Indeed! I wish I could guarantee that h2Obaby would always find buddies like RainPilot. I can't, but for new divers who encounter bad buddies, please remember, there are lots of good folks out there. Don't let a bad experience or two deter you!
Veteran Divers paired with Newbies
- Thread starter h20baby
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Indeed! I wish I could guarantee that h2Obaby would always find buddies like RainPilot. I can't, but for new divers who encounter bad buddies, please remember, there are lots of good folks out there. Don't let a bad experience or two deter you!
seeker242
Contributor
The way I see it is if they don't want to be paired up, it's on them to say so when asked. If they don't want to and they don't say so, tough S$!#! It's their fault for not speaking up.
and then you can switch that to a middle finger and point it at them as they're offloading their gear. Unless of course you did something really stupid that warrants a legitimate complaint.
I don't mind diving with new divers, but they need to have the right attitude about it. If they're upfront about their skill level, and are focused on being a good diver, that's one thing, and I'm more than happy to dive with them. If they're completely oblivious or just don't care about the fact that they do things like fin the reef, blow through their air, scare off the wildlife for everyone, etc. then I have a problem with it.
I like diving with new divers that are interested in becoming better divers and truly enjoying the sport. They're fun to dive with, like to learn, and make mentoring fun, even if all you're doing is being a good example as their buddy.
For me it's entirely an attitude deal. New divers with good attitudes are great, new divers with poor or apathetic attitudes are not. And that goes both ways too. I've elected to dive with new divers over experienced divers before, when said diver was being a blowhard.
I like diving with new divers that are interested in becoming better divers and truly enjoying the sport. They're fun to dive with, like to learn, and make mentoring fun, even if all you're doing is being a good example as their buddy.
For me it's entirely an attitude deal. New divers with good attitudes are great, new divers with poor or apathetic attitudes are not. And that goes both ways too. I've elected to dive with new divers over experienced divers before, when said diver was being a blowhard.
Wow! Thanks for the feedback everyone. I have yet to have a bad experience and I've actually been blown away how willing everyone is to help the new guy (or gal in my case 
It's a very welcoming community! I just couldn't help notice the newbie bashing in comments - but like you said RainPilot the web tends to bring those folks out.
It’s comforting to know there’s folks out there like all of you.
Proud Newbie
It's a very welcoming community! I just couldn't help notice the newbie bashing in comments - but like you said RainPilot the web tends to bring those folks out.It’s comforting to know there’s folks out there like all of you.
Proud Newbie
I'm with you on helping new divers out with shore diving. I think where most people draw the line is when paying to boat dive and not wanting to cut their dives short (especially if they are on vacation). I haven't done as much dive travel as so many folks here on SB, as my experience has been group diving (with no one being buddied up and thus not responsible for anyone).
I do a lot of my diving with new divers I have never met before. I help out at weekends at a dive centre near where I work when in Cyprus. So unless I am diving with one of the other instructors or DM's my buddy is always someone off the street on holiday or occasionally one of the regular locals. If someone is after classes or courses I'm happy to run them, but otherwise I will just go along as another diver on a dives and pair with whoever needs a buddy.
My mindset is I will teach or guide if someone wants me to, otherwise I will just dive for fun to chill out and relax, and don't mind who I pair with. I'm happy enough to lead the buddy pair or watch/shadow if that is what is needed, I will asses the diver as we kit up, get in the water and as the dive progresses, with no real personal expectations of the dive.
But it is different if I have travelled to do a particular dive. Normally I would be with a known buddy, with a specific dive plan and so on. I wouldn't just turn up alone and expect "rent-a-buddy" to have the same skills, expectations and dive plan as me. If it happened that I was alone through force of circumstance the only way to deal with it that had any chance of success would be to talk to a new buddy and make sure you both have the same dive plan and expectations (and the skills to deliver the dive plan) other wise no-one is going to have a good dive experience.
It all goes back to "plan the dive and dive the plan" - if you haven't done so how do you know you are on the same page about how you expect the dive to go. I suspect most 'experienced' divers having a bad experiences of new divers have not discussed or planned the dive and have unrealistic expectations of how it will go and were expecting some sort of telepathic link.
I am sure most divers would be honest about what they wanted and whether they were on the same page.
P
My mindset is I will teach or guide if someone wants me to, otherwise I will just dive for fun to chill out and relax, and don't mind who I pair with. I'm happy enough to lead the buddy pair or watch/shadow if that is what is needed, I will asses the diver as we kit up, get in the water and as the dive progresses, with no real personal expectations of the dive.
But it is different if I have travelled to do a particular dive. Normally I would be with a known buddy, with a specific dive plan and so on. I wouldn't just turn up alone and expect "rent-a-buddy" to have the same skills, expectations and dive plan as me. If it happened that I was alone through force of circumstance the only way to deal with it that had any chance of success would be to talk to a new buddy and make sure you both have the same dive plan and expectations (and the skills to deliver the dive plan) other wise no-one is going to have a good dive experience.
It all goes back to "plan the dive and dive the plan" - if you haven't done so how do you know you are on the same page about how you expect the dive to go. I suspect most 'experienced' divers having a bad experiences of new divers have not discussed or planned the dive and have unrealistic expectations of how it will go and were expecting some sort of telepathic link.
I am sure most divers would be honest about what they wanted and whether they were on the same page.
P
clownfishsydney
Contributor
As a boat owner in our dive club, I regularly take people out diving on my boat who are new divers. I always buddy them with me so that I can assess their abilities so other boat owners/shore dive organisers can be aware of what they are like. I am happy to do this.
However, if I was paying big money to dive an overseas or remote location, I would not want to be buddied with a novice diver who is almost certainly going to run low on air well before me, thus cutting my bottom time dramatically. I might do one dive with them, but unless they prove to be good with air consumption and someone I did not have to continually look after, then I would refuse to be buddied with them again. The only exception to this would be if the circumstances of the dive meant I could send the novice to the surface safely alone (eg in 25 m viz and they being visibile to me the whole ascent).
However, if I was paying big money to dive an overseas or remote location, I would not want to be buddied with a novice diver who is almost certainly going to run low on air well before me, thus cutting my bottom time dramatically. I might do one dive with them, but unless they prove to be good with air consumption and someone I did not have to continually look after, then I would refuse to be buddied with them again. The only exception to this would be if the circumstances of the dive meant I could send the novice to the surface safely alone (eg in 25 m viz and they being visibile to me the whole ascent).
2airishuman
Contributor
I've lived this out as both the n00b and the somewhat more experienced diver, now.
As a n00b, well, I've been the n00b on the boat where everyone else except the very experienced underwater photographer was already paired up, and the DM had me dive with the photographer. He was none to pleased, and it showed.
Many boats charge a considerable extra fee to provide a DM as a guide.
Now that I'm somewhat more experienced, and mainly dive solo, it depends. I've buddied up with my kids on their first few post-certification dives, and they were the focus of the dive, of course, which I expected. It was great.
I've also been on trips where the organizer buddied me up with people whose skills were, at best, marginal; the fact that they didn't want to have anything to do with me (20 years younger and opposite gender, so I get it) made it awkward. So there I am trying to have a good time and instead I'm stuck buddied up with someone who doesn't like me, who quite plausibly may need rescue, whose poor skills interfere with the dive, and who isn't going to do a thing for me in the unlikely event that I'm the one with a problem.
LOL! I love the part about "doesn't want to have anything to do with me". I saved one of those guys when his tank slid out of his camband, whilst his equally newbie, equally young, equally goodlooking buddy was haring around chasing away fish with his gopro on a selfie stick.
Oddly enough, I felt much more appreciated on following dives, not that a word was ever spoken about it.
Oddly enough, I felt much more appreciated on following dives, not that a word was ever spoken about it.
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