Miss Scuba Manners....What's your unwritten dive etiquette rule?

[Ontwreckdiver]

Don't touch my gear ever
don't help me unless I ask for help
Photographers that think it's their right to rush ahead and butt in front of everyone to get their pic.
divers that crawl up your ass from behind and then complain they got kicked in the head.
divers that just have to touch everything
rototillers that stir everything before the rest of the group get to see anything.(it's not always new divers)
experienced divers that look down their nose at new divers (we were all there at some point)
taking too long to gear up and get off the boat ( I'm prone to get seasick)

 

[tomfcrist]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...do not flush the marine head while divers are under the boat...particularly if that diver is me.

 

[uncfnp]

When the DM/Captain says gear up. Gear Up! I have had to stumble over rows of divers to drop in the water after they continued to socialize long after to 10 minute warning and the Captain is yelling "Get off my boat!"

 

[jboneng]

Most of us been newbees and been ignorant to the etiquette of diving from scuba-charter boats, and I mostly dive with the same group of people with our own code of conduct, but when I go on a diving holidays there are some types that irritates me:
a) The fresh out of AOW know-it-all with terrible buoyancy skills.
b) People touching my gear, even during buddy checks, just don't touch my gear, people doing that have a tendency to loosen my weight pockets.
c) People "overturning" me and my buddy's dive plan, when I calculate a dive-plan I make sure the math is correct, just because your tables says it can't be done doesn't make it so, often this persion is the same dude as in a).

 

[Doctorfish]

A lot has been covered already but another one for me is the idiot who stops at the top of the ladder to chat or take off gear while the rest of us stay in the water. Another ladder issue for me is if I am still on the ladder and someone starts to climb up behind me. One at a time for obvious reasons.

I don't like it when someone leaves their weights on a bench rather than on the deck, or doesn't secure their tank properly.

Did I mention reef bashers? I hate reef bashers.

---------- Post added February 8th, 2015 at 04:05 PM ----------

I also hate when another diver or buddy pair crawls right up my backside. Never understood why anyone would do that when there is a whole ocean out there.

Tank bangers are a pain as well. There is always someone on a dive banging away for no good reason and scaring away the animals. There are also divers who chase skittish animals like sharks and eagle rays, scaring them away so no one else gets a chance to see them.

 

[drrich2]

This isn't a slam against 'jerks' so much as something that anyone can do. Failure to secure your gear. On some trips it's standard practice to get your BCD on your tank before you arrive at the site. It's fairly easy to forget to replace the boat bungie cord to secure your tank & gear. A tank & BCD with weights dropping off to strike the deck, or whatever's between it & the deck, is serious business.

Some things are annoying. Some things, such as the above or coming in to the ladder before the guy ahead of you is securely back on the boat (& thus at risk to fall & crush your skull with his tank) are dangerous.

Richard.

 

[KathyV]

This isn't a slam against 'jerks' so much as something that anyone can do. Failure to secure your gear. On some trips it's standard practice to get your BCD on your tank before you arrive at the site. It's fairly easy to forget to replace the boat bungie cord to secure your tank & gear. A tank & BCD with weights dropping off to strike the deck, or whatever's between it & the deck, is serious business.

Some things are annoying. Some things, such as the above or coming in to the ladder before the guy ahead of you is securely back on the boat (& thus at risk to fall & crush your skull with his tank) are dangerous. Richard.

Very true and important!

But then there is the poor guy that puts on all his gear at his seat but forgot to un-bungee it, usually the first dive of the trip. He's struggling to stand up but he's stuck there like a turtle on it's back.

Speaking for myself, I've done it at least once!

 

[MMM]

When I was a pretty new diver, I was one of those numb-skulls who arrived at the boat with - get this - a large plastic Rubbermaid storage container on wheels! After that, I asked my husband to buy me a gear bag for Christmas! While I appreciate that you get mucus in your nose or throat, please be sensible to others in the vicinity. I don't appreciate you clearing your snot into the water inches from me. Be on time! Don't be in a hurry! Wait your turn for all things. Tough, I know when your buoyancy isn't great or you are anxious. So experienced divers should also cut you some slack here! Please try and be aware of who is above, below and beside you before you change direction. That takes some experience to develop so if you are unsure, try and create some distance from the pack.

one thing I will disagree with others here is photographers who hog something. There is nearly ALWAYS something else to look at or look for while tou await others to move on. That said, on a recent dive, I patiently waited for all of the divers from my group to move on from some particular critter so I could get in and photograph it. As I was doing so, a DM from ANOTHER dive op swooped in front of me and dangled some bait in front of the critter. I looked her in the eye, mask to mask, with a WTH look on my face! She moved on pretty quickly but not fast enough IMO!

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Look at the weird and fascinating dive toys others have brought on board - the rebreather, the scooter, that strange tank with a neatly-stowed regulator and a big THIS IS NOT YOUR TANK! sticker - with your eyes, not your Goddamn hands. Divers should be allowed to go full-on Riyadh with a BFK when they encounter such hands.

Do not run into others underwater: if you cannot control yourself enough to do that, then either slow down, stop moving entirely, or stay the away from others (or some fun combination of those). If you run into me enough times, I may return the favor - and at 300fpm on my scooter, you'll like it less than I will, I promise.

Do not make constant noise. If you're diving a computer or a CCR that simply cannot stop beeping the entire time you're underwater, you're wrong. Nobody wants to hear that, and while we probably won't do it, we will at least ponder how to simply turn it off and see if you even notice.

 

[gcarter]

1) A roller bag is not an appropriate conveyance for your dive gear to the dive boat. A canvas or mesh duffel takes significantly less room.
2) If you are diving side mount and decide that means 4 bottles, you might want to check with the Captain first. Especially on an already very full, very small boat. For a rec dive.
3) Once you pick a spot, stay with it. When I get out of the water after the first dive, I don't appreciate having to hunt for a place to remove my gear and then have to move everything to my newly (forced) re-assigned spot.