In Coz: You, Your Buddy, Your Group and Your DM. Who should do what?

[ScubaSteve1962]

That's not true. I just dove at Samana in the Dominican Republic and no DM went with us. We didn't want one, and didn't need one, so it worked out just fine. We also were able to dive without the DM in Roatan (twice), Belize (twice), Costa Maya (twice), and Aruba, all boat dives. There was a DM on the boat, but because my dive buddy is a master instructor, they were more than happy to herd cats and let us do our own thing. We were out of sight of the DMs the majority of the time and perfectly happy about it.

Were you the only 2 on the boat or did they go off with the other divers? Was it your choice. Some will give you that choice, but that doesn't mean they weren't required to be there. In the states, you may have divers from different ops on a boat with no one from the op aboard, just a DM and the Captain if you don't hire a guide there will be none.

 

[boulderjohn]

When I dived Bonaire and Curacao, there as no requirement for a DM. If you were shore diving, you were totally on your own. If you were boat diving, the boat would have a DM in the water doing a dive, and if you felt the need, you could go with him. I never dod, so I don't know how many people did that.

When I dived the on a liveaboard in the Great Barrier Reef, they put a DM in the water for those who wanted one only. Again, I never did. (I had only about 50 logged dives then.)

When I was on a liveaboard in Thailand, the DM was also optional.

 

[ScubaSteve1962]

When I dived Bonaire and Curacao, there as no requirement for a DM. If you were shore diving, you were totally on your own. If you were boat diving, the boat would have a DM in the water doing a dive, and if you felt the need, you could go with him. I never dod, so I don't know how many people did that.

When I dived the on a liveaboard in the Great Barrier Reef, they put a DM in the water for those who wanted one only. Again, I never did. (I had only about 50 logged dives then.)

When I was on a liveaboard in Thailand, the DM was also optional.

Most of the time they won't make you follow them like little children, they are just required to be there for those that want them. and for shore diving you're almost always on your on everywhere unless you hire a DM, and if you know some one with tanks and a fill station you may not need to be certified to shore dive.

 

[boulderjohn]

Most of the time they won't make you follow them like little children, they are just required to be there for those that want them. and for shore diving you're almost always on your on everywhere unless you hire a DM, and if you know some one with tanks and a fill station you may not need to be certified to shore dive.

My mistake. I thought you said

Through my research the mainland U.S. is the only place that doesn't put DM in the water. There may be some other island may do it, but I haven't ran across any yet, and I'm always looking at different places to go. Some may do it for shore diving, but when going out on a boat most require it.

 

[ScubaSteve1962]

My mistake. I thought you said

Yes I said in the water, I didn't say they keep everybody grouped together. Some people who only dive on the islands don't realize that the DM with some ops in the states don't get in the water with you, that you have to hire your own if you want one.

 

[Laurie S.]

Were you the only 2 on the boat or did they go off with the other divers? Was it your choice. Some will give you that choice, but that doesn't mean they weren't required to be there. In the states, you may have divers from different ops on a boat with no one from the op aboard, just a DM and the Captain if you don't hire a guide there will be none.

We did a private boat charter in Samana (best dive on the cruise), but on the other dives there were from 4 to 15 other divers on the boats. We told them we were going on our own and they had no problem with that. It made their work easier.

 

[ScubaSteve1962]

We did a private boat charter in Samana (best dive on the cruise), but on the other dives there were from 4 to 15 other divers on the boats. We told them we were going on our own and they had no problem with that. It made their work easier.

Have you dove anywhere else in the DR, I was thinking of going down to Juan Dolio

 

[Laurie S.]

No, that was our first time there, and we loved it.

 

[underachiever]

Do they not mention the dive conditions in the briefings or do you just jump off the boat and follow the guide? Maybe if more divers stayed on the boat and complained to the DM, Captain and Op, Instead of following along like lemmings to the cliffs ops will change. As stated in a previous post when the larger group wants to go to a site that you're not comfortable with, what are you supposed to do, make a seen

The first time we had the chance to dive Devils Throat we declined. This was on the way out on the boat that morning. DM asked us and I told him we were not ready to attempt that dive. He shared that with the other divers on the boat and everyone seemed OK with it.

We probably had about 20 dives on Cozumel and 80 dives total. With the research I had done and our air consumption I did not think we were ready to try (so we did not) Same way with Barracuda.

At the time my dive buddy was still using a lot of air. We started getting her a big tank for the first dives and we would generally come up close to the same amount after dives. After about 100-110 dive total she went back to the regular tanks and has been great on air since. In fact now she generally has 1200 + psi when we come up with me at 700. It just took her a while to get totally comfortable and I am so glad I did not push her or myself. We will tackle most any dive site now but certainly understand when a diver may not be ready for particular dive sites. On our most recent trips we just told the DM to find the best conditions for an easy dive (due to the currents being a little crazy). They did.

 

[ScubaSteve1962]

The first time we had the chance to dive Devils Throat we declined. This was on the way out on the boat that morning. DM asked us and I told him we were not ready to attempt that dive. He shared that with the other divers on the boat and everyone seemed OK with it.

We probably had about 20 dives on Cozumel and 80 dives total. With the research I had done and our air consumption I did not think we were ready to try (so we did not) Same way with Barracuda.

At the time my dive buddy was still using a lot of air. We started getting her a big tank for the first dives and we would generally come up close to the same amount after dives. After about 100-110 dive total she went back to the regular tanks and has been great on air since. In fact now she generally has 1200 + psi when we come up with me at 700. It just took her a while to get totally comfortable and I am so glad I did not push her or myself. We will tackle most any dive site now but certainly understand when a diver may not be ready for particular dive sites. On our most recent trips we just told the DM to find the best conditions for an easy dive (due to the currents being a little crazy). They did.

Good to know that someone will speak up when not comfortable with a site. And also know that you can do this in Coz with out acting like a 10 year old.