Is the instructor's behavior normal?

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CCC3

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I was on a dive in the BVI and made it very clear I was a beginner. I asked the PADI licensed dive instructor to keep an eye on me. I often found he quite a ways ahead and once out of sight. The group was only 2 people so keeping an eye on us should not have been a problem. I was following him back to the boat and thought we were surfacing. I had him come up to me and grab the back of my BCD and swim down faster than I could equalize. He later said he did not mean to swim down... but he did say I was too close to the surface and did not let me know by signs or anything to swim downward before he grabbed me. He was behind me and I was flailing as he drug me down ward and I shook my right hand back and forth in the water. Is this actionable... ? I don't believe I sustained any long lasting effects but my ears sure hurt as I went down. There was no appology and no asking about if I was ok. It was almost said with a smile... "Like I am going to say I didn't mean to but.... Smile..."
Is this something instructors do?
 
First let me clear some confusions of terms: PADI does not "license" instructors, they provide a set of standards and an approved list of people who can "certify" that someone has met the aforementioned standards. Then PADI issues a card that indicates that the person met those standards (what is not said is that the "proof" of having done so is the say-so of some else). This is not unique to PADI, it is the way that most of the agencies operate.

Second: If you were in some specific danger (e.g., too close to the surface and in danger of being hit by a boat) then the instructor's action would have been reasonable, possibly even required. If there was not such immediate thread, then I'd say it was unreasonable and unprofessional and that the instructor is in need of remediation.
 
Instructors / Guides are like anything else, some are great and others have no business doing what they do. Don't let this one bad time be an indicator of other good instructors . You know you had a great instructor when you leave the dive and say " I will definitely use that charter again the next time I'm in this area" . Your safety and comfort should have been the instructors priority.
 
I think it does not really matter what people will say here as it will not change whatever perception you got from the experience. In addition, not being there, we do not know how fast you were going up, what else was around and how abrupt he was in his maneuvre.

Did I ever have to drag somebody down because despite his claims of being highly experienced he grossly underestimated his weight requirement to the point that he would have popped up rather quickly, surfaced in the middle of a very busy boat lane and without any kind of markers??? Yes, but I usually do not try of making it a habit.

Some points to ponder...was it a private chartered dive? What type of pre-dive briefing did you get? How do you see your role as a diver on a guided dive and the role of the dive leader? While you may have had certain expectations as to his role, perhaps he also had his wrt a certified diver, ie somebody who is safe and effective under water, will be able to accomplish all the basic tasks and will only require his services as a guide vs instructional duties. If he was so far ahead of you, could it be possible that one of the reasons might have been you were not following him unless he was apparently swimming too fast for you and the other diver to keep up with him?
 
It was private chartered dive and I made it very clear I needed further instruction. I let him know I had not dove in years. I have open water but 6 years ago- only one dive since. I talked to this person for months before agreeing to dive with him. I had one dive as a refresher with him on another occasion the day before. I asked him to keep an eye on me and only agreed to dive asking if he would "help me?" At no point did I misrepresent my experience level- nor could I have. but no- you werent there- nor did you see the look on his face. I don't trust him. I don't think he should be leading dives.
 
P.S. I never implied you misrepresented your experience level...I was talking about the experience I once had. As somebody else mentionned, diving is like anything else in life...you will have all kind of experiences and to me they are all good (as long as you learn something out of them) but not necessarily all pleasant. In this case you made a note to never dive with him again. Hopefully your next diving experience will be much better.
 
Welcome to the board, CC3. I hope you will find much interesting material here that will help you in your quest to become a better diver. As I see it, you have 3 questions:
1. Is this instructor's behaviour normal?
2. Is his behaviour actionable?
3. Is this something instructors do?

I am not an instructor, but I have been on a boat many times with newer divers. I have yet to see an instructor purposely try and hurt a diver. For one thing, it is bad for business. So in answer to questions 1 and 3, it depends on the circumstances. But first and foremost, the instructor will try and keep newer divers from being killed. Yes, I know that the certification manuals say that as certified divers, we are all responsible for our own safety but generally speaking, any experienced diver - but especially an instructor - will try and help out another who appears to be doing something dangerous. I am not a lawyer, much less one who specializes in litigation, so won't attempt to answer #2.

A question for you though: after returning from the dive, did you discuss any of your concerns or questions about it with the dive shop management? Like many other things in life where we are concerned about customer service, sometimes this can lead to a better understanding of what transpired and why...at least from their perspective...than can be expected to happen on the internet where none of us were on the dive. If the instructor acted inappropriately, then the manager (if they are not one and the same) will certainly want to address the issue with that person. If the instructor and manager are one and the same person, then they have had useful feedback if they are willing to take it as such.
 
CCC3, From what you say, it's pretty obvious the instructor did at least 2 things wrong, though, of course I wasn't there. Just a couple of thoughts--As someone else mentioned, what was the set up? Was the instructor acting as a guide for the dive op, or was he doing his own pleasure dive? Was he paid to keep an eye on you (I guess that would matter since you say he agreed to). I had one experience when I asked an instructor to be my buddy (not to keep an eye on me, just because I prefer buddy diving when going below 30'). He disappeared on me by jumping in without warning and shooting down the line. He agreed to be my buddy but split before I left the boat. So anything can happen, even with an instructor. One more thought--maybe you should get a little more experience before being in a situation where you need someone to keep an eye on you. Maybe the logistics were beyond your comfort. Two new divers are supposed to be able to buddy up together to dive in conditions similar to or better than where they did their checkout dives. I'm not saying for sure you need some more experience for the dive you did ---maybe you were just trying to expand your ability and thus wanted the instructor. When I was OW my first boat dive was to about 75'--An instructor on board (not my instructor) buddied me up with her very experienced husband. So, he took off on me down there seeking lobsters. That stuff happens.
 
Is this actionable... ? I don't believe I sustained any long lasting effects but my ears sure hurt as I went down....

Everything is actionable.
Assuming your guide is based in the US, you can hire an attorney (expect a $5000 retainer minimum).
However, you appear to have no monetary damages. Therefore there would be little point in suing.
 
Next time you are in the BVI (if there is a next time) try Dive BVI (www.[B]divebvi[/B].com). I've gone with them on two trips for a total of 26 dives and have found them to be a very safe operation. The private dive guide we hired, Vivian Toro, could not have been more experienced or helpful. My wife has problems equalizing on initial decent and Viv was very patient as she helped my wife go slowly down the line. She also swam right with us (maybe a few feet ahead) and took my camera from me so we could get pix of my wife and I diving together. They have a number of locations throughout the BVI and will also pick you up from your boat if you are yachting around the islands.

Unless, of course, you were with Dive BVI, in which case I would call Jeff McNutt directly..but this really doesn't sound like them.
 
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