Solo diving on Bonaire

[tarponchik]

OMG. Another like you?

Looks like you are trying to be sarcastic, but you do not know how right you are. This will be perfect!

 

[MikeT73]

Dive within the level of your training and experience.

Do you honestly think a quality operator is going to tell you different?

Just shut up and dive.

 

[redacted]

So this was a liveaboard, not a boat. Well, I guess, such specific questions should be asked if not mentioned on their website. But you didn't ask this because it did not occur to you this will be a problem, right? Such surprises are inevitable. In Maldives, for example, we were surprised by the requirement to fill very detailed forms on the state of our health, as if we applied for a job on their boat. I would consider this to be invasion of privacy, but after all the money spent and 20 hrs in the air we were not in position to argue.

But there is something we all can do to reduce the frequency of such occurrences. Encourage the OP to post such requirements on its website. One way is threads like this.

Dr. Van Nordstrom has no problem taking care of all of my diving related medical requirements.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Dive ops need to establish their rules and not be capricious in their implementation.

Fair enough. But if dive ops start posting a whole bunch of rules on their web sites that their competitors do not have or do not post on their web sites, it may deter potential customers. I think a Bonaire dive op that wants to attract the kind of customers who are attracted to Bonaire--those who enjoy freedom to do what they please within the limits of their training and experience--would be wise to post no more than just that on their web site.

 

[redacted]

Fair enough. But if dive ops start posting a whole bunch of rules on their web sites that their competitors do not have or do not post on their web sites, it may deter potential customers. I think a Bonaire dive op that wants to attract the kind of customers who are attracted to Bonaire--those who enjoy freedom to do what they please within the limits of their training and experience--would be wise to post no more than just that on their web site.

I have to wonder what else might be included in the "whole bunch of rules" that ops may be concealing from their customers until they check in. In Bonaire, it seems to me it might be just solo diving. At least solo seems to be the only one that is contentious.

Are yu seeing anythiing besides solo diving?

 

[scubadada]

I emailed Dive Friends an inquiry with regard to solo diving and got a generic reply. I am still trying to find out whether they teach and/or accept SDI Solo Diver (some of their instructors are SDI affiliated). I also asked for clarification regarding the Rescue Diver requirement. In addition, I queried whether they rented pony tanks, this was not included in their rental list.

We're not called "Diver's Paradise" for nothing - it's usually pretty easy to find a dive buddy here. If you would like to do solo shore diving, you will need to be a certified self-reliant diver (which is a course that we offer for divers with 100+ logged dives and Rescue level). We offer the course via PADI but it is no problem if your rescue certification is from another organization. During the Self-Reliant Diver program, you are trained to plan your dives so you can respond to emergencies independently, whether you are diving with a partner, team, or alone. Self-reliant divers practice until they are comfortable with self-rescue skills and carry redundant equipment so that in an emergency, the diver is equipped and prepared to react independently. To dive without a partner requires diligence and experience, and has a prerequisite of Advanced certification and proof of more than 100 dives. The course includes 3 days and takes 1 day to complete for $234 per person.

I have been Rescue certified since 2004 and finally got SDI Solo certified in 2013. I don't think this policy would affect me, but might give other divers pause. At the very least, this policy should be posted and widely known so as not to surprise divers visiting the home of diving freedom. I searched the Dive Friends website for "solo diving" and only found the offering of the PADI course.

I heard back from Dive Friends and all of my outstanding questions were answered. Appropriate sections are attached, below

1) They accept SDI Solo Diver certification
2) They rent pony cylinders
3) They do not offer SDI Solo Diver
4) You must be Rescue Diver certified to take their Self-Reliant Diver course. My impression is that the PADI prerequisites are >18 years old, AOW, and >100 dives

We will accept your SDI Solo diver certification for solo diving. We do rent pony bottles for $5 per day (not including regulator).

For your son, we do not have an SDI Solo Diver instructor available so we can only offer him the PADI Self Reliant Course and for this he does need to have a rescue diver certification…

 

[tursiops]

I heard back from Dive Friends and all of my outstanding questions were answered. Appropriate sections are attached, below

1) They accept SDI Solo Diver certification
2) They rent pony cylinders
3) They do not offer SDI Solo Diver
4) You must be Rescue Diver certified to take their Self-Reliant Diver course. My impression is that the PADI prerequisites are >18 years old, AOW, and >100 dives

We will accept your SDI Solo diver certification for solo diving. We do rent pony bottles for $5 per day (not including regulator).

For your son, we do not have an SDI Solo Diver instructor available so we can only offer him the PADI Self Reliant Course and for this he does need to have a rescue diver certification…

That has to be an error. SRD does not require Rescue as a prereq. AOW, yes, but not Rescue.

 

[redacted]

That has to be an error. SRD does not require Rescue as a prereq. AOW, yes, but not Rescue.

Sounds to me like it is not an agency prerequiste but one they decided to add to take their traiing. I wish they were clear about whether they also require rescue cert when a customer has a solo cert from another training provider.

 

[scubadada]

That has to be an error. SRD does not require Rescue as a prereq. AOW, yes, but not Rescue.

@tursiops

That's what I thought too. After the first message, I wrote, "Solo certification requires AOW, I'm a little confused about your requirement for Rescue to dive solo, is this correct?" The second message clearly states that my son would have to be Rescue certified to take PADI Self-Reliant with them. What can I say?

@awap may be correct, this might be an additional prerequisite added by DFB in addition to PADI's

Or....it still may be an error being communicated by the DFB office

 

[tursiops]

Or....it still may be an error being communicated by the DFB office

I'm going with this explanation.