Irresponsible diving?

[diveandclimb]

Last weekend I went on a shore side organized by a LDS. They had one of their DMs there to collect our ten bucks, make sure we had a buddy, and generally look after people. This dive was mostly attended by very inexperienced divers, some of whom had only done their checkout dives before this dive. Anyway, one of the new divers shows up with rental gear that they didn't check prior to leaving the dive shop they got it from and low-and-behold there is an issue with the octo making it slowly leak are continually in or out of the water. So the DM decides to give this diver his gear which was just the stuff the LDS rents normally and the diver happily goes out for his first dive. Meanwhile the DM gets board of waiting on the beach so he grabs the malfuctioning gear and jumps in for a "quick dive before all the air freeflows out". This struck me as kind of bad for a few reasons. Firstly, shouldn't the DM we paid for be sitting on the beach helping divers, not going diving himself? Second, isn't he crazy to be soloing to 65' with broken gear and no back-up air source? Last, isn't he setting an awful example in multiple ways for all these new impressionable diver? Any affirmation of my feelings or conflicting opinions would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Cave Diver]

I think I'll sit this one out.

 

[jonenglishlee]

Should He have done the dive? no. Should he have done the dive with all his new students and customers watching? Definately Not! He just devalued the training that your LDS provides by saying the money you spent to learn how to dive safely, was unneccessary. He gave all the new divers a poor image of divemasters. He also probably broke some of the rules posted on the LDS liability release form. Oh, by the way, he also risked a diving accident. bad move in many ways

 

[diveandclimb]

Should He have done the dive? no. Should he have done the dive with all his new students and customers watching? Definately Not! He just devalued the training that your LDS provides by saying the money you spent to learn how to dive safely, was unneccessary. He gave all the new divers a poor image of divemasters. He also probably broke some of the rules posted on the LDS liability release form. Oh, by the way, he also risked a diving accident. bad move in many ways

Thanks. It's good to hear that I'm not crazy.

 

[nereas]

Last weekend I went on a shore side organized by a LDS. They had one of their DMs there to collect our ten bucks, make sure we had a buddy, and generally look after people. This dive was mostly attended by very inexperienced divers, some of whom had only done their checkout dives before this dive. Anyway, one of the new divers shows up with rental gear that they didn't check prior to leaving the dive shop they got it from and low-and-behold there is an issue with the octo making it slowly leak are continually in or out of the water. So the DM decides to give this diver his gear which was just the stuff the LDS rents normally and the diver happily goes out for his first dive. Meanwhile the DM gets board of waiting on the beach so he grabs the malfuctioning gear and jumps in for a "quick dive before all the air freeflows out". This struck me as kind of bad for a few reasons. Firstly, shouldn't the DM we paid for be sitting on the beach helping divers, not going diving himself? Second, isn't he crazy to be soloing to 65' with broken gear and no back-up air source? Last, isn't he setting an awful example in multiple ways for all these new impressionable diver? Any affirmation of my feelings or conflicting opinions would be much appreciated. Thanks.

D/Ms know what they are getting themselves into. They are accomplished divers. If I were you, I would not imitate him, however, until you also have become a D/M.

It was really nice of him to loan out his own gear.

 

[diveandclimb]

D/Ms know what they are getting themselves into. They are accomplished divers. If I were you, I would not imitate him, however, until you also have become a D/M.

It was really nice of him to loan out his own gear.

I have no plans to imitate him any time soon. I also though that it was nice of him to loan out his gear, I just felt, with or without good cause, that the whole deal kind of went south from there. That said, I still dove with my buddy and enjoyed my dives plenty.

 

[cflJason]

OK. That is not a lead by example dive master. You are not crazy.

I do get quite a laugh out of this quote from your original thread, "...so he grabs the malfuctioning gear and jumps in for a "quick dive before all the air freeflows out". "

Why didn't he just turn off the air until it was time to go in? Not that this makes his actions any better, but I think it shows that he may not be the sharpest tool in the shed.

 

[diveandclimb]

We were talking as I geared up and he said he used to be a commercial diver on offshore oil rigs. Maybe he never got used to the limited amount of air a tank provides and he's still back in happy surface supplied buddyless land.

 

[captain]

As for using the malfunctioning gear as a experienced diver I don't see an issue. If as a DM he was supposed to follow or lead the divers rather than being shore support than in that respect he did not perform his duties. If the plan was to assist divers on the beach, once they were in the water for the moment his job was done, if he was back on the beach when the divers returned or returned with them he also performed his duty.

 

[John_B]

...and low-and-behold there is an issue with the octo making it slowly leak are continually in or out of the water...

Define "slowly leak". Freeflow? Steady stream of tiny bubbles?