OP
fatherandsondiver
Registered
It is interesting to read all of these posts. Quite clear to me that there is a diving community out there that feels strongly that 12 year olds should have their depth limited. Padi does not require a limit, but I acknowledge that the fact that Padi does not have a limit does not make it right.
I will state the facts again one last time, and people can draw their own conclusions.
1) I was on a family vacation in Anguilla
2) I contacted a dive shop in Saba ahead of time indicating my desire to dive in Saba for one day only while we were in nearby Anguilla.
3) Scout's Place welcomed me to come. I told them of my son's age, my desire to dive deep, and my issues the prior year with my son in Saba. I was told by email that depth would be no problem.
4) We flew to Saba and went to Scouts Place, who happily took our money and had us wait for transfer to the boat area.
5) It was only after we were at the boat area, with no other options, that my son's age was brought up by the dive master. Interestingly, the DM explained to me she told her management in advance that she would not take my son deep, but no body at their operation bothered to communicate with me.
6) I objected at this point, but had no options but to try to make the most of my situation. Whether you agree with me or not for wanting to dive a pinnacle with my son, I had expressed our situation to the dive operation in the clearest of terms in advance. I even went so far as to email them the day before to see if the bad weather would present an issue.
7) I took offense when the DM told me, in front of my son, that it was medically dangerous to dive deep at his age. Having done research on the issue subsequently, I still see lack of evidence for this claim. While no body has proven it "safe", no one has shown it dangerous either. Perhaps my son should not be diving, but it is not the DM's place to tell him to his face that he is putting himself at risk. Further, the dive shop really should have told me before taking me to the water that my son's age was a problem. That is the bait and switch.
8) I was prepared to let this all go away and move on, simply emailing the shop that they mislead me. The owner himself chose to write back with no remorse and a sense of pride for what transpired. He was out of place and for that I want a refund. Short of that, he could beat radio silence.
All stories have two sides. Maybe I push too hard. I did not need to travel to Saba however and I went for a very specific reason. It is beyond me why this dive shop did not say "sorry, we should have told you in advance..." Instead, they stand on ceremony that I am a bad guy and they were protecting me. By the way, they took a full boat of divers to a deeper site that day. My son and I, along with two others, received special treatment on the more shallow dive. And I did not know this was going to happen until we were at sea. Before we boarded, the DM said I should dive as deep as I want, though no deeper than she was, and I was at my own risk for my son.
With that, I am done commenting here. Draw your own conclusions.
I will state the facts again one last time, and people can draw their own conclusions.
1) I was on a family vacation in Anguilla
2) I contacted a dive shop in Saba ahead of time indicating my desire to dive in Saba for one day only while we were in nearby Anguilla.
3) Scout's Place welcomed me to come. I told them of my son's age, my desire to dive deep, and my issues the prior year with my son in Saba. I was told by email that depth would be no problem.
4) We flew to Saba and went to Scouts Place, who happily took our money and had us wait for transfer to the boat area.
5) It was only after we were at the boat area, with no other options, that my son's age was brought up by the dive master. Interestingly, the DM explained to me she told her management in advance that she would not take my son deep, but no body at their operation bothered to communicate with me.
6) I objected at this point, but had no options but to try to make the most of my situation. Whether you agree with me or not for wanting to dive a pinnacle with my son, I had expressed our situation to the dive operation in the clearest of terms in advance. I even went so far as to email them the day before to see if the bad weather would present an issue.
7) I took offense when the DM told me, in front of my son, that it was medically dangerous to dive deep at his age. Having done research on the issue subsequently, I still see lack of evidence for this claim. While no body has proven it "safe", no one has shown it dangerous either. Perhaps my son should not be diving, but it is not the DM's place to tell him to his face that he is putting himself at risk. Further, the dive shop really should have told me before taking me to the water that my son's age was a problem. That is the bait and switch.
8) I was prepared to let this all go away and move on, simply emailing the shop that they mislead me. The owner himself chose to write back with no remorse and a sense of pride for what transpired. He was out of place and for that I want a refund. Short of that, he could beat radio silence.
All stories have two sides. Maybe I push too hard. I did not need to travel to Saba however and I went for a very specific reason. It is beyond me why this dive shop did not say "sorry, we should have told you in advance..." Instead, they stand on ceremony that I am a bad guy and they were protecting me. By the way, they took a full boat of divers to a deeper site that day. My son and I, along with two others, received special treatment on the more shallow dive. And I did not know this was going to happen until we were at sea. Before we boarded, the DM said I should dive as deep as I want, though no deeper than she was, and I was at my own risk for my son.
With that, I am done commenting here. Draw your own conclusions.
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