Question True requirements to deserve the title of Master Diver???

[Tigerpaw]

I'm intrigued by the NAUI course. Does it still include planned deco, as mentioned in an earlier post?

If so, I'd be surprised but impressed. Back in the dark ages we were taught deco tables during open water in the event we wanted to do deco diving, and nobody told us not to. With a single tank, single reg set, single second stage.....

(Not saying that was smart, but it was historically true.)

I took it last year and they did have deco stops. We went to 50ft and ascended in 10ft increments.

I took the course because I was intrigued by it and I thought now this is the way to EARN a rating. Also NAUI requires all their Divemasters to enroll in the Master Diver course as a prerequisite.

PADI you pay $75 for the designation. However I know of divers who have taken non diving courses like photo/video or Naturalist as their electives. This coupled with the high price is what gives the PADI program a bad name.

I had actually taken the same electives in Padi that were in the NAUI program so when I took NAUI I was better prepared. And even though I had the same courses, NAUI doesn't give it to you, you still have to do the coursework and dives.

SDI If you have the courses from another agency you pay $20 for the Master Diver designation.

SSI the best one yet. Once you meet the prerequisites you automatically get the designation at no extra cost.

I Propose:

1- Complete the navigational part of Advanced open water, while back kicking, compass as the only reference.

I'm going to actually try the 1rst one next week, but just one leg. Shoot a back azimuth and then back kick!

 

[Nemrod]

Not being facetious, if your name is @happy-diver, you may be a Master Diver.



Though he may have been bent one time to many and be suffering from chronic Rapture of the Deep, still, I estimate him to be factually, a Master Diver .

 

[elgringoperdido]

I'm intrigued by the NAUI course. Does it still include planned deco, as mentioned in an earlier post?

If so, I'd be surprised but impressed. Back in the dark ages we were taught deco tables during open water in the event we wanted to do deco diving, and nobody told us not to. With a single tank, single reg set, single second stage.....

(Not saying that was smart, but it was historically true.)

Here is a photo from page 4 of my NAUI manual for that course, circa July 2014. (Samsung Galaxy 21; it's night here and the lighting is artificial but I think it's legible.) As you can see NAUI requires only 8 dives and requires only a "simulated" decompression dive. But my instructor was strict. I had emailed several instructors throughout the caribbean and found one who was a bit more demanding. He had me do 9 dives including a planned deco dive. 150 fsw on air for enough minutes to bring us into the red. We also sat down at his kitchen table in Cozumel and went over the Navy dive tables and the reduced bubble gradient model and all the physics and assumptions made to produce those tables and models.

He also charged me $750 while the going rate at the time was about $400 for the course. But I say that you get what you pay for. We became friends, and I have contacted him since many times with various questions related to diving. He also fed me some good ceviche made by his wife and barbecued the lionfish that we stabbed during our "hunting adventure dive". Slathered it with some mind-numbing habanero beer sauce.

I was sufficiently impressed with his exhaustive and thorough training that I did five additional certs with him, all TDI. My deepest dive yet, at 107 meters, was a training dive with Don. He's a tad on the impatient side, but extremely intelligent. An engineer by training, he got into diving about 35 years ago and opened the shop in Cozumel. He has a company in the US but spends about half his time in Cozumel with his Mexican wife, who technically owns the business--Deep Exposure on Avenida 10ᵃ just south of Rosado Salas--due to Mexican laws making it much easier for Mexican nationals to own businesses there. If you're a bit slow, it would probably be advisable to find someone a bit more patient, but if you're a quick study then I'd say that he's a excellent instructor.

I'll add that I always felt completely safe with him, and with all the instructors that worked for him, not only during my training dives but during other deep or technical dives I made with them.

 

[TMHeimer]

This in an interesting discussion, especially the implication that NAUi Master Diver pretty much hits the mark. It has AOW as a prereq, nothing about number of dives that I can ascertain, and would appear to be more than satisfied by taking Rescue plus the following full specialties: Search and Recovery, Navigation, Night, and Deep. So if one did those specialties for the PADI MSD, would they have had the equivalent )or more) than the NAUI MD program?

Agree completely-- that's been my tune for years. As well, if you take these specialties you mention (that improve diving and/or safety--maybe also Wreck?) you'd have more than the 8 course dives with NAUI. Some would say that NAUI has all the theory in courses that may compare to PADI DM. Yes, but much of that stuff is really not necessary to be a very competent diver (do we really have to know the M Values if we follow tables/computer limits?). I don't think either PADI or NAUI MSD courses means you are automatically a "master diver".

 

[Leatherboot69]

I did PADI MSD and it was great. I ended up really well trained for recreational diving. Having five specialties meant I could adapt the training to my personal needs and the needs of my typical diving conditions (deep, dry suit, Nitrox, wreck, navigation) rather than having to follow a rigid syllabus (light salvage…?) There was a fair amount of theory (e-learning) for each specialty. I also did the PADI Dive Theory course out of curiosity, which wasn’t a compulsory part of it, which was more in depth than the PADI Pro Dive Theory e-learning for Divemaster. I haven’t really found much of that knowledge that useful. I think it worked out at about 25 training dives in total, compared to 19 for NAUI MSD.

Anything that gets people diving is worth it, even if it is just working towards a badge. It gave me a reason to get out and get diving, and also a loose structure around which to base my training.

 

[BoltSnap]

Here is a photo from page 4 of my NAUI manual for that course, circa July 2014. (Samsung Galaxy 21; it's night here and the lighting is artificial but I think it's legible.) As you can see NAUI requires only 8 dives and requires only a "simulated" decompression dive. But my instructor was strict. I had emailed several instructors throughout the caribbean and found one who was a bit more demanding. He had me do 9 dives including a planned deco dive. 150 fsw on air for enough minutes to bring us into the red. We also sat down at his kitchen table in Cozumel and went over the Navy dive tables and the reduced bubble gradient model and all the physics and assumptions made to produce those tables and models.

He also charged me $750 while the going rate at the time was about $400 for the course. But I say that you get what you pay for. We became friends, and I have contacted him since many times with various questions related to diving. He also fed me some good ceviche made by his wife and barbecued the lionfish that we stabbed during our "hunting adventure dive". Slathered it with some mind-numbing habanero beer sauce.

I was sufficiently impressed with his exhaustive and thorough training that I did five additional certs with him, all TDI. My deepest dive yet, at 107 meters, was a training dive with Don. He's a tad on the impatient side, but extremely intelligent. An engineer by training, he got into diving about 35 years ago and opened the shop in Cozumel. He has a company in the US but spends about half his time in Cozumel with his Mexican wife, who technically owns the business--Deep Exposure on Avenida 10ᵃ just south of Rosado Salas--due to Mexican laws making it much easier for Mexican nationals to own businesses there. If you're a bit slow, it would probably be advisable to find someone a bit more patient, but if you're a quick study then I'd say that he's a excellent instructor.

I'll add that I always felt completely safe with him, and with all the instructors that worked for him, not only during my training dives but during other deep or technical dives I made with them.


View attachment 866833

Did you do the training in dry or wet suit?

 

[iliketopetsharks]

Anything that gets people diving is worth it, even if it is just working towards a badge. It gave me a reason to get out and get diving, and also a loose structure around which to base my training.

So you go diving not because you, i don't know, like doing it, but because an agency will give you a plastic card?

 

[Wibble]

I did PADI MSD and it was great. I ended up really well trained for recreational diving. Having five specialties meant I could adapt the training to my personal needs and the needs of my typical diving conditions (deep, dry suit, Nitrox, wreck, navigation) rather than having to follow a rigid syllabus (light salvage…?) There was a fair amount of theory (e-learning) for each specialty. I also did the PADI Dive Theory course out of curiosity, which wasn’t a compulsory part of it, which was more in depth than the PADI Pro Dive Theory e-learning for Divemaster. I haven’t really found much of that knowledge that useful. I think it worked out at about 25 training dives in total, compared to 19 for NAUI MSD.

Anything that gets people diving is worth it, even if it is just working towards a badge. It gave me a reason to get out and get diving, and also a loose structure around which to base my training.

The challenge is always that you can rush through all the components of the MASTER Scuba Diver, get the card, yet end up being nothing like a true master of scuba diving with a wealth of skills, knowledge and experience.

And you've Paid Another Dollar In to purchase a card with absolutely no additional training or validation.


Something like the BSAC First Class Diver is a qualification gained by people with a demonstrable broad range of skills, experience and knowledge.

But at the end of the day, who needs to shout about their skills? If you've got them, just use them.

 

[Edward3c]

Something like the BSAC First Class Diver is a qualification gained by people with a demonstrable broad range of skills, experience and knowledge.

I believe there only about 750 to 1,000 BSAC FCD ever. All skills are assessed by National Instructors.

 

[ShallowSeasGallery]

Well, there are several indicators of being a true "master diver", that transcend mere certifications.

1 - If you have an autographed picture of Jacques Cousteau in your bedroom, you might be a master diver.
2 - If you buy all the used gear you see on Craigslist, you might be a master diver.
3 - If you have seen all episodes of Sea Hunt, and get oddly aroused, you might be a master diver.
4 - If your vehicle has more than 3 DIR, GUE, or Halcyon sticker, you might be a master diver.
5 - If your email password is "PADI-DADDY" you might be a master diver.
6 - If you have a lot more regulators than tanks, you might be a master diver.
7 - If you have wind chimes made of old aluminum tanks, you may be a master diver.
8 - If you have more than 2 Shearwater computers, you might be a master diver.
9 - If your wife is driving a 20 year old clapped out Corolla, but you have a new Liberty rebreather and Suex scooter, you are an arsehole, but may be a master diver.

These are just a few examples.

1 - I got one with Mommy Sylvia instead
2- No used Apeks reg makes it past me on FB marketplace
3- Daddy Mike lives in my dreams
4- Pass, No dive flags either, car break ins here in Soflo are a thing.
5- Its "SeaS1ug"
6- I have desk lamps make of tanks
7- Garmin
9- Shes in a Honda Civic.

Do I qualify for the cert card?