Did the DM go too far?

[AK Susan]

Well this has managed to freak me out. I am new to diving and am a little over sensitive to the terms air hog and hover, dont get me wrong I can take the kidding as well as I can give it. But imagine how we feel ( the ones using the air faster) we feel bad enough knowing that our buddies dive will be cut short at times because of our air usage. Some of these comments are making me feel that we are some sort of a lesser being because we cant hang with the "big kids". I have the highest respect for the dive masters they have to keep everyone corraled up and safe and so far I have been lucky to have great ones and I am always totally up front and honest with my air usage to them. I am also working really hard at decreasing my air usage and would like to know that I can dive with a group and not be made to feel like I dont belong. Just my insignificant 2 cents.

 

[fire_diver]

I think the problem is the DM metality in some locals. When I did my dives in Coz last Jan, the DM came across as our boss/nanny/overlord or whatever term you wish to use. We were told we NOT to go below 80 ft. He also made us stay in a close tight group. When stopped to snap a few shots, I looked up to see the DM swimming back towards me waving for me to rejoin the group. Was I happy to not be allowed to dive my own plan? Not at all. But I followed his desires (since they weren't going to kill me). I just made a note in my log, not to ever use that dive service again. From the responces I recieved about my dive, that is simply the way things are done in Coz. so either live with it, or dive somewhere else. Thats the way I do it.

FD

 

[CD_in_Chitown]

I mis-read how low his pressure got in the first place then. I think the DM may have been a little presumptuous in ordering your buddy to leave the camera behind, but if your buddy was consuming air faster than most folks, or was not paying attention to his environment due to his camera perhaps it was a justified step for the sake of the diver or for the sake of the group. I'm sure he had to weigh your buddies pending gratuity against everyone else's to make the decision.

 

[fire_diver]

yep, i would have punched the dm out!

Welcome to SB, thanks for the input.Nice way to make an impression.

 

[DallasNewbie]

Let me interject this before things roll along too far.
When my buddy breathed off the DM, it might have been for about five minutes. In other words, he wasn't THAT far out of synch with the rest of the group in my opinion. Certainly not enough that we couldn't have compensated by ascending 20-30 feet and continuing to drift over the group for the rest of the dive. In this way I would have been the only one to be inconvenienced as he ran low, but that's what a dive partner accepts when he agrees to the partnership.

So, why didn't you ascend with your buddy? Did the DM grab your buddy and force the octo in his mouth and drag him back down? If you thought the appropriate course of action was to ascend together, you should have done that.

As to the camera, did your buddy have any other newbie habits besides hoovering? As a newb myself, I voluntarily gave up my camera after my first few Coz because I didn't want to deal with the task loading. If your buddy was having issues other than hoovering, the DM was probably doing the right thing to suggest he leave the camera behind. It's important to remember that the reefs in Cozumel are part of a federal? park and the DM's are responsible for keeping them safe. Not saying that your buddy was a hazard to the reef, but the DM might not have been willing to take that chance.

 

[Guba]

To some degree, Susan, I think that's exactly why my partner was distressed. He certainly didn't like being made to feel he was the weak link in the group. He and I have dived together for years and I usually am the one with air left over, but it's not much and I don't care. Also, because we have never made an issue of it, my partner has been able to stay relaxed and his air consumption has increased markedly as we've gained experience diving together.
I've been on the other side myself. I thought I could do pretty well on air consumption until I dove with a petite little lady somewhat older than myself, by the way, in the Gulf of Mexico. At the end of the first dive, I hit the ladder with 500 psi. She had 1500! I apologized that she had to come up so soon and she just smiled and said, "Oh, don't worry about it, honey. My husband does the same thing!" Shoot, we had just done about 45 min with a bottom of 80 feet! What is she? Photosynthetic?
Thanks for stating your viewpoint so succinctly and presenting a balancing view of the situation.

 

[Guba]

Take a look at the last post on page six, Dallas...it explains how my partner wound up on the octo. Never had seen it done this way before. Just a surprise.

As for any "other issues", I didn't see any. My partner isn't into macro photography, so he wasn't lingering, lagging behind, or getting particularly close to structures (others in the group were, however...one pair of scene hogs was DEFINITELY crowding, but that's food for another thread another day.) I was perfectly ready to ascend once we notified the DM we would be doing so. That's why it was a surprise when the DM instructed my partner to take the octo. Caught us both completely by surprise, and we weren't going to argue at 50 feet.

 

[mozz]

We, as a collective diving group, are in a position of setting the policies and practices of our sport by cooly debating the debatable. Safety practices do not fall into this category...they are immutable. Issues concerning etiquette and custom do need to be discussed and generally agreed upon. That makes diving more pleasant for all. Thanks for your input. I appreciate it!

guba,

thank you. it is mind numbing to see all the posts that do not adhere to the basic premise of sb which you have so kindly reminded us of in your post. it is imperative that in a situation such as this we can all identify the simple fact that there was an error in judgement. i am not bashing the individual in question and i certainly am not naive enough to say that i am not capable of making similar mistakes. however, as you've commented, we can use this open forum to fine tune our policies and practices in this sport we love, hopefully making things better.

 

[pilot fish]

And if he had 100/200 it would be considered an emergency and the dive still ends:huh:

It turns out, just read this in Guba's post, that her hoover friend had 700 psi's at the point the DM instructed him to breathe off his octo, which I think was the wrong thing to do. He had enough air to do a SS, plus his buddy, Guba, had 1100 psi's at that point. They were good to go to a safe, SS and end the dive properly. Can't imagine why the DM had the hoover take air off his octo then? I also don't consider 700 real low on air but just an indication to end the dive by heading to your SS.

 

[MoonWrasse]

Well this has managed to freak me out. I am new to diving and am a little over sensitive to the terms air hog and hover, dont get me wrong I can take the kidding as well as I can give it. But imagine how we feel ( the ones using the air faster) we feel bad enough knowing that our buddies dive will be cut short at times because of our air usage. Some of these comments are making me feel that we are some sort of a lesser being because we cant hang with the "big kids". I have the highest respect for the dive masters they have to keep everyone corraled up and safe and so far I have been lucky to have great ones and I am always totally up front and honest with my air usage to them. I am also working really hard at decreasing my air usage and would like to know that I can dive with a group and not be made to feel like I dont belong. Just my insignificant 2 cents.

And such anxiety will likely only increase your air consumption