Alan Gallagher
05-05-2003, 18:01
My name is Alan and I have been working as an instructor for over 14 years now with CMAS and PADI. Having worked all over the world I have came across many diving good and bad. Now I'm working in Spain near the Costa Brava. We all know about the laws but this is not the issue here. I have worked in Tenerife 4 years ago and I have read these forums from time to time. It is very hard to be legal in Spanish countries, it is much easier now than it was. With regards to the law, nearly EVERY school under Spanish law have broken the law. It's not that they mean to, but circumstances sometimes leave them no choice. There seems to be a lot of competition in Tenerife where people are trying to destroy other schools. If this carries on then all this gossip!! will carry on to mainland and basically we don't want it here. People like myself have families to feed and mortagages to pay. If there is any dive centre in the Canaries who has never taken in somebody under the age of 16 then go ahead and say your views, don't decide to be all good now. We all know not one school can say they haven't done it. These forums and discussions only open up problems which should be left alone. If you have a good dive or think a school is bad then talk about it, but these issues are only opening up other issues which we all know are sleeping just now. Business is hard enough and as we are just getting into our season, Spain does not need to draw attention to themselves. There are websites here in mainland with very high profile people from diving organisations with pictures of the children on the web site diving. I will not elaborate on this but there is a loop hole in the law which would completely shift the burden from the dive centre onto the parents, especially if the parents dive and also there are insurance companies which DO say the under 16 year olds are insured. This is a grey area and even the Spanish federation F.E.D.A.S. instructors take in under 16's in some area's. This is an issue which should stop now and people should be left to make thier own choices. We are under enough pressure from the Guardia without these forums drawing attention to issues which should be the parents decision at the end of the day. There are many laws which affect us, like driving with tanks, transporte certificados, compressors in residential areas, boat listing's which are only now being affected in the Canaries etc etc We know here in mainland that the Canaries suffer the same problems as us and we know it is IMPOSSIBLE to be 100% legal as they don't even have laws to accommodate what we do. So all divers and dive centre's I ask you all in respect to stop these discussions as none of you know 100% including myself what is right. If the parent is responsible and the insurance companies will insure them then, then the choice is personal. Leave dive centres to make their own desicions on how they run their business. If they are good person and run a good school then leave them alone. If they are unsafe and have a history of unprofessional behaviour etc, then talk. Thank you all for taking your time in reading this, we need to be left alone to make a living.