Technical Dive Guide Certification in 2025 can we ask for Proof ?

[boulderjohn]

Majority of dive professionals aren't qualified to be basic open water divers.

When you make patently absurd comments like this, it makes it hard to give any credibility to anything else you might say.

 

[jadairiii]

When you make patently absurd comments like this, it makes it hard to give any credibility to anything else you might say.

In the 50 years of diving throughout half the world, (recreational, technical and cave) that has been my personal experience. I could write a book of the abject stupidity (sometime rising to criminal negligence) that I have witnessed first hand from dive boat captains, instructors, dive masters and dive shop employees (and owners).

Problem is, many divers have only had experience with this rabble, so to them its normal. Normalization of deviance.

I will agree that you're probably correct, most divers wont give any credibility to what I say.....but they will learn the hard way sooner or later that I'm right.

 

[boulderjohn]

In the 50 years of diving throughout half the world, (recreational, technical and cave) that has been my personal experience. I could write a book of the abject stupidity (sometime rising to criminal negligence) that I have witnessed first hand from dive boat captains, instructors, dive masters and dive shop employees (and owners).

Problem is, many divers have only had experience with this rabble, so to them its normal. Normalization of deviance.

I will agree that you're probably correct, most divers wont give any credibility to what I say.....but they will learn the hard way sooner or later that I'm right.

So you believe that it is literally true that the majority of dive professionals would not qualify to pass an introductory OW class?

 

[jadairiii]

So you believe that it is literally true that the majority of dive professionals would not qualify to pass an introductory OW class?

Dont confuse "passing" with being "qualified".

You've been diving and teaching for years, if a good friend of yours wanted a recommendation for a rec/tech/cave instructor for their child, would you instruct that friend to just "pick anyone", they're all "awesome"?

 

[KaptainAddock]

As I see it, there are two types of certification relevant to this situation. One, the guide must have whatever certification is needed to satisfy the local guide requirement. Two, the guide must be certified to actually do the dive in question; not as an instructor for that type of dive, but simply as a diver.

I’m planning on doing some technical diving in Cozumel fairly soon, and I know we need a local, certified and registered DM who is also a certified tech diver, trained and qualified to do the dives. Beyond that, I don’t think there’s any additional certification needed.

Now, if you show up at a site to do something like this and find that the guide can’t ‘legally’ do the dive, I certainly think it’s fair to expect a refund. I suspect that if the dive op did refuse to show the client the certification, it was probably because the guide did not have it. If I read things correctly, in this case the guide allegedly demonstrated a lack of knowledge prior to the dive; and that’s why the whole issue came up. IF that is an accurate representation of what happened, then sure I’d be pretty annoyed! But we never truly know what really happened on threads like this.

thank you you spot on.

 

[KaptainAddock]

For me personally that might work if the guide is trained (not certified) to perform the dive (and just about to get his cert or something); and only with pre established trust with that dive center already (places I’m sort of a regular at)

Otherwise it’s adding a weak link to a risky dive

All of this is before accounting for legal/insurance liability and so on

yes the Guides can guides, but the guide cannot plan a Dive, do not understand, TTS , Turning point or set a computer or understand GF`s all of this is just guess work for the guides. The reasoning beyond asking questions to the owner operator, who is by the way never on site and expecting these " guides " to run a Dive operation on his behalf.

 

[KaptainAddock]

Counterpoint. What becomes his responsibility to assist his guide if the guide is well beyond their personal limits?

the local regulation stipulate that we cannot access the Dive Site , a shore Dive, without a local operator. Since only 3 months ago. And yes i feel responsible for a Guides that I have to supervised even if he known the way better then any one.

 

[KaptainAddock]

In the 50 years of diving throughout half the world, (recreational, technical and cave) that has been my personal experience. I could write a book of the abject stupidity (sometime rising to criminal negligence) that I have witnessed first hand from dive boat captains, instructors, dive masters and dive shop employees (and owners).

Problem is, many divers have only had experience with this rabble, so to them its normal. Normalization of deviance.

I will agree that you're probably correct, most divers wont give any credibility to what I say.....but they will learn the hard way sooner or later that I'm right.

Most diver maybe , i think you are making sense, I did observed the same negligence with many Dive Operation in Australia

 

[KaptainAddock]

And if this dive is beyond that „guide“s capability… I have to worry about bailing them out/something going wrong and putting the rest of the team at risk?

Even if I say „ok you do you and at your own risk“ it would sour the dive if an incident occurs

Unless I get a really good discount (basically pay at cost), I don’t see that being a good idea for me as a customer

An unfair double standard for divers/customers having to be certified but not the guide

thank you and spot on , yes a Double standard and a conflict of interest.

 

[KaptainAddock]

So, is this Pacific Dive?

I searched on the TDI webpage and they’re the only TDI center I found.

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Yes