Diving without a dive master or guide.

[elan]

Out of curiosity what problem are you solving with a guide?

Lack of knowledge about local environment or site.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

In the US, I never have used a dive guide. Dive boats tend to put you in the right spot and give you a decent briefing. Shore dives are cheap enough if you miss the reef and explore acres of sand its no big deal (been there )

When I do get to dive someplace in the tropics, a dive guide is often required and since the cost per dive is so high it makes sense, at least until you learn the environment. Even hiring a private guide is not that expensive compared to airfare / hotels / etc...

 

[sheeper]

it depends. i'm a pretty experienced diver and here in my local waters i go out all the time. no guide needed/wanted. if i'm on a diveboat and paying good money, the DM/guide should be able to point us in the right direction to see "stuff". if i'm on a private boat.....again, i'm good with that. Bottom line is that if i'm paying a dive operator, they'd better have the DM in the water.
of my 136 dives in 2011.....only about 20 had a DM/guide.

 

[Centrals]

In all the places that I had been diving in SE Asia, only on few occasions that I(we) had been allowed to dive unguided.

 

[j2s]

Vast majority of my diving is solo.......

 

[boulderjohn]

It is interesting that you say this living in Colorado, where the vast majority of divers only dive on vacations to resorts where they are led around by dive masters. In my last classes taught there, students have told me that friends who were already certified told them there is no need to pay any attention to any of the dive planning content in the class because the dive master takes care of all of that. Such divers will be surprised to find that in much of the world that is not what happens, and many divers do most of their own dive planning with no professional supervision at all.

In theory, you should have all the training you need, but that is not the reality. It is possible to get thorough dive planning training in Colorado. Send me a PM if you want some information on how to get it.

 

[TMHeimer]

During my "newbie" dives I never asked for or was assigned a DM or guide. Some of those dives were below the OW 60' recommendation. I have been lucky on occasion to get paired up with someone who knew the site/area. That certainly simplifies the dive and is appreciated. As PADI suggests, even someone with thousands of dives can benefit from orientation from someone who has dived the site often.

 

[captain]

What's a guide?

 

[VooDooGasMan]

Captain a guide is a master diver that knows the dive site, they show you how to dive the profile of actual site, show all the great things there and make sure you have enough air. they also are your for sure way that you will be safe in the water. If you keep your eyes focused on the guides fins you will be sure not to loose him.

Captain you should Hire a guide sometime and see what the difference is from diving without one and tell us about your experience.

 

[VooDooGasMan]

[video=youtube;e5a7Hp7dF-Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=e5a7Hp7dF-Y#![/video]This is a very good way of how a guide system works.