Using cave card when ocean diving

[amphipod06]

When I dive on ocean boats I show them the card they ask for... no more. I have found that if you get "flashy" with cards they expect you to be a secondary DM. I'm paying to dive on the boat and I'm not going to be a DM...

Yup, if I had a simple JR AOW Trimix card I'd use it....


Dive safe,

Celia

[Johnny Bailey]

Thanks to all for the input. I'll stick with using my Lloyd Bridges Junior Scuba Ranger card when diving with the cattle!

[curtschu]

I like it when they don't take my advanced certs and demand an OW card. Mine is from the 80s I look like a kid.

[Nitrogenius]

I had it going all directions as well..
From a dive where the guide merely seemed to Panic when I was strictly complying to his rule at a wall being 75' max depth, me asking in metric that is 25 m? He nodding.. I am at 25.000000 m according to my DC and he waving and waving and waving at me that I need to go shallower for the conversion difference of app. 5 feet..
All that after I had shown him my Trimix Card along with other tech Card. A Card btw which he recognized to be Nitrox equivalent, so he at least knew something..


Over
The guide asking me for my Nitrox Card after showing the Tx ticket as mentioned here so often..


to
The guide who completely left me my freedom after showing some tech certs (he even actively asking me for the tech Levels, when I started gearing up with my Longhose).. Didn't get a Buddy assigned, was told that all I had to do was somewhat stay Close to the Group.. Was two great dives.. I wasn't even chased out of the water and could use most of my gas.. at least I got some 5 min more than the other divers.. still was plenty in the tanks though..

[JerseyJersey]

Tech gear confuses some boats. I had a dive boat captain throw my stainless steel thumb wheels in the trash because he didn't know what they were. And a dive shop in the keys refuse to fill my tanks with nitrox because an the nitrox clean punched on my vis sticker wasn't enough proof

[kwinter]

I had a dive boat captain throw my stainless steel thumb wheels in the trash because he didn't know what they were.

What a moron. Scrap value of stainless is pretty high.


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[victorzamora]

I actually got laughed at for having a Cave Card. I was in a shop to go diving in the Keys, asked what the water temperature was....then I asked what the expected profile was....got good enough answers, and decided to join up. They asked to see my cert. Well, I keep my certs (and my wife's) in the PADI binder I got with OW. I showed them my AOW card and her OW card (like a 40ft dive, but I lost my OW card). While I was flipping to hers, they saw my Cave cert and started mocking me calling me "Mr Big Shot Cave Diver." They didn't believe I had an AOW card, so they looked it up and found a few specialties I had gotten (I worked at a shop, specialties were free). The head of the place came out on the boat and was like, "Mr Big Shot Cave Diver here has enough cards for everyone, so I don't need any proof from anyone....he's got you covered." Water temp was 73F.....you should've seen the freakout I got when I put on my drysuit!

Regardless, I've found that talking to the Cat Herders is the best way. If you're on a guided dive, just dive....the guides will see that you're competent. On our honeymoon, after one dive the guides were saying how we needed to do cooler dives with them, and offered to split trips into two groups....the cat herders with one group and two instructors with the two of us on fun/better dives. We obliged . Best diving we did out there was away from the sheeple-divers.

[Johnny Bailey]

I like it when they don't take my advanced certs and demand an OW card. Mine is from the 80s I look like a kid.

I'll have to remember to take my old cards when I go. My OW is from '79. I was a kid.

[bamafan]

I enjoy messing with the dive operators. They normally ask when your last dive was and I ask them open water and they say yes. Since I don't do much open water diving it is normally a couple of years ago. They will then normally tell you to stay close to them. After getting back on the boat they will normally make some kind of comment like I can't believe it's been 2 years since you went diving. I then tell them you didn't ask about diving you asked about open water diving. I then tell them that I cave dive. They usually just stand there not knowing what to say and they leave you along for the rest of the trip and let you do what you want.

[DogDiver]

When I dive in the Key's, I usually bring my own cylinders with cave fills. A hassle true, but lugging 10 of my own tanks saves a lot of grief. I'm sure to tell the DM not to look at my SPG. That is a sure way to get them to look at it. I love the "wholly ####" they scream.


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