RoatanMan:
But as to the dive-op that decides to limit your depth to 60fsw... except for "a few exceptions". Now I gottsta know- what are those exceptions and what makes them forget about "their" rules? Seems strange.
Let me start by saying - I don't work there and I don't make the rules / policies. I do, however, agree with their policies as it made for some incredible dives.
What we have seen is that the morning dives are two tank "advanced" dives. These dives include swim-thrus, deep dives, wrecks, and so forth. To keep things somewhat even, they have, at least when we were there, limited these dives to AOW divers and OW divers who can show significant experience. It is not a "members only" club, nor would I say that it is a hard and fast rule. The purpose, as has been explained to me and as my wife and I observed in action, is to ensure a baseline level of diving experience for the more advanced dives to ensure that the divers are kept safe and that the dives are not spent tending to the care and feeding of new divers.
We have had OW divers on the morning dives, but usually with the inclusion of an additional DMT to watch over them and take care of them in case of issue. My wife and I both have AOW, but we still appreciate this added level of protection that Coconut Tree invests in keeping the experience safe and enjoyable for everyone.
So - is it a hard rule? No. Is it a good rule? In my personal opinion, yes. AOW is a card that simply means you've passed a very minimal baseline to satisfy PADI or other institutional rules. This is not the only means of getting on the morning boat, but is one method of screening out fresh divers. Coconut Tree has generally encouraged most of the divers we've seen to take an afternoon dive with them to evaluate the diver (if there is any question as to skill level) before putting the diver on the morning boat. The goal here, as we have seen, is to keep the morning dives humming along nicely without the incidents that can easily occur with new divers in unknown terrain or situations.
Based on your profile we both can see that you have several hundred times the experience diving that I do. I do not consider myself a truly "Advanced" diver, although PADI has provided me a nice piece of plastic saying that I am one. I keep further off the reef than many divers, and endure whatever is necessary to ensure that I
never touch anything. There are OW divers with several times my experience level that would be perfect for an "advanced" dive. There are others, both AOW and OW, that are not experienced enough to be mindful of their surroundings or their own well being. I would prefer, personally, that their dive profiles be more conservative as they further their skills.
Coconut Tree does four dives per day, and five on days with a night dive. By splitting the dives between "Advanced" and "Fun" they can facilitate various levels of divers. My wife and I enjoy both the morning and afternoon dives equally. There's as much or more to see at 25ft at Pablo's Place as there is at 110ft at the Odyssey. That being said, if someone is going to have problems I'd rather be on a dive with more DM/DMT's ready to assist the panicing or distressed diver than one where the conditions are more challenging.
Bottom line, if a diver can control their buoyancy and has some experience diving, they can dive on either schedule (so we have observed). Those that are still learning the baiscs are generally relegated to the afternoon dives where they can be safeguarded and observed more closely by additional personnel and a more conservative profile.
Sorry for the long winded response, but this is one policy that my wife and I both truly appreciate and respect. At the end of the day, I want to see everyone we dive with have a safe and enjoyable experience - I personally believe this helps with both of those objectives.
