In Reply to: PADI Standards, fact or fiction? posted by diver from back in the day on March 20, 2006 at 18:30:43:

My experience as a paid guest on dive boats (using a non-DM card)and as a DM working with divers on a dive boat is almost universally good. The boat DMs will try to enforce the safety rules of the trip. Is that what bothers you? If so, buy your own boat and dive on your own (mine is for sale and a real gem). The rules here in SoCal are so easy compared to places like Florida that I think you need to lighten up a few notches.

I am always bothered by divers who try to do things their own way to prove how "special" and independant they are. They think we will all be impressed with them because of their independant thinking and style. I see way too much of this with divers who want to act like they think "Old Salts" would act. It may be fun to pull this at the dive department of Sports Chalet where there are many non-divers near enough to impress, but do not try to impress divers on a So-Cal dive boat where many of the divers regularly do 200+ dives per year. And if you are trying to go against the grain -- even if it is just in gate times and such -- you will be screwing up everyone elses dive day for your own selfish reasons.

I am not sure if you are one of those types, but they are the ones who usually end up at odds with the working DM of the boat. I hope you are not one of them, but if you are, I hope to always be on a different boat. Maybe you will buy mine and then you can do anything you want!

Wayne