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

[covediver]

This whole master diver discussion brings to mind a situation I witnessed at one of the early Scuba Shows on the Queen Mary. An instructor with more specialty patches on his jacket (the equivalent of the Eagle Scout merit badge sash) made a bee line to a couple of "tech diver" types at their dispaly. He haranged them at length about how they would destroy sport diving and cause needless deaths by getting people to go beyond sport diving limits. While tech diving is nothing I have ever been interested in, I turned to my buddy (himself a very accomplished sport diving instructor) and remarked that view would end the minute the mainline alphabet certifying agencies figured out a way to make money from tech diving.

It seems that the term "Master Diver" is ambiguous at least and subjective at best. From this thread it appears to arouse the same passion. I think the alphabet crowd became enamored with the term about the same time "Men of Honor" hit the silver screen.

I will settle this once and for all. When you are as good as me you will have earned the right to wear the patch of Master Diver. Keep in mind, I have no patches and never went past AI/divemaster which lapsed before Clinton was out of the White House.

I can't define a Master Diver, but I know one when I see one.

 

[Nemrod]

I think one could be a true master diver as a rec. diver (though as I posted, I'm not exactly sure what the criteria should be). You could be a complete master of every aspect of rec. diving and not know one end of a trimix tank or rebreather from the other.

I understand what you mean but what I meant included technical as being recreational because neither are getting paid thus not professional.

In one way of thinking about it, a Master Diver would or should be an instructor and mentor be it tech or recreational (in your meaning). Problem is I have see way to many instructors who are not very good divers. Though I would agree when crossing over into the technical arena then that most such instructors might well be Master Divers or at least have mastered their specialty sufficient to successfully pass the skills and knowledge along.

But a card that says the bearer is a Master Diver . On a serious note, you are/were an instructor and you have taught many divers how to enjoy the underwater world successfully transferring skills and knowledge, you could be a Master Diver. But what curriculum would produce somebody like you in a few days or weeks what took you a lifetime? Seems artificial to me.

 

[Wibble]

I think one could be a true master diver as a rec. diver (though as I posted, I'm not exactly sure what the criteria should be). You could be a complete master of every aspect of rec. diving and not know one end of a trimix tank or rebreather from the other.

Just to see perfect core skills of buoyancy, trim and finning has to be one of the main criteria for anyone to be considered a “Master”.

However, these skills are not taught by the 500lb gorilla, not even for their instructors.

The “Master” qualification allows sub-standard core skills. How can someone with merely adequate core skill ever be called a “Master”?

 

[Leatherboot69]

Real divers don’t care

 

[Edward3c]

I don’t really care what qualification someone holds.

When I turn up as a new (unknown) diver, either to a Dive Operator or just as a buddy, I expect to be assessed on my ability before, during and after the first dive. After all I’ll be doing the same back. The bits of paper/card I produce are meaningless, except for liability insurance.

 

[Wibble]

Real divers don’t care

Precisely. Real divers only care about demonstrable skills.

Recently spent a few days diving with some highly qualified divers who kicked the living sh!t out of the bottom, sending up clouds of sand due to their seahorse trim, non-existent finning skills and dubious buoyancy/weighting. It was horrible for everyone else. When asked why there’s a cloud behind them there was nothing forthcoming and an insistence their skills were fine. So no self awareness either.

 

[Celt]

Master Diver badge and all the other badges, who are they for? A person already knows when they can melt into the water and every move is natural. That comes from spending time underwater and moving in rhythm with your surroundings. You’ll feel awkward out of the water. It’s so natural you don’t even think about gear, you’re not thinking about fingers and toes as you go about your day. Relax and learn to feel the rhythm of the sea. Blend in.

 

[LI-er]

Any "true" Master Diver certification should have, at the very least, the PADI golf ball retrieval certification.

 

[Etmutt]

personally when someone comes to me with a master diver cert , I instinctively classify him as an average diver who took a LOT of classes (with likely some low benefit ones). likely not a “natural” diver, who would have been quickly put off by the lack of content of some specialties ; likely someone who likes to do every per the book he knows

 

[rongoodman]

Precisely. Real divers only care about demonstrable skills.

Recently spent a few days diving with some highly qualified divers who kicked the living sh!t out of the bottom, sending up clouds of sand due to their seahorse trim, non-existent finning skills and dubious buoyancy/weighting.

In what sense were these guys "highly qualified"?