Proper Etiquette for a New Diver Concerning Buddies on a Dive Charter

[Professor Nemo]

I am a relatively new diver. I obtained my certification some time ago but only purchased my own equipment in December of last year and as a result I have developed a new found interest in the sport. I just recently got my Advanced Open Water and Nitrox I certifications. My question concerns how I should conduct myself when diving with a charter. I did a few dives this summer with diving charters and for each dive I paired up with two other divers on the boat. However, because I am relatively new to the sport I am still a little nervous when I first go in the water and, as a result, I consume air at a faster rate than my fellow divers do, especially on the first dive of a two dive trip. Now, I am very careful to make sure that my buddies understand that I am a fairly inexperienced diver before we get in the water and tell them that I am likely to consume air at a faster rate than they will. The typical result is that I reach the ascent pressure of 1,000 psi in my tank when my two buddies still have 1,400-1,500 psi in their tanks. (For a dive at 80-90ft I usually have a total dive time of 30 mins where they have 40-48 mins). I let my dive buddies know when I am getting low and when I should be getting ready to ascend and so we locate the anchor line. In most cases my buddies leave me there (which if fine with me, I actually prefer it for a reason I will come to in a minute) and other times one of my buddies will ascend with me until I get to the safety stop rope.

Here is my issue which I hope ScubaBoard members can help me resolve. I feel guilty about making my buddies break off from their dive that they are enjoying and which they have paid good money for because I am an air hog. I realize it inconveniences them. I am looking into purchasing a Pony bottle outfit so I will have a redundant air system because one day, in the long future (when I have many more dives under my belt), I would like to do some solo diving. However, even if I had such a system I know that it is only to be used in an emergency, not something that you factor into your dive plan so you can abuse your main tank’s air supply with the knowledge that this redundant system is available. All of this being said, as experienced divers who have dove with novices before, do you find it irritating or inconsiderate to be paired with someone like me who does consume air at a faster rate than is “normal” (if such a thing exists)? I have thought about paying an extra $40.00 to the dive shop to have one of their instructors go out as my dive buddy and realize that this would solve the issue but it would also cut into how many dives I can afford to make. Any advice related to this issue would be most beneficial.

P.S. I would like to state that all of the divers I have been with have been incredibly understanding and gracious and I am thankful for that.

 

[CuzzA]

It is what it is. You're being honest with them upfront. My advice is dive more and with experience your air consumption will likely come down. Nevertheless, since you're now an EAN diver you could always use bigger tanks which will give you longer bottom time and enough gas to stay down.

 

[doctormike]

The best option is to improve your air consumption rate, which will happen with experience and improved technique. But for now...

I do feel that it is inconsiderate to arrive on a charter without a buddy, ask a random buddy pair if you can dive with them, and then expect them to limit their dives for you. Even if they are gracious and agree to "pay it forward", it's an imposition, and they may feel obliged to let you join them.

Some people in that situation will just offer to leave the buddy team when they need to ascend, finding the anchor line and ascending on their own, but I don't think that's right either. I was in that position the other week (with a brand new OW diver instabuddy on a NYC area wreck), and I just couldn't let him ascend the anchor line on his own, it wouldn't be right. If he had had a problem, it would have been my fault for not being there. I just took him up the line, and then when he was up I went back down to the wreck to finish my dive. Not the best approach in terms of multiple ascents and decompression stress, but it was a trade off.

If you absolutely cannot find a buddy that you can work with, then you could also hire a dive guide, as you mentioned.

One thing that you can do now is to simply carry more gas by getting a bigger tank. Another option - if you can't rent bigger tanks - is a stage bottle. You mentioned a pony bottle and noted that it is only to be used for emergencies, which is correct. A pony bottle is for redundancy, it shouldn't be used for gas planning. But a stage bottle is basically a pony bottle that you are including in your gas planning. That is, you are giving up the benefit of redundancy for more gas. What some people do is to breathe the stage bottle down first and then switch to your back gas. If you are near the anchor line at some point in the dive, you can even unclip it and leave it there, but a slung bottle is pretty unnoticeable during the dive, so no real reason to do that in your situation.

 

[AdivingBel]

On deeper dives where the differences in air consumption (and shortened dive times) will be most evident, hire a private DM/guide to buddy with you (they will also be more helpful in general than an insta-buddy). You should be able to continue diving with insta-buddies on shallower dives. Try to find a way to do more shallow dives in order to build your confidence and lessen your anxiety. Unless you have other issues, your air consumption will normalize with experience. We've all been there. Keep diving.

 

[pasley]

1. Ask a dive buddy to go dive with you.
2. If you don't have someone, then you are absolutely doing the right thing and don't worry about it. If they don't want to dive with you, they will say so. I have enjoyed diving with new divers ever since I got certified. Seeing the thrill of discovering the wonders of the ocean that I am often logging as "usual suspects". Someone did it for me, so you pay it forward. The only thing I care about is, Did we have fun? Did we return safe? If we did, a 20 minute dive is as good as an hour dive.
3. Work on improving your air consumption.
   • Do aerobic exercise
   • Dive often, swim and bike
   • Streamline yourself and your gear.
   • check you weighting, being over weighted or underweighted will hurt your air consumption. Ensure your hands are lot trying to lead the fish choir, They will never follow you lead, Quieting hands waving around will add on average 15 minutes to a dive. Waiving hands are usually a sign that you need to add a little air, or dump a little air so you can stop waiving your hands around to control your depth.
   • Once your head is underwater stop venting air. Add air in small psst every few feet as you very slowly descend.
   • Trim - swim horizontally. If swimming at an angle \ you are going to be swimming up and constantly dumping air and then adding air in the mistaken belief that you are floating up when you are in fact you are swimming up.
   • Have someone video tape how your are using your legs and fins in diving. Many do the bicycle kick. This leaves the fins presenting the end of the fin to the water not the working surface. Result a lot of effort, energy and air for very little motion in the desired direction.
4. Dive accidents most often occur during or immediately following an ascent. Ascending alone is not the desired way to do it. If you read the "Lessons for life" portion of dive magazines you will find many of the stories start with "when we last saw him he was ascending on the anchor line alone and was fine.....body found (or not) on the ocean floor" I would never leave a diver until they were back on the boat.

 

[KeithG]

I think it all depends where you are diving?

For us, your situation is a non issue. We discuss the dive plan ahead of time, discover you are an air hog, and then chose a plan that will get you back to the boat (or the dock) well within your gas limits. We verify you are safely out of the water and then continue our dive.

We vacation dive in the Caribbean - mostly Bonaire or a liveaboard. So it is very easy to plan a dive that includes an early return to the boat / dock. Clear waters, no current means we can easily verify our are safely out of the water and then we can carry on a "mini-dive" once you are done.

I claim that both of the liveaboards we use (Belize Sundancer & TC Explorer) cater to your type of diver. The DM will lead a group dive that gets back to the boat based on the air hog(s). The DM will then do a few short circuits under the boat until the rest of the group is out of gas.

Big current, low viz is likely a different issue that I have no idea about.

 

[savsuds]

I would not worry much about shortening the other divers dive time. It is not a contest. And chances are the boat Captain paired you with someone that they know won't mind diving with a less experienced diver. The key for you is remain honest about what your limitations are. i.e. "My normal dive is xxx minutes at xx feet." It will make planning the dive easier for them. When I lived and worked on Guam, the boat captains would routinely ask me to buddy with someone unknown on the Mon-Thur daily boat. Little did they know, that the retail staff would normally give me a call or ask me the same when I would top off my tanks in the morning at the shop.

I only have 3 rules when I dive. 1) Hop in the water. 2) Don't die. 3) Repeat 1 and 2 as needed.

 

[Neilwood]

So long as you are honest about your capabilities, I would say there is nothing wrong with finishing a dive a bit earlier due to air consumption. If you are finding it a huge problem, try buying or renting larger tanks.

Personally I would rather not leave a diver to do a safety stop or ascent on their own. You are completely abandoning the buddy principle and should anything go wrong in that part such as BC failure, OOG etc combined with stress could leave the diver struggling at the surface with potentially disastrous results. To my mind you are either their buddy for the entire dive or no buddy at all.

 

[uncfnp]

Everyone's right. Your fellow divers are a diverse group and will have varing approaches to "air hogs." It will depend alot too and their goal for the dive and quite honestly how often they get to dive. So do just what you are doing, be up front and honest. And be understanding if some fellow divers decline to be your buddy.

As for solutions, mismatched buddy groups are fairly common. My suggestion mirrors CuzzA, instead of a pony or stage get a set of HP 120's. This is a viable option used frequently by divers with greater air use. When we dive together, my buddy dives 120's to my 80/100's.

 

[Steve_C]

I dive NC a lot and have done many instabuddies in NC.

Many relevant comments but not all relevant to NC diving. First off you need to dive a larger tank if you are using AL80s. I and many of my dive buddies dive HP100s in NC. I am buddied this weekend with a fellow that dives a 117. Note that if you are diving AL80s and switch to AL100s (which are rented in Wrightsville Beach at AS) or HP100s you will need to change your weighting.

Make sure you and your dive buddies have the same dive plan. Some are slow and poke around. Some are swimmers.

When you descend. Agree to stop for a minute or two at the bottom to get dialed in.

What happens when you stop to look at something? Are your legs moving? They should not be. Do you use your arms. You shouldn't. You may be fine but if you are swimming more than you should that can burn a lot energy.

When booking a dive be aware that divers look at dives differently. When I dive the Hyde I and most people have not problem with seeing you back to the anchor line and even part way up to the hangbar. However, if it is a tooth dive then folks will absolutely not want to cut their times short. In general that is true for the 100 ft dives. The bottom time is shorter so that taking some time to see you back up eats up more of the dive. Plus there can be more of a nervous factor at 100ft. I would suggest that if you are going to do 100 ft dives you should do them with a DM or a dedicated experienced buddy at this stage of your career.

-uncfp posted while I was writing this