I am a diving professional and this is my business, not just a occasional activity. This is what I do for a living and as such it is impossible to please all of the people all of the time. I continually discourage people to take things from the reefs, shoot illegal fish, dive after drinking the night before, drink after diving period, smoke cigarettes, lie, cheat, steal... We are all adults, or at least I assume most of us are on this board because I don't know the ages of all writers, and as such everyone is going to do whatever they choose regardless of my recommendations or suggestions. The only one's who I can have direct control over their actions are the Instructor candidates who if they don't listen and respond with correction of their actions then we simply don't certify them as instructors and let them into the diving mainstream. Even the ones who give lip service to what is right only to go on and do what is wrong eventually, again, only they are responsible for their own actions.
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As to the question of did I allow it? As stated previously... it is not a matter of allowing someone to do what they are going to do regardless. Florida law prohibits smoking in any common areas where there are smokers and non-smokers and the head on our boat is off limits, but on most trips where smokers are on board, despite our directly addressing this fact in our pre-trip briefing, smokers continually go into the head and do thier thing. Do you guys think we can't smell it? Should I throw these individuals overboard? Of course not. You yourself would not appreciate being challenged or confronted, especially openly or publicly. I try to treat eveyone with fairness and to provide for their personal enjoyment. I am not going to be an "***" to anyone just because someone dosn't like what they choose to do otherwise, you would have to be an *** to eveyone because noone does everything just the way any of us would like it.
