 5 total dives under her belt.

 

[Cajuncru Diver]

Several years ago wife decided to join me and got her certification. She had just completed her checkout dives(had 5 toatal dive) when we went to Anthony's Key. The second dive was wreck of the El Augila and the dm took us down to 108'. No breifing prior to the dive as to the depth we were diving, only to look for the large ell that hangs out on the bow.
ps- the Ell was there and it was a great dive---but probably one that should not have been made by an OW certified diver with 5 total dives under her belt.

Oops shouldn't that be eel