Any tips on how to get on dive boat with people of same skill level?

[morecowbells]

I am not a fan of dives deeper than the 70 foot range. My personal experience is that a dive op with multiple boats, will place the inexperienced divers on a boat doing more shallow dives. Thus, I was often on a boat with beginner divers. My dive op has a single boat. Sometimes you get advanced divers, sometimes crappy divers. As long as I get to dive my tank/profile and not surface with everyone else, I am fine. I left my previous dive op after a lousy diver ran low on air after 30 minutes-on Paradise reef. We all had to ascend as a group. That is when I found another dive op.
Sure it is a great day when you have other divers with good skill sets, but if not, it doesn't ruin dive when others need to surface earlier. My advise is to avoid a dive op which requires group ascents.

 

[boulderjohn]

For me, the issue is not just bottom time. You can do the same location with the same DM two days in a row and have completely different dives because a good DM will appraise the skill of the divers early on and dive accordingly. I learned that early in my Cozumel experience when a dive on Palancar Caves was spent 100% outside the reef wall. I asked the DM about it, and he said a couple of the divers in the group did not have the skill to do the dive the more normal way. On other occasion, I did Palancar Gardens with a group of highly skilled divers, and we did some spectacular swim-throughs that I am sure most Cozumel veterans have no idea are even there.

 

[Kimela]

I am not a fan of dives deeper than the 70 foot range. My personal experience is that a dive op with multiple boats, will place the inexperienced divers on a boat doing more shallow dives. Thus, I was often on a boat with beginner divers. My dive op has a single boat. Sometimes you get advanced divers, sometimes crappy divers. As long as I get to dive my tank/profile and not surface with everyone else, I am fine. I left my previous dive op after a lousy diver ran low on air after 30 minutes-on Paradise reef. We all had to ascend as a group. That is when I found another dive op.
Sure it is a great day when you have other divers with good skill sets, but if not, it doesn't ruin dive when others need to surface earlier. My advise is to avoid a dive op which requires group ascents.

Interestingly, when we go out our boat will drop our group at one place on the dive site and the rest on another (i.e., we'll be dropped in 'the shallows' where max depth might be 60-70', while the rest of boat gets dropped on the wall). A lot depends on the flexibility of the boat captain and crew.

 

[boulderjohn]

Interestingly, when we go out our boat will drop our group at one place on the dive site and the rest on another (i.e., we'll be dropped in 'the shallows' where max depth might be 60-70', while the rest of boat gets dropped on the wall). A lot depends on the flexibility of the boat captain and crew.

I've seen this done, but when I've seen it, each group gets its own DM, so it is similar to having two boats. If each group does not have its own DM, is it legal?

 

[ChuckP]

I've seen this done, but when I've seen it, each group gets its own DM, so it is similar to having two boats. If each group does not have its own DM, is it legal?

Each group should have it's own DM.

Groups of differing skill levels need their own DM - it's not fair to give you a 50-75% dive. When an unknown diver joins a group of known divers, we add a second DM.

This whole cut your dive short thing is probably much more a problem on the bigger boats, bigger companies than say a small valet diving operation. Part of being a valet operation is getting you what you need or want.....

 

[boulderjohn]

This whole cut your dive short thing is probably much more a problem on the bigger boats, bigger companies than say a small valet diving operation. Part of being a valet operation is getting you what you need or want.....

So how does a small valet operation deal with a situation such as I described earlier, when they have two very experienced divers and two beginners?

 

[ChuckP]

So how does a small valet operation deal with a situation such as I described earlier, when they have two very experienced divers and two beginners?

We put a second DM on the boat, we only have one boat. I won't name the other operation but they do the same thing, heck sometimes I wonder if they have any space for customers on the boat with all the DM's jajajaja.

We are small and we are newer so it hasn't really been hard to deal with - Martin will take the deeper group, I take the shallow group - we generally meetup as the deep group comes shallow and then I take anyone up to the surface early, everyone is happy.

It can become an issue at some sites though and we have not had this happen yet but we would seperate the groups on two boats..... I'm a diver too

 

[Kimela]

I've seen this done, but when I've seen it, each group gets its own DM, so it is similar to having two boats. If each group does not have its own DM, is it legal?

I don't know the rules, just what I've seen. I remember times we've gotten the signal to stay in place while the DM took the others up to the surface and got them on the boat and then returned to us. Now that I'm 'on the spot' I don't know the last time a group went up on their own versus being escorted to the boat. I don't want to misspeak on this one.

 

[morecowbells]

I don't think any dive op is immune from getting the occasional lousy diver. One diver I experienced on a boat had several PADI advanced certifications, but was far worse from the new divers on the boat, he chewed through his air and exercised poor buoyancy. Unless the dive op has personally vetted all divers scheduled on the boat, nothing is guaranteed. I guess the question to ask a potential dive op is how they handle divers with a poor skill set(i.e. dive your computer, mandatory group ascents, do referral divers have their own DM? etc).

 

[ChuckP]

There's a lot to be desired about pre screening anyone - cert cards and last dive dates have a little bit of meaning but not much. I'm sorry to say it but I put zero faith in a PADI AOW card unless you have a few 100 dives. I dove with an instructor that couldn't get horizontal and kicked his fins non stop.....

We being small and me with having little to nothing to do - it's easy for me to just go dive if we have mixed groups. It's nice to have that extra person there if some issue comes up. Other companies do similar things - I see Steve sitting in his wetsuit almost every morning lol. I think it's the larger boats that put one DM per 10 people that you'll see the issues.

We do have policies about needing private DM and surfacing with a guide - nothing is 100% in stone but we just want you to be safe. Some of the most tragic accidents happen during the time of ascent and boarding the boat - the boat traffic here can be crazy - inflating your own SMB is great but it needs to be standing up and you be situationally aware of your surroundings on the surface.

Policies have to be there, you guys that post here have dove 100's of times here, most of you could fill in as a DM so a lot of things go unsaid in that area.......