Hank49
Contributor
Maybe there is more to the story, but getting tangled in kelp doesn't sound life threatening if you have a knife. And the DM was there with him and neither could cut the kelp away? Too sad.
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I would think that if a diver was insecure enough to hire a dedicated divemster to watch over just one person that this implies that the customer was well aware that this dive may stretch his competencies.
Once he hires this dedicated professional who was presumably intimately aware of the unique or special challenges or dangers that this site presents,. THEN I feel that the DM bears a significant responsibility to verify that the customers past experience and certification level are compatible with the dive. If not, then the DM could exercise a whole host of potential responses which could have ameliorated the danger, ranging from an alternate site, bailing on the dive, revised dive plan etc.
People are responsible for themselves, but if the dive itself was clearly outside of the customers abilities, then a good bit of the blame should go toward the divemster.
This is a situation neither a dive shop nor a DM trainee wants to be part of.Iirc the situation correctly, the dive shop provided a marginally qualified unpaid DM (or DM trainee ) with limited experience with the site after the diver asked for and paid for an experienced and qualified DM.
Anyone familiar with the site inclined to opine what minimal level of experience and training a dive there under typical conditions calls for?