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I dont thing its that big of a deal. Everyone has the freedom to go as high as they choose in the rec diving arena or certify to the level that suits their needs. I will say that I have been on dive trips where dive instructors not acting in a dive instructor capacity assumed that role and began offering unsolicited advice to those who felt they didnt need it.After a brief discussion between those individuals..everything resumed as normal..
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As a beginner to diving, I would like to know that I’m diving with someone with a high cert level. I know that I’m responsible for myself but I wouldn’t be intimidated. Good question though. I’m interested to see some other responses.
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Greg - 2/18/2011 1:50 PM 
I show my current card (open water instructor) and I don’t seem to have a problem getting buddies. In fact, it’s the opposite. More people seem to want to dive with someone that is considered more qualified and trained than they are for safety reasons. I don’t mind helping others either so it works out.
I’ve heard some people say they only show a recreational card (not divemaster or instructor) because they don’t want the liability if something goes wrong. But that’s just silly talk because you’ll be responsible to help regardless. You’re not liable for anything as long as you stick within your training. However, if you’re afraid of being sued, get over it, because anyone can sue you for any reason...but chances are they won’t win in court if you proved you did all you could within your training. Besides, that’s what insurance is for right?
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I also see it as not a big deal. As a responsible diver I relish the opportunity to learn all I can and benefit from others training and expierience. I have not run into the pushy and/or controlling instructor type. But if and when I do I am sure I will have no problem having a "conversation" with said type.
Other then that I am an information sponge and welcome all reasonable advice and the sharing of knowledge, which is the strong suit of this sport.
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I tend to like diving with more experienced divers than myself. For one thing at my present cert level of Divemaster that means a buddy that is aware of the divers around him/herself and the dive profile we are following.
The one other consideration is if the buddy is looking to set a dive profile that is beyond my skills. This would require a complete discussion of my abilities and the more experience buddy would need to convince me that they would be able to keep us both within a good margin of safety. This is part of the unofficial learning process and helps to develope skills and confidence. The key is to know how far to push your own abilities.
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I have only been diving a year but my only concern would be that I was slowing you down being the air hog thot i am but if you didnt mind that i would feel safer knowing evry bit of your experience level and the less worry the less air i waste :}
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I would. I am proud of my level of certification as well. Though a few years ago (before becoming an instructor) I showed my DM card in St. Maarten and the DM on the boat said "Good, I don’t have to do anything" and he didn’t. Just pointed where we were going and left it at that. No big deal but this was the first time that I had something like this happen.
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I’ll reiterate some of the above comments. If you are paired with someone you don’t know, you should discuss the dive and both be comfortable with the plan. This is necessary for both the more experienced, as well as the less experienced, diver. If the two dive plans are incompatible, you both should know it ahead of time, and pick another buddy. This also applies if one person wants to circle the reef and the other wants to stay in one spot, taking macro photos.
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I agree with Greg on this one. To have a problem diving with you purely on the basis of you being an instructor - that’s just preposterous. And so far that’s 9 out of 9 in this forum. If you really get that a lot, where the heck do you dive, dude? UK divers are really that nervous about diving with a female instructor? Come dive in the US! (:
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Showing the buddy your advanced certs shouldn’t be a problem but not the boats crew, they will try to pare you off with a newbie or problem diver.
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I dont have a problem with it and most people will not.A good buddy is hard to find on vacation.But Latitude Adjustment has a good point.You might get paired up with a new diver or a problem diver .But I think any diver without a buddy with a fair amount of experience will get buddy up with a less experience diver.The Divemaster will do this because that would be the responsible thing to do.
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While I stand by my above comments, I agree with LA that you should not allow the boat crew to turn you into an unpaid instructor on you paid vacation.
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What gear do you have for this dive. You have a current CPR cert? Cool. Do you know the changes they made to the CPR procedures lately? Cool... Rescue? Yep I got yours and my back. AI? Wow, that is even better. Talk to your buddy and know how current their certs are and what their experiences are. I have always let my buddy know my experience. I was Certified by the Y in 84, joined the Navy in 86 and started diving their way, got my AI in 98. There, now you all know some about my certs.
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I just tell everyone I am an advanced diver . When asked how many dives I just say "Oh I have a few hundred". I find that some not but some places tend to use you. As a dive buddy, last thing I want is my new buddy telling me what I am doing right or wrong. Not that you do that , but I have seen it happen...So my opinion..The less you say the better, And just enjoy the diving.
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I’ll throw my fins in the ring of this forum discussion. When I went diving in Hawaii with a friend (I had certified her both OW and AOW) we both boarded the boat and showed our cards. This was 2004 so at the time I was just a PADI IDCS. The boat Captain said, "Let’s see, Advanced and...one more than Advanced." I smiled and moved toward my gear to resume set-up. When I go diving I have over 600 cards in my folio to choose from. I can also say that I have been diving in many places that never ask me for a card but have called me out for being an Instructor after the first guided dive because I didn’t need nor ask for assistance. Greg is correct that many dive professionals believe that if they show a recreational card instead of a professional card that they don’t assume any liability. That’s like saying that if I drive Greg’s car instead of mine that I’m not responsible if I wreck it. The facts are simple. If your buddy has an incident then you are responsible as her/his buddy to assist. If you are a dive professional then you may be responsible for filling out an incident report on your buddy’s problem regardless of whether you were teaching or simply diving as their random buddy - check with your agency or in the General Standards, safe money says the report is required for many larger agencies. If there is an incident then the first person they will look to in an investigation is the buddy - and you’ll be required to cooperate with the investigation by showing your certification card(s). Failing to disclose your Instructor status in an investigation could lead to charges of obstruction and regardless of fault, the authorities looking harder at you to try to pin it on you since they now think you have something to hide. Finally, your Dive Instructor Professional Liability Insurance only covers you if you have a proper waiver signed! This means that if you board a boat on holiday and get paired with someone you need to get them to sign a waiver or your insurance is not valid! Read the fine print in the full policy and you’ll see that if your paperwork is incomplete then your policy coverage is void. There is a certified diver waiver (the one for guided dives in most agencies) that your buddy must sign in order for your insurance to cover you. If a boat attempts to hook you up with a random dive buddy then you as an Instructor should protect yourself by getting them to sign a liability release/waiver prior to boarding the boat or you could be personally liable with no professional liability insurance, whether you showed your Instructor card or not. An omission of the facts does not remove your legal, professional, or ethical liability regardless of what any bar room lawyer will tell you. Do some people get intimidated by Instructor cards? Absolutely. Should that concern you? Not really. Just show the correct card and be the best buddy you can be - if you want to. I usually show my Solo Diving Instructor Trainer card and tell the boat, "I do not want a dive buddy, thank you." If they want to give me a buddy then I request payment as a staff member and we then go inside to fill out waivers.
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Like you I am proud of what I have achieved. I show my current card and let the potential dive buddy make his/her decision.
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I try not to show my instructor card. I have been recruited to "watch over" beginners, etc. which I would like not to do on vacation. Due to dive skills they usually figure out that you are a very competent diver anyway. Don’t know what the liability would be when you end up being recruited. I try to show the least certification required to do the dives I want to do.
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Yes, I am proud of my experience, and part of any evaluation of a buddy by a buddy or by a DM is knowing who is at what level of experience, and that’s not just the certification level, what can I count on, what do I have to worry about? Also if there are several DMs I want to get paired with divers of the same ability or into a group that may be taking a more advanced dive. If a dive shop is short of DM’s and wants to use you as an unpaid DM or Instructor while on vacation, maybe you are diving with the wrong dive shop. And anyway, a good DM can probably figure out your level just by watching you set up, a few questions and watching you on dive 1.
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Ahhhhh the "solo" cert card..Like American Express..Dont leave home without it..
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There is something to this, as some instructors in my experience are dogmatic about their style of diving and if I’m diving with someone I like constructive criticism but I don’t want to be told what to do or become a follower. I want to be treated as an equal and I treat my buddy as an equal.
Adam
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