2. However, the personal briefing she gave me was on Fish ID (another module I was taking), and not on Deep Diving. I didn't realize that this was going to be considered my Deep Dive until after the fact.
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Hold on, one dive was going to be your FishID + Deep Dive? Or did your dm/instructor (which was she, btw? DM or instructor) happen to give a wrong briefing? Either would not be acceptable
3. The DM was aware that I had had trouble with my ears; before the dive she asked me how they were doing, and I said they felt fine. As I think about it, shouldn't she, as the dive professional, have been more aware than me that something might go wrong there? I mention it because we all agree that I should have told her that I might have trouble with my ears; but on second thought, she should have told me!!
Well, if the DM was your buddy, she should have stayed with you during decent and thus been more aware of you. That's the end of it. As a matter of fact, even if you were assigned another buddy, since this was a training-dive, the instructor should be in direct control over you. So while I do not blame the instructor for your ear-problems, I do think that her awareness wasn't where it should have been.
4. I am asking the dive op if this gal is a dive instructor. In any case, I feel that the real onus is on the dive op and not on the girl, to send her out with with 4 other divers (including 2 newbies) while trying to do my AOW cert dives. She would naturally have felt the most concern for getting the two newbies down safely. I had dived with her before and she knew I was competent.
That's besides the point. You "bought" a package, which -- as I understand it -- involved one-on-one with an instructor for your dives. Right? So if that was what you paid for, then there should have been at least two dive professionals from that dive op on board: one for you, one for the 4 other divers.
If she isn't an instructor, and she went on the deep-dive with you without an instructor present....well, give PADI a call and ask what their standards say about that. While you're on the phone with them, ask what their standards say about "solo-deep-training" dives too...
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6. Well, I'm sure this kind of thing happens all over the place--I've had my share of dive ops that took big chances. But I actually researched this place ahead of time here on SB, and it had the best recommendations of all the places on the island. What does that say for the other establishments?
Well...I was about to say "don't judge the dive op or the instructor by one bad dive", but I won't....all it takes for a fatal accident to happen is one bad dive.
If I was your instructor, I probably would not have conducted the training dive in the conditions you describe. I would have taken the dive boat elsewhere with better conditions, or I'd call the dive before suiting up. I'd have apologized and suggested that you come back on another day for the training dive -- but I would not like to bring students in your situation. Completing a course "on schedule" or "just satisfying minimum requirements" isn't really my idea of a good objective (which is probably why I can't even start to make a living from dive instruction).
