Interesting...when I took the PADI self-reliant course several years ago it was taught from the SDI manual and I was told it was due to PADI not having rolled out their documentation (at least to that locale). Upon completion I was offered either card and I took the PADI mainly because the rest of my certs (OW, AOW, Nitrox) were with them. I've never had it turned down (if solo was allowed via ops policy) and it has come in handy when renting solo rigs (I didn't have to fend off 20 questions).
I've followed the SB threads looking for issues and this is the first I've seen confirmed (other than a quarry someplace that wasn't relevant to me). I'm especially surprised by Wookie's post...I hadn't noticed him chime in before (at least not so adamantly that I noticed given the length and verbosity of some of the threads...kind of like this post
). I just checked (again) the course requirements to see if something has changed. The descriptions and pre-requisites still look virtually identical. The main thing I noticed was 18 yrs for PADI and 21 yrs for SDI. I'm not sure if that's new.
I understand the TCEX2 captain's concern and I'm a fan of their boat (though I never attempted to solo from it). Sounds like the diver in question was a hazard, but I don't understand the policy of disallowing the PADI cert as a matter of course. That diver clearly wasn't following the training associated with the course, but I'm sure you can find examples of that kind of behavior relative to any certification. Also tossing it to the insurance company seems like the same ploy as some of the AOW exceptions we've seen crop up lately.
I get that scuba diving isn't the most popular pastime, but I would think insurance companies and especially "scuba providers" would take at least a nuanced enough look to at least review the training information before passing blanket judgements. If there are differences/shortcomings with the PADI cert compared to the other cert agencies, they should be corrected. It shouldn't be about the name on the card whether it's solo, advanced, or whatever...it should be about the training. I have no doubt that my "solo" instructor was training me to dive solo.
I'm glad to see these responses coming to light because through numerous threads, I haven't seen these kinds of responses from qualified posters (as opposed to "I heard somewhere"). All IMHO, YMMV.