Is Anyone "Just Diving?"

Maybe it's just me (which is highly likely, so feel free to point it out if it is) but after browsing several topics, I was wondering if anyone was "just diving" anymore? What I mean by this is, it seems, most posts are about "trips" or whatnot where the poster refers to there being a "divemaster" on scene. Is anyone just grabbing buddies, sans divemaster, and just hitting the lake, quarry, river, or ocean anymore? It seems that those who "always" rely on guided trips fall into a false sense of security because an alleged "divemaster" is present. I think this allows them to, subconsciously, think they are safer and that they have someone else "watching" them. Is this really any different from their sense during training? Does this really ever allow them to progress past the point of being the "trainee"? Does this allow them to blame someone else if something goes wrong? I also see a lot of "impress the DM" mentality and concern for "what the DM might think". You're independent now people. Time to literally sink or swim on your own. I'm just kind of tossing this out there and would like some opinions...(if any of this post made any sense).

HECK yeah!

At least here in California, the vast major of dives are buddies coming together (through clubs, friendships and i'net boards like this) and going out and diving.

(Heck, out here the DMs on the boats can't even see you once you descend.)

Plenty of divers visit Hawaii with regular frequency and from my various forms of intel; some always do guided dives, some do some guided dives and some non guided dives, some just do non guided dives. Considering that boat dives are pretty much all guided, the previous sentence is mostly due to divers who do; all boat dives, some boat dives and some shore dives, all shore dives.

Just outside one side of the bell-view curve, some divers who visit Hawaii with regular frequency always dive with a guide, both from boat and shore. For example; I have regular clients from Seattle that only dive in Hawaii, with me. For boat dives; sometimes they go on the boat I work on, when I'm working, sometimes we go on a boat that allows me to guide my personal clients and just this past Monday we went on a boat where we followed that boat's guide. For shore dives; this family has their favorite dive sites that we do nearly every time they visit, and I occasionally talk them into "new" dives (for them). This has been going on for over 6 years, 3-ish visits per year.

This is a dad, son and daughter. The son has fallen out of the above paragraph; only in that he does dive the West Coast. He is a recent PADI Instructor, through some SoCal University semester; bailed out of his Puget Sound NAUI DM training I guess. He did not make the just completed family Hawaii trip, because his dock "weeding" work in Lake Washington has priority; but next family trip in August dad will most likely pay me to guide the family dives, even though son is a dive instructor. From what I gather from local guides with more years here than me; similar-ish client relationships happen with all the decent guides.

When I do Hawaii boat dives where I have not worked as a guide, I prefer to follow the boats guide. Most boat diving here is considerably more expensive than either West Coast or Florida, so as a photographer I trust the guide to try to find/show me the best photo subjects of that particular dive site.

i have never been on a guided dive....unless you count my initial cert dives.

Except for a few trips to resort destinations, and an occasional day of guided cave diving, I have never done any diving with a guide. I've dived up and down the West Coast without one, done shore diving in Hawaii without one, dived in the Virgin Islands and the Red Sea without one. It gets harder, when you go to places like Cozumel, that require guides, or resorts where one simply goes with each boat group.

It's a regional thing I think... I trained in the UK and it is standard there all over to dive without a DM, you have a buddy and hop in whether quarry, lake, ocean from a boat or shore.

I have heard that many places in the States are like that too.

Resorts seem to be standard in only running dives with a guide of some sort, depending on where in the world you are many will not hire you equipment or let you on a boat without being led by a guide.

Tropicalwolf:

Is anyone just grabbing buddies, sans divemaster, and just hitting the lake, quarry, river, or ocean anymore?

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Certainly, for local (NC) diving, all of the personal diving I do, and my dive buddies do, is 'just diving' as you describe it. Whether in a quarry, off the NC coast, or on trips to FL, none of what we do is guided in any way - unless you count the briefing before the boat dive which may include what the mate /DM just experienced when s/he set the anchor line. The last time I was on a guided dive was in Roatan 8 years ago. Even then, the DM was in the water to point out interesting features of the reef, not to 'look out for' anyone else.

Tropicalwolf:

It seems that those who "always" rely on guided trips fall into a false sense of security because an alleged "divemaster" is present. I think this allows them to, subconsciously, think they are safer and that they have someone else "watching" them.

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I understand your perspective. There are probably some individuals - less experienced, less confident, less frequent divers - who genuinely feel more comfortable in a guided environment, and that is what they seek whenever they go diving. That is OK with me as long as they clearly understand, in advance, the particular role of the 'DM' on the particular dive - or at least make their understanding known to the 'DM' so s/he can correct it as needed.

I wonder if the proportion of SB threads describing 'guided' dive experiences is higher than the actual proportion of dives which are 'guided', because people are posting questions here about such an experience.

It really depends on where you dive. Where I dive, there are no dive guides ... so it never occurs to anyone that you should need one. Therefore you come out of your OW class with the mindset that you need to plan and execute dives with a buddy, and without supervision.

Shortly after getting certified, my (ex)wife and I took a trip to Belize. On our boat we met a couple who'd been diving for 13 years and had never done a dive without a guide. They were astonished that two such new divers would be out there doing dives without one ... it never occurred to them that anyone would do that. They were pretty good divers, BTW ... they just lived and dived in an area where dive guides were readily available and one expected to use them. They did "just dive" ... they just did it differently than we did in my local area. Heck, they probably knew half the dive guides on Ambergris Caye on a first-name basis.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Same here, there are no DM's where I live, don't think ive ever even met one!

Although I have lately been VERY busy teaching, I do try to get out & enjoy a dive for myself from time to time. Since I generally have about 350 dives in my local quarry, I seriously don't think I need a guide to show me around.