Is the instructor's behavior normal?

[RonFrank]

New divers tend to view UW problems as dramatic and life threatening. Being UW all bad experiences are life threatening, but your situational awareness is generally not good as new divers have very little situational awareness. Maybe you can describe the dive, how deep, how long? Some other questions are:

Were there boats in the area?
How fast were you ascending?
Did the instructor prevent a run away ascent?
How deep were you when you started the ascent, and how deep were you when the instructor grabbed you and brought you back down?
How many dives have you done?

Sounds to me like the instructor stopped a run away ascent. This is not a bad thing quite the opposite. He could not have been far away as he was able to get to you quickly. I am betting you likely have little idea if there were other boats in the water or how fast you were ascending.

Sorry if I sound skeptical, but I have seen these types of posts many times over the years. If, or when the other party responds the description of the dive is generally quite different than originally described, and often the new diver has made an error which had to be corrected by the instructor. Generally the instructor has avoided boats or a truly fast/dangerous ascent to the surface. Usually the instructor is not apologizing because there is nothing to apologize for, maybe quite the opposite.

For the new diver everything is exaggerated, but they may not be aware of depth, time, other boats, the ascent rate, or even if they are ascending. My experience with instructors is they are generally good, and helpful. If this guy was evil I apologize.

 

[DCBC]

CCC3,

From what I can understand from your comments, the instructor didn't seem overly concerned when he disappeared from your sight after you asked him to keep an eye on you. As to the perceived danger (boat traffic), you are in the best position to understand if this was a reasonable explanation regarding his actions; I question this explanation. As to a "run-a-way ascent," this is something that even an inexperienced diver should realise if this actually happened. It's hard to second guess another instructor's actions, but I have a problem with anyone being out-of-sight when they're responsible for an inexperienced diver.

 

[Davemohio]

I have taken lots o' courses.

Assisted on a few as a DM as well.

Never saw an instructor do that.

Based on the facts and circumstances provided, I would not be a happy camper.

I would vote with my wallet, and never return to the outfit.

Keep divin.

 

[farsidefan1]

Plus one for Ron Franks post. Those are important questions and I would not make a call till I knew the answers. Newbies sometimes (not always) lack situational awareness. I would not want to go flying up to the surface in Coz. Boats flying around everywhere. If the guide thought you were in an uncontrolled acent or at risk of surfacing in front of a boat you should probably have given him a bigger tip. Otherwise??? Point is you clearly do not understand his motivaton, which may or may not have been with your best interest at heart. As a newbie you were probably focused upon other things, mask clarity, buoancy, whatever which is of course very understandable. On my first dive trip I was having touble maintaining my safety stop depth. I was completely unaware of the boat propeller a couple of feet over my head (it was a drift dive). I was totally clueless tll my dive buddy (also on his first trip) told me after we boarded. He was just watching in horror a few feet below me. As I said, we just don't have enough data her to be sure of what was going on. Clearly you were not aware of any dangers or you would have said something. But... the guide may have known something you didn't know. That is surprisingly likely but not a certainty. Good luck on your next venture. Most of your experiences will be a blast.

 

[Rogersea]

CCC3,

Welcome to SCUBA BOARD!!!

Sounds like you had an unfortunate experience. I hope that you continue to dive. If you think your guide jeopardized your safety you should talk to the business and explain your situation. I dont think anyone on this board despite the vast experience here can give an informed opinion with only one side of the story..

Good luck.

Roger

 

[theduckguru]

You might want to read a simple definition of license: License - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. In addition, a license agreement to use various PADI trademarked materials are part of the DM application. Turn your card in , go independant and claim you are giving PADI instruction, you may in fact find out you are not licensed to do so.

First let me clear some confusions of terms: PADI does not "license" instructors, they provide a set of standards and an approved list of people who can "certify" that someone has met the aforementioned standards. Then PADI issues a card that indicates that the person met those standards (what is not said is that the "proof" of having done so is the say-so of some else). This is not unique to PADI, it is the way that most of the agencies operate.

Second: If you were in some specific danger (e.g., too close to the surface and in danger of being hit by a boat) then the instructor's action would have been reasonable, possibly even required. If there was not such immediate thread, then I'd say it was unreasonable and unprofessional and that the instructor is in need of remediation.

 

[Thalassamania]

You might want to read a simple definition of license: License - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. In addition, a license agreement to use various PADI trademarked materials are part of the DM application. Turn your card in , go independant and claim you are giving PADI instruction, you may in fact find out you are not licensed to do so.

The "licensing" of materials for the purpose of bumph production was not the topic under discussion or the sense in which the OP was using the term.

In point of fact I suspect that you could, turn your card in, go independent and claim you are providing instruction that meets the PADI skills and knowledge standards and you'd be just fine, license or no.

 

[ed.hamilton1]

I think the best advice which has been provided here is to contact the owner of the company and advise them of your concerns.

I do however think that dive leaders have a responsibility to ensure their divers are in site of them at all times and react to their diving styles to enable them to have the dive they want.

 

[The Chairman]

Not all guides are created equal and there are a lot of variances in signs. I have seen people completely miss a sign since it meant nothing to them. When I showed them the sign again at the surface, their eyes squiched a bit and they said, "Oh! That's what you were doing!".

I have no idea if this is what happened, and since this happened on BVI, language should not have been much of a barrier. If, after an attempt to discuss a problem or problems with a DM or instructor, you feel you aren't being understood or that you are being ignored, it's time to ask for a different DM/instructor or go to a different shop. That being said, in the future BEFORE you go, come on here and find out who the favorite ops are where you are headed. You might even find a group of ScubaBoardians where you can not only learn from but have a great time with them as well.

 

[jar546]

A diver may be certified as an instructor but not acting in that capacity if they are not in an agreement to teach a class, instruct divers under a particular program with standards.

In this case, it sounds like the "instructor" was acting more like a DM or DG for the divers on the boat. He was there to lead and point out interesting things. If you asked him to keep an eye on you, you were basically asking him if you can buddy up with him. He also had a responsibility to the other divers if he was acting as DM/DG. He cannot buddy up with everyone and I personally feel as though it was your job to stay near him which you clearly did not do. You may have been within his comfort level as far as the distance between the two of you but apparently not your comfort level.

Maybe you should have hired a professional to be your DM/DG so that you can have the one on one attention that you needed.

As far as the stopping your ascent. Again, not enough information. If you thought he wanted to ascend, why did you go yourself and not go together? There is always boat traffic. Was this a drift dive, was your boat moored to the site, was there current? Did you even know where the boat was in relation to where you were going to surface?

These are all legitimate questions not intended to bash you but shed some light on his actions.