Correct behavior of instructor?

[Snowbear]

Snowbear,
Again I agree with you entirely .... " But even better would be to get together with an experienced diver and learn the principles. "

Don't you mean? - "Get together with an experienced SAFE diver, learn the principles and train safely" I think you'd agree with this - an experienced diver is not always a guarantor of safe diving practice?

Actually, taken in context, I was talking about learning the gas management principles. But you are right in that I meant experienced and competant to teach it. And of course, safety is always paramount, which is why I think rather than relying on a DM to tell you when to turn a tive, learning gas management principles for yourself was important enough to mention

 

[Iruka]

Chinadan,
Yeah, it sounds like the DM should have paid closer attention. I did dives #4,886~4,888 today, and they were all the type of dives I feel guilty (almost, ha ha) getting paid for.....only 1 customer, doing her 100th dive, perfect conditions, good dive sites, with a diver who's been with us quite a few times. So today, I spent about 95% of the time looking for neat stuff to show her, take pictures of her, etc, and 5% "checking" on her. On other days, when I have, say, 6 divers, none of whom has even 10 dives, the proportions are reversed....95% of the time checking on the divers--at times even swimming backwards because at times I need to CONSTANTLY keep an eye on them....and only 5% of the time really looking for stuff to show them. By watching closely, I can (ideally) catch any small problems before they become BIG problems...i.e. noticing a diver swimming in a pronounced "head down/legs up" position...meaning they're fighting what's going to be a losing battle with buoyancy, unless I can get there to let air out of their BCDs (new divers often don't realize that air will only go up, and they try to deflate with their body in the wrong position) or add weight (divers don't always have a good grasp of how much weight they need, so I usually carry 4lbs/2kg....but I can dive w/out weights if I have to "give them up" during the dive.) Usually I'm able to fix the problem before one of my divers actually floats away...I'm willing (though I prefer not to due to increased DCI risk) to go up & "fetch" a diver early on to bring him/her back down, but I include in my briefing that if a diver floats away near the end of the dive (when we're fairly shallow anyway) they should just consider that the end of the dive, and (after signalling me that they're ok) just return to the boat on the surface. Anyhow, I guess I'm just trying to say that the quicker you can figure out your "problem divers" and recognize things which will LEAD to problems (huffin' & puffin', being overweighted, etc. leading to fast air consumption) the less likely you are to have any life-endangering problems during the dive.

 

[dbulmer]

Snowbear,

"Actually, taken in context, I was talking about learning the gas management principles."

Sorry! didn't mean to imply otherwise.

 

[miketsp]

Chinadan,
..snip..
By watching closely, I can (ideally) catch any small problems before they become BIG problems...i.e. noticing a diver swimming in a pronounced "head down/legs up" position...meaning they're fighting what's going to be a losing battle with buoyancy, unless I can get there to let air out of their BCDs...
snip...

Just so you know, if you ever dive with me, that's my favourite position for photographing under ledges. It doesn't mean I'm fighting a losing battle. That way I can keep my head and the camera just a few cm above the bottom without raising any silt or my elbows scraping on the bottom...

 

[Iruka]

Mikestp....ha, ha, I'll try not to "rescue" you. I'll bet while you're in that position your legs aren't constantly flailing about trying to keep you from floating away! (which is usually the case in the scenario I mentioned above.)

 

[baitedstorm]

diving goes about trusting the computer of the DM (I have my own)

I'm a little concerned with this statement, well, actually.....a lot concerned. NO MATTER WHAT!!!! You have to take responsibility for yourself. If you count on someone else to figure out depth and SI, air consumption ect. You’re going to end up getting hurt. I understand guideline may differ, but you can still take your own actions to keep yourself safe. Take it from someone who’s been there, done that, you have a voice and if something makes you uncomfortable, USE IT!

 

[Afraid_of_Fish]

Firstly, if you are a beginer diver then why in God's name are you diving without a buddy?! You can't rely on the instructor to be there to save you, espically if he's not your instructor..

Nextly, if the couple was not with the instructor, and the instructor had a group of people who he was responsible for, then there would be no need for him to come to the surface after the couple. It is the responsibility of the buddy to accompany the injured person, not a random instructor/dm. Also, if the couple seemed calm to you, chances are they seemed that way to the intructor too. If they were certified and not with that group, then there was no need for him to come up.

If the dive crew didn't say anything then you should have talked to the couple, introduced yourself, and asked if you could be a third-wheel in their party. it's better than going solo. What if you get seperated from everyone, were busy looking at the 'scenery' and forget to check your air, only to realize you ran out? Then you'd be sorry. I'm just saying be careful, accidents happen.

-Jess

 

[ScubaFreak]

Why oh why was a DM doing a discover scuba in the open water? I know PADI have a standard that allows this provided they do an "internship" which allows em to do discover scuba in the pool...but in the Open Water?

Have I missed something?

 

[miketsp]

Why oh why was a DM doing a discover scuba in the open water? I know PADI have a standard that allows this provided they do an "internship" which allows em to do discover scuba in the pool...but in the Open Water?

Many tropical locations run "discover scuba" in open water.
It's a real money maker. Many operators fill a boat, each customer pays US$20 & gets a 5 minute briefing and then 5 minutes under water literally being steered around by a DM on a 1:1 basis at no more than 5m. Each cylinder can be used for up to 10 clients.
I remember one place I went, the operator had a booking desk set up in the water, on the reef. Photo below.
This guy was pulling in about US$15000 / month just doing this.
Oh yeah, the tourists were paying separately for the boat ride out to the reef and also to rent the mask, snorkel, fins etc.

 

[chinadan]

Many tropical locations run "discover scuba" in open water...etc

Actually, here in Asia it ain't that bad. For $40 you get porper pool/shallow water training for an hour and then a "guided" tour in open water where the DM literally holds you by the first stage for as long as the air lasts (at about 8 m in this case).

In said case, the dive shop did the Discover Scuba for the little boy the next day for free, with a 1:1 ratio.

D.