Tritonette
New
I am in a very emotionally somewhat frightened situation. I am a tough person to a certain point.
Just moved to Kona a year ago and my husband and I have been certified for 3 years. I have 50 plus dives under my belt and feel confident to dive in most situations while always thinking of safety. My brother in law and sister have introduced us a year ago to their dive group in which we became friends on a boat and on shore dives. I was certified by a dive repair shop owner here in Kona and he was an excellent teacher. We are all dive buddies. Starting early last year I was picking up a conch shell to see if it had an animal in it and from behind my brother in law as hard as he could grabbed my hands and threw the shell down on the ground underwater. I was in shock. I surfaced and later told him that I should have a right to touch a shell as others carefully look and place back. He was not sorry and he laughed. The second incident was 6 months later which again as I was on the bottom watching some filer fish swim around their holes/eggs, I was 15 ft. away from their holes and he came up beside me and yanked my side/arm and swam as fast as he could in the opposite direction. I was shocked and thought there was an emergency/shark or something. He let go and swam away. My sister was filming all this. He boasted on board before I surfaced that he didn't like me near the eggs and I was creeping towards the holes. I was so embarrassed how I was treated now twice physically. I asked for him to stop and just to tap my shoulder if I am doing something he doesn't like. No real promise of security and peace of mind. One last incident was that we all brought small shells to the surface; one of mine had a small hermit crab inside which I didn't see before I took out of the water. He yelled at me in the parking lot and told me to return the shell to the ocean. I was so embarrassed as he also stated I was not going to be a part of the diving group anymore. All the incidents were when my husband was not present on the dives. I am dismayed by the unprofessional behavior but also shocked that the other divers continue to keep diving with someone that is so controlling and treats others this way. I have tried talking with my sister but he has yelled at her before as well. We are looking for a nice group or people to dive with in Kona at this time. I am saddened by these events because I really enjoyed all the other 8-11 divers in the group.
Just moved to Kona a year ago and my husband and I have been certified for 3 years. I have 50 plus dives under my belt and feel confident to dive in most situations while always thinking of safety. My brother in law and sister have introduced us a year ago to their dive group in which we became friends on a boat and on shore dives. I was certified by a dive repair shop owner here in Kona and he was an excellent teacher. We are all dive buddies. Starting early last year I was picking up a conch shell to see if it had an animal in it and from behind my brother in law as hard as he could grabbed my hands and threw the shell down on the ground underwater. I was in shock. I surfaced and later told him that I should have a right to touch a shell as others carefully look and place back. He was not sorry and he laughed. The second incident was 6 months later which again as I was on the bottom watching some filer fish swim around their holes/eggs, I was 15 ft. away from their holes and he came up beside me and yanked my side/arm and swam as fast as he could in the opposite direction. I was shocked and thought there was an emergency/shark or something. He let go and swam away. My sister was filming all this. He boasted on board before I surfaced that he didn't like me near the eggs and I was creeping towards the holes. I was so embarrassed how I was treated now twice physically. I asked for him to stop and just to tap my shoulder if I am doing something he doesn't like. No real promise of security and peace of mind. One last incident was that we all brought small shells to the surface; one of mine had a small hermit crab inside which I didn't see before I took out of the water. He yelled at me in the parking lot and told me to return the shell to the ocean. I was so embarrassed as he also stated I was not going to be a part of the diving group anymore. All the incidents were when my husband was not present on the dives. I am dismayed by the unprofessional behavior but also shocked that the other divers continue to keep diving with someone that is so controlling and treats others this way. I have tried talking with my sister but he has yelled at her before as well. We are looking for a nice group or people to dive with in Kona at this time. I am saddened by these events because I really enjoyed all the other 8-11 divers in the group.