What should one do in this situation?

[Meng_Tze]

It is common in Asia for people to pick up things, touch corals, drag equipment, poke with sticks, grab fish and such. I have seen it many times. I am not sure where it comes from, but it is common. If you dive around Tioman, Aur and Phuket you will see many dead/dying and broken reefs. Some is from pollution, some from the Tsunami in 2004 and some from divers. I am not surprised to read this.

 

[scarefaceDM]

you did well especially for a new diver. Makes me sick to hear that even a DM has poor skills and is not aware of his surroundings. DM'S MUST lead by example of good skills, awarness and professionalisim. He is the one that should note the poor skills of the other divers especially in water...

Complain to the right people.

Be carefull when chasing a run-away diver...your putting yourself at risk for nothing. They are certified divers.

If I see a run away diver and I am at arms lenght I can do something.. other than that...let them go chances are they will come back down...

Good job,

safe dives
Stephen

 

[JohnnyH]

Taliesin58, for starters I just want to say you sound like the kind of chap I'd dive with any day.

It's a testament to both you and your instructor that you had such situational awareness, ability to think on your fins (ug - I can't believe I said that), and respect for your aquatic environment.

The number of logged dives often doesn't have anything to do with ability and sometimes it just means that bad habits have become deeply ingrained.

Glad to have you among the ranks of the certified.

John

 

[DiveMaven]

I had a lousy octo holder for awhile and my octo would come loose once in awhile. I've always appreciated either my buddy or someone else pointing it out if I didn't notice first. You did the right thing IMO.

 

[jpcpat]

Sounds to me like you did the right thing. Good going. It doesn't take tons of experience to be right!!

 

[timle]

The number of divers out there who are just looking for someone to show them what they should do or where they should go is astounding.

I don't find it astounding at all. Most people I meet live their entire lives this way. I set at a broken red light the other day for almost 15 minutes. The first people in line waited this long before they decided it was okay to go through the red lights with gaps in the traffic. Most people are sheep, if you aren't a sheep you have to decide if you are a sheep dog or a wolf.

Sometimes being a wolf will teach people a lesson, where as being a sheep dog they will just expect the sheep dog to always be there to tell them what to do.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I don't find it astounding at all. Most people I meet live their entire lives this way. I set at a broken red light the other day for almost 15 minutes. The first people in line waited this long before they decided it was okay to go through the red lights with gaps in the traffic. Most people are sheep, if you aren't a sheep you have to decide if you are a sheep dog or a wolf.

Sometimes being a wolf will teach people a lesson, where as being a sheep dog they will just expect the sheep dog to always be there to tell them what to do.

Exactly. Since the OP is a new diver who sounds like they were well trained I wanted to give a head's up about what many of us see on a regular basis and let them know that what they saw wasn't uncommon. I like the wolf/sheep dog analogy.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[timle]

I try to be a sheep dog if it looks like someone might get hurt. Like the OP doing an awesome job of pulling someone's dump valve. Thats mighty good work!

 

[Meng_Tze]

What about the wolf in sheeps clothes?

 

[deepblueme]

Good job and way to go.
I would have even pulled the DM aside and told him why I wasnt tipping him.

By the way most octo holders are junk!!! The best octo holder I have ever used was an old fashion silicone snorkle keeper.