Posted by Ken Kurtis on January 16, 2003 at 18:59:29:
In Reply to: DM needed for a beach dive? posted by Kaz on January 16, 2003 at 13:40:57:
Kaz and I have discussed this somewhat already but . . .
Depends on your definition of "need".
Since a club organizing a dive is a bit different than just some friends getting together to dive, there's a libaility angle that needs to be considered. A qualified, insured DM provides you with that liability coverage, meets what would reasonably be defined in court as "community standards" for diving, and might actually be helpful/useful in dealing with an accident and perhaps preventing an incident from becoming a tragedy.
What's the downside of having a DM supervise everything? What's the downside of NOT having a DM do that?
But ask it to yourself this way: Suppose during one of these outings, there was an accident during an entry or exit and a diver drowns. Forget the legalities for a moment. Will it bother you at all if you didn't have a DM on the beach? Or will you sleep better at night knowing you had someone on site who did evetrything they possibly could.
How you choose to answer that scenario provides for you the answer posed by the question of the thread.
Ken Kurtis
NAUI Instr. #5936
Co-owner, Reef Seekers Dive Co.
Beverly Hills, CA