Dear DM's around the world...

[billt4sf]

Just had a GREAT DM (for the second time) here at Misool ! Great job Kiikii !!

He had the stuff ready before I even asked for it. Lots of help getting in and out of the boat, translating my exact needs for the boatmen that had less English than he, skilled assistance getting gear set up (new reg, new pony tank, repair second stage, etc.), good assistance with wife's ear issues, GREAT assistance when she got sick in the water on a night dive (called a second boat so we could go back early) helping prevent a very uncomfortable situation from becoming a disaster, helpful with last-minute changes, always ready to go diving if that's what we wanted to do, ... great at finding unusual things in the water (as well as the stuff we should be seeing but were distracted)...

And all of this with a SMILE and GREAT ATTITUDE. Maybe that's most important.

Oh yeah, the kid is 21. Learned English on his own. Sheesh. What a future awaits him. I can only hope our tip helps enable some of that. I'm pretty sure it will.

- Bill

 

[Wingy]

Glad to hear Bill....I get a feeling he will get more out of hearing this feedback than any tip can buy

 

[charlier]

Bill, the bar is set high for all of us. I just arrived @Gili T, with loud music upon arrival at the pier.

 

[nolatom]

Our instructors send us out into the world, but it's the DMs who have to deal with what they've "produced". Hence we learn a lot from the DMs, even though they can't speak to us (at least verbally) underwater the way our instructors could in the classroom or at the pool.

Great oversimplification here, but instructors are "do as I say", while DMs are "do as I do". Different learners learn differently (academic-reader types, versus just-let-me-do-it" types), but usually need both examples to progress in any endeavor.

Off southern Florida where I just was, DMs go in the water and are minor deities, because on the typical drift dive, they trail the surface buoy that the boat follows. So, if you want there to be a boat when you surface, you want to be near the DM when you start ascending. So he/she is a very popular person ;-)

I can think of very few "bad" DMs in my limited experience. Thanks to you good ones, which is pretty near all of you.

 

[billt4sf]

Our instructors send us out into the world, but it's the DMs who have to deal with what they've "produced". Hence we learn a lot from the DMs, even though they can't speak to us (at least verbally) underwater the way our instructors could in the classroom or at the pool.

Great oversimplification here, but instructors are "do as I say", while DMs are "do as I do". Different learners learn differently (academic-reader types, versus just-let-me-do-it" types), but usually need both examples to progress in any endeavor.

Off southern Florida where I just was, DMs go in the water and are minor deities, because on the typical drift dive, they trail the surface buoy that the boat follows. So, if you want there to be a boat when you surface, you want to be near the DM when you start ascending. So he/she is a very popular person ;-)

I can think of very few "bad" DMs in my limited experience. Thanks to you good ones, which is pretty near all of you.

I have definitely had, ... shall we say... "a range".

- Bill

 

[buddhasummer]

The worst DMs I've encountered have often been those on live aboards in Thailand where, IME, some have been more interested in their own photography than actually guiding. At the end of the trip they try to sell CDs of their photos then pass the tip jar aroubd. On those occasions I put nothing in the tip jar but instead hand tips individually to the cook and boat boys. Now when I do such trips in Thailand I request a local guide, who IME, do actually guide, nothing more, nothing less. Guess I'm one of "those" customers. In NZ generally you just get dropped off and picked up unless specifically hire a DM. Most of my DM work has been taking out newly certified divers out on their first trip which is often more about "taking care" of them and helping them relax, not hand holding but certainly keeping an eye out. IME the first "real" dive after certification for some can be a little anxiety provoking.

In the main though I've generally had positive experiences when traveling abroad in SEA and if given the option, if not I usually ask, I'll always choose a local guide. They have nothing to prove, not trying to impress, usually go at my pace and know where the cool stuff hides.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Most of us seem to think that dm is the same thing everywhere. I've been places where the dive guide is not a PADI certified dive master but only a local who's been diving long enough, works hard enough or more and has people skills even if he can't communicate in the same language. This is changing, of course, as PADI continues to "teach the world" to dive.

When I was initially certified and began taking trips, I thought the dm was supposed to look after their divers and keep them safe. I'm pleased to say that most of those "dm's" have also thought that, whether it's true or not. It's only after becoming a more experienced and knowledgeable diver not to mention hearing about it continually on dive forums over the years, that I've realized that I'm completely responsible for myself and that the person leading me and/or my group is only a guide to show us the best way, the best stuff, etc. And just like any other group of folks doing similar work in any capacity outside of diving, some are just better at it than others.