Lost and DM nowhere to be found

[citykid]

This happened a while ago. A week's worth of diving and OW checkout was the vacation. Two or three days after passing the checkout and no problems there I am happy to say, we went out on the boat in Nassau, New Providence, with a different DM, we did not know him. But he came recommended, seemed on the ball, and what did I know anyway, I was a newbie. Anyway, the captain drops anchor and the DM gives the speech. We all are to meet up, us, DM & four other divers, then swim to the wall, blah blah blah. My buddy who's also my gal and I are first to go in the drink. DM tells us to go in, swim to the bow line and wait for everyone else. Then begin our nice little dive.
Well, I go in and await at the bow line. My buddy comes along also. BUT NO ONE ELSE! I wait a while longer and no one.

This story is getting a little long so I'm gonna cut to the chase a bit.

We go looking for the group. We got lost. Newbies lost in the open ocean first week diving. Was I scared? No. I was furious that we were left alone. Maybe it was me being a firefighter that taught me not panic. Maybe it was us taking the training seriously, who knows. But we did take readings on our compass' before and during the dive. We found the wall they went to but not them. We found the wreck that was on the agenda, quite a ways away from the wall and dive boat, and then finally found them. I was very happy with myself for:
a) not panicking
b) using the compass as well as limited visual markers (rocks here, sand patch there), and the viz was not very good (about 30-40 feet - come on, that sucks for newbies and for the Bahamas wouldn't you agree?)
c) finding the group while swimming all around and getting lost in the big blue sea
d) not getting lost (and I mean lost lost; out in the ocean either never to be seen again or miles away from the boat)
e) and not beating the living :censored: out of the dm when we got back on the boat (we were in his care after all)

And now we live happily ever after to dive once more.

[DeputyDan]

I don't think you were in the DM's care.

You're a certified diver - you were in your own care.

[dlndavid]

Sounds like you did OK, and you were nowhere near to being lost before your descent.
I got seperated once when doing my descent in current, kept an eye on the group and eventually caught up, the DM (my AOW instructor) didn't even know I was missing.
He didn't show up to work the next day, had a new instructor.

[citykid]

It's all h2o under the bridge. Now as I look back on it I can see both sides. But the DM knew we were brand new, and sent us in the wrong direction. Eitherway, you learn from mistakes and problems. And if that is a benchmark then I am a genius.

[pupdiver]

We had the exact same thing happen to us on the first dive on a trip to Belize! The DM gave clear instructions to meet at the bow line and go down together. I joined my wife at the bow line and we waited. Then I saw divers descending, so we descended and joined the group on the bottom. After the dive, I asked the DM what the deal was. He said a couple divers headed straight down so he went after them. The rest just followed. He intended to get them to stay put and then come up to us.

We already had some diving experience so we weren't worried. It would have been a lot more annoying if it happened under your circumstances.

[Ann Marie]

Sounds like you all learned a valuable lesson. You are your own responsible diver. Not comfortable or having a problem with the dive? Call it. Afraid you're lost? Surface. Don't want to go as deep as everyone else? Don't. You are the one that has to face the consequences of your dive.

Don't be mad at the DM, when he didn't meet you at the specific location, I would have surfaced to make sure there wasn't a problem/emergency keeping him from joining me. Then, I would have dove my own dive. I would have been mad at the idiots that didn't listen to the dive breifing and caused the group to seperate, and robbed me of my guide.

[jeckyll]

:thumbs_up

When in doubt call the dive :)

Besides my training dives I've never had a 'follow me' dive. Not sure I'd want to. Sounds quit stressful ;)

[Diver Lori]

The DM has other divers to be mindful of as well. I've got two students who will be newly certified when they take their first dive trip. I told them to consider ponying up for their own DM on their first ocean dives. The dive op they chose was more than happy to schedule an extra DM for just them, for a fee of course...but it will be well worth it for them to have their own DM to help them get their weighting in salt water right etc. And they won't be holding up the more experienced divers on the boat.

[rookers]

DMs can't heard all the cats. From what I can tell they try to spot the most worrisome sorts (those who don't listen to the briefing) and corral them first.

[Jim Lapenta]

I'd like to hear the DM's side of it. If you got lost it's your own fault. Which you did not since you took compass headings. You can always go up. Hearing the DM go blah, blah, blah, sounds like the guy in open water who knew everything. If you were that concerned that things were not right why did you jeopardize your buddy by continuing the dive? And as for that last little thing you are so proud of it's probably not a good thing to do in a foreign country to a guy who probably knows lots of good places to hide the body of a smart *** foreigner. Chill out dude.

[pakman]

:confused: Jimlap, why do you think he was jeopardizing his buddy by continuing the dive? They're both certified. They stuck together as a buddy team. What more do you want them to do? I don't get the sense there were any problems with currents and viz that would force them to abort the dive.

[citykid]

Jim, why the hostilities? The blah blah blah was just to cut out the whole speech for the sake of writing this. I wondered if someone was going to harp on that.

Obviously I listened. Apparently my buddy and I were the only ones to listen. I am the absolute last person to say "I know, I know" and tune out. ESPECIALLY to a much more experienced person (be it diver, supervisor, boss, whomever).

Remember, I posted this as a learning experience. Am I at fault to expect a DM to keep a careful eye on two brand new divers? I guess I am. But isn't that the sign of a good DM? Otherwise it's just jump in and I'll meet you back at the boat. I don't know what the rules and responsibilities are for DMs. I won't pretend to. But it was a great learning experience.

I have gone on dives where much more experienced divers have gone off on their own and have gone on dives where divers are expecting to be shown the sites by a DM. If I was to hold up a group for whatever reason then I'd say to go ahead and I'd call off my dive or try to catch up eventually(with my buddy of course).

Look, I learned a valuable lesson that dive. And it also proved the motto CYA. I believe everyone knows that one. But I do not believe I am wrong in being pissed when I was told the plan is to meet at spot x and we all go together and then just ignore the plan after wards. What is the point of 'plan your dive, dive your plan' then?

[PerroneFord]

Citykid,

I think JimLap jumped on you a bit harshly there, but it happens. In terms of a DM, I had one in OW class, I had one somewhere around dive 40, and again around dive 75. Those are the only DM's I've ever seen. The guy around dive 40 asked if we wanted tanks set up (I declined), asked if he could do anything (I was ok), he set the anchor and retrieved it, and that was it. I thought that was perfect! He did exactly what I needed to enjoy my dive. Of course we were about to drop to 105ft on a wreck, but hey... Second DM was new to DMing, did pretty much the same thnigs, but stayed on the boat the whole time. We had a nice chat during the surface interval. Again, a wreck dive, but this time the bottom was 212. We were only doing about 120-130 that day.

So what does a DM do? Seems to me like they set up the dive parameters and attempt to assist those that need help. I learned to dive without one, and honestly, am glad I did. The reliance some people seem to have on these people is astounding. I am not saying that necessarily about you, you're a new diver.

Best thing I can tell you is to get a dive briefing pre-dive, get the site and dive parameters explained to you, splash and have a good time. If a DM is there, terrific. If not, no big deal. I have yet to be around the type of DM that feels they need to run the show. I don't look forward to my first encounter with one.

[BarryNL]

Generally, on a DM led dive the responsibility of the DM is to act as a guide - not to babysit the divers at all. Certainly when I'm on a trip I expect the DM to lead the dive and point out all the interesting stuff I might otherwise miss (and their tip is generally dependent on how well they do this :) ).

The responsiblity for keeping a group together is shared between all divers - the DM included. It sounds like the main problem here was that the DM did not make sufficiently clear to all divers what the plan was, or some divers did not pay enough attention; though again, the DM should make sure everyone understands the plan - if they then deviate from it they are on their own.

[Jim Lapenta]

Sorry if that seemed harsh. But I do not mince words. I also should not post on topics such as this after an 11 hour shift with my helper gone. If you felt you were for a second lost and wondering where everybody went the correct course of action would to have been to do what annasea said. Go up and find out. What would have been the outcome if there had been a problem and instead of taking the group down a different route they had decided to abort. You would have been looking for people who were not even in the water. And you stated you were furious. Not a good state of mind to try and dive. The anger and adrenalin could have affected your judgement, air comsumption, and ability to navigate. especially in 40 ft vis when you are expecting alot better considering you were in the tropics. It is not too much to expect a DM to keep an eye on new divers if you have communicated to him that you expect it and all parties are agreed. If however you just tell him you are new and leave it at that then he has to make a call. Does he watch you or try to keep an eye on everyone in the group? I try to keep an eye on everyone when I'm acting as a DM. However as certified divers the ultimate responsibility lies with the buddy pairs. If I'm with new students it's one thing, but if you've got your card I have to trust that you have the ability to be responsible for your own safety. I'm a guide for everyone, not a baby sitter for one pair. Unless you contract with me for that service. In the keys they do not put a DM in the water and I like it that way. I prefer not to be led around. In fact most of my reef dives on vacation were solo after the op determined I knew what I was doing. I'd run across people from the boat every so often and that was cool. I congratulate you on how you found everyone and had a good time. But it really gets to me when divers expect the DM to be all things at all times to everyone. Remember that down there ultimately the only one responsible for your safety unless you specifically contract otherwise is you. I do not rely on DM's, buddy's, other divers, even instructors. They are the last resort should I not be able to handle the situation myself.

[Ann Marie]

In California, DMs stay on the boat as well. I like it that way. When I was newly certified, I immediately took Adventures in Diving so that I would gain more experience diving with an instructor watching. I mean really, how much 'diving' is there in OW?

My vacation dive rules:
-Be responsible for your own gear.
-Be responsible for you own profile.
-Tell the DM if you want to see something specific (seahorse/ frogfish).
-And tip really well if he finds you one.
-Remember the DM is usually there to handle emergencies and often to make sure you maintain good 'reef responsibility'.
-If you want something specific from the DM discuss it in the dive shop prior to the dive and be willing to pay for it.
-Have fun.

Life is a learning experience. We all make mistakes.