Divemaster Responsibilities

[AquaExplorer]

This is something any diver should look in to when booking their trip. What type of diving will you be doing? Are you looking for hand holding, are you looking for a guide or are you looking for a hands off approach.

No one should be left out but an experienced diver wont want to book a trip with a load of "resort" divers. The opposite should be true, the "resort" diver shouldn't be booking a trip they don't have the experience for.

But how do they KNOW that?

Seriously...unless you are a board junkie (like me), most normal people know nothing about diving before they walk into their local dive shop.

They sign up, take the classes, pass...and now want to go to neat warm places to dive with the pretty fish.

THAT is what I have noticed here in my short time, that people tend to be on the extreme of "it is ALL your responsibility" with people that barely know the sport/hobby but HAVE been deemed "good to go" by a legal certifying agency. It is almost like the knee-jerk reaction to regulation and the nanny state is to go way to the opposite extreme.

Sorry but it seems some here are like my old college professors. Full of wisdom and insight on "how things should be done" but never applying the real world, only the fake on that exists in the ivory tower of academia.

 

[DandyDon]

But how do they KNOW that?

You ask questions: "Tell me what to expect on the dives? Can we discuss my qualifications? Should I hire a private DM?"

I've done all that. I've screwed up royally at times, but I have done it right at times.

Seriously...unless you are a board junkie (like me), most normal people know nothing about diving before they walk into their local dive shop.

They sign up, take the classes, pass...and now want to go to neat warm places to dive with the pretty fish.

THAT is what I have noticed here in my short time, that people tend to be on the extreme of "it is ALL your responsibility" with people that barely know the sport/hobby but HAVE been deemed "good to go" by a legal certifying agency. It is almost like the knee-jerk reaction to regulation and the nanny state is to go way to the opposite extreme.

Sorry but it seems some here are like my old college professors. Full of wisdom and insight on "how things should be done" but never applying the real world, only the fake on that exists in the ivory tower of academia.

Nope. A lot of these posters have a lot more dive experience than I, but even I know that when it's you vs the sea, you better have you act together.

There's the classes.

And there is the real world.​

If you want to dive in the world, ask questions, be open to suggestions, when in doubt - hire your own DM.

For those who board boats without asking questions, without safety sausages, the dive tourists - often off cruise boats, would you like for us to set up an info booth on every dock and warn people on speakers?

Never hurts to ask...

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Just a quick note. I have started a thread in the new divers forum that goes into my thoughts on this type of incident in much more detail. It's not complete. I'm tired and have to get up for work, It will be added to tomorrow. I just felt I would not be able to sleep had I not posted as much as I could tonite. These things are getting to me as they would really be so easy to prevent.

 

[Peter Guy]

As is often the case, Thal has accurately set forth the "right" answer -- fault there is a plenty.

While JL continues his quest for better primary instruction, even great primary instruction doesn't limit the liability of the PROFESSIONALS involved in diving.

I may well be in the minority but I happen to believe that PROFESSIONALS are, and should be, held to a higher standard than "mere mortals" in the diving business. In this case, the DM, by virtue of being a PROFESSIONAL had an obligation to ALL the divers -- and IF the facts are as presented, the obligations were not fulfilled.

JUST BECAUSE someone makes a bad decision and does a bad act does NOT negate other existing obligations. (Just because the driver coming toward me is drunk, I'm still responsible for driving in MY lane!) IF the facts are as presented, Thal is right and the blame needs to be spread around. AND, in my ever so humble opinion, the victim has the least amount of responsibility. In his case, it is likely he truly "did not know what he did not know."

 

[Splash-X]

But how do they KNOW that?

So your answer is to rely on the "I didn't know, no one ever told me".

To be honest, that in itself explains why most divers getting certified shouldn't be in the water and it starts with the instructors who trained them. Though it is true that some divers simply lack.... common sense,

A good instructor and shop will hold you hand from the time you start class until the time you are ready to start planning your trips on your own. A good shop will put you on trips that meet your experience level. A good shop will turn you away from a trip that you're not ready for and recomend a trip that you're more ready for. A good shop will take the time to recomend places for you to visit while traveling. If they can't provide that service to you it may be time to start looking for a dive shop that cares about you as a diver and not just the bottom line.

So, if you're looking back and asking "how do I know what I should be looking for" it's time to start looking for a dive shop that is going to assit you in prepairing you for your adventure.


Would you plan a regular vacation without doing your homework, finding out where you were going, what activites there were and if there were any requirements, such as a passport, drivers license before you traveled.

It's almost common sense to plan ahead for everything, not just scuba.


If you haven't been to the place you plan to travel to or dive, you better be asking alot of questions to get a feel for what to expect. How can you plan to dive if you know nothing about where you're going and what you're going to be doing.

 

[bsee65]

Splash-X, it still comes down to the diver needing to acquire knowledge from somewhere. I think we can all agree that trial and error in diving isn't the best way to learn. The price of some errors is just too high. So, where does a newer diver go for knowledge? Ideally, you'd suggest a quality LDS. Hopefully, the LDS would also be in tune with the diving operations throughout the world to advise you on who to trust on your vacation. I would argue that agencies like PADI ought to have higher standards for DMs and operators who use their agency certification as part of their advertising. Maybe a written questionaire to document the skills and needs of potential customers. Maybe a written document specifying exactly what they will do and who bears what responsibilities. Maybe a more proactive approach to guiding clients to the appropriate dives for their skills. In short, contacting a highly certified dive operator anywhere in the world should provide you access to all the information you need to plan a dive with them. That's what the certification should be telling you.

After all, if the DM is only responsible for delivering the group to the dive site and picking them up, then why should anyone care about the DM's certification level? If someone with experience did the dive and wrote up the briefing, all you really need is someone who can pilot a boat and care for the rental gear. Personally, I don't buy it. Certification should mean more than that or it is a joke.

 

[DandyDon]

Splash-X, it still comes down to the diver needing to acquire knowledge from somewhere. I think we can all agree that trial and error in diving isn't the best way to learn. The price of some errors is just too high. So, where does a newer diver go for knowledge? Ideally, you'd suggest a quality LDS. Hopefully, the LDS would also be in tune with the diving operations throughout the world to advise you on who to trust on your vacation. I would argue that agencies like PADI ought to have higher standards for DMs and operators who use their agency certification as part of their advertising. Maybe a written questionaire to document the skills and needs of potential customers. Maybe a written document specifying exactly what they will do and who bears what responsibilities. Maybe a more proactive approach to guiding clients to the appropriate dives for their skills. In short, contacting a highly certified dive operator anywhere in the world should provide you access to all the information you need to plan a dive with them. That's what the certification should be telling you.

After all, if the DM is only responsible for delivering the group to the dive site and picking them up, then why should anyone care about the DM's certification level? If someone with experience did the dive and wrote up the briefing, all you really need is someone who can pilot a boat and care for the rental gear. Personally, I don't buy it. Certification should mean more than that or it is a joke.

Nope, some LDS are not going to know where to send you. Mine is good for Lubbock, but doesn't.

Nope, questionnaire won't work well. How can they know from reading what's on a form?

It's common in Cozumel for the DMs to take people to newbie sites first day and evaluate.

Mostly it's up to you to ask questions, hire a private DM on challenging dive, learn.

 

[wsacdiver]

I feel like I can sum up the majority of this thread with what I learned from my "diving mentor" and local dive master: You always dive with a buddy but you are also always diving solo. What I mean by that is that you always have a buddy, but you are always ultimately responsible for your own safety. We as divers are responsible for ourselves, always.

As for the responsibility of the DM, I don't think they are responsible for the divers. For the vast majority of my dives, the DM jumps in the water, ties the anchor, and comes back up with a condition report.

 

[Thalassamania]

I am responsible for myself.
I am responsible for my buddy.
I am responsible for my students.
I am responsible for my divers when I DM.
I am responsible for all divers under the auspices of my institution when I am DSO
I am responsible for divers who are in trouble if I come across them.

Without hesitation, without personal consideration, without compromise.

 

[DandyDon]

I was diving with an Inst and two Asst Inst once, and they knew - but I didn't know what the Inst was going to do. He dropped off the wall alone and down. The two Asst Inst stopped around 150 ft to watch, left me alone at 1.6 ppo (130?) as I was only one on Nitrox. I was just dumb struck, alone, watching above the two I could see. He dropped down to 265 or so, then after a while back.

I was pissed.

I am not responsible for any of those three.