Posted by Kendall Raine on March 19, 2001 at 09:33:01:
In Reply to: Re: Getting a second chance......Totally wrong posted by Jeff B on March 16, 2001 at 15:03:46:
Would I take someone's word for their training, experience and diving philosophy based simply on their saying "I dive DIR?" Is this a serious question? That notion is absurd. On the other hand, if they claim to dive DIR, are rigged and mixed properly, which is a lot more than having a backplate and a necklace, by the way, and can satisfy me that what they claim is true and they have the training and experience and attitude for the dive, then I might well dive with them on a low intensity type of dive (i.e Moody, Caissons, shallow easy cave dive, or something like that). The point I was making is that I can make such a determination much faster and with greater confidence if I know starting out how they're trained and rigged. Don't forget the converse, either. If they aren't oriented this way, I can make a decision to not dive with them even faster.
The practical reality is that I never show up on a boat anymore just looking for a pick-up buddy. The inclusion of a stranger as a buddy could; however, come as an addition to an existing team, or as a support diver, or through referral where, even if we'd never met, it had been agreed in advance we would dive together.