Miss Scuba Manners....What's your unwritten dive etiquette rule?

[Jayfarmlaw]

I know some members have written 2 books about dive etiquette, and I have debated on whether to post this or not, but I'm a newly addicted diver and don't get to dive nearly as much as I want to, but want to learn as much as possible. This site has been a valueable source for that information.

I'd like to know what the unwritten rules of dive etiquette are. I try to stay out of everyone's way, help others when ever requested or its apparent they need help with getting gear on or off, and try to be a diver others would want on the boat with them. The "Dangles" thread made me think I may be doing something and not even know about that violates an unwritten rule. ( I have an air 2- no Octo- and console on a clip)

i had a diver swim over me in a very narrow but relatively long swim through in the reef in Coz. I was pretty impressed that my buoyancy had me in the middle of about an 8 foot wide swim through then, all of a sudden, my buoyancy went to crap and I almost face planted into the sand. I bottomed out and something hit my head...it was the other divers knee. They had pushed me into the sand. Turns out if the guy lost site of the DM he would make a bee line to get to him.

I dont want to embarrass anyone, no need to post pictures or give identifying information on the person, but what have you seen other divers do? Even if it is just a personal pet peeve, I'd like to know.

thanks in advance for your response,
Jay

 

[JohnN]

I know some members have written 2 books about dive etiquette, and I have debated on whether to post this or not, but I'm a newly addicted diver and don't get to dive nearly as much as I want to, but want to learn as much as possible. This site has been a valueable source for that information.

I'd like to know what the unwritten rules of dive etiquette are. I try to stay out of everyone's way, help others when ever requested or its apparent they need help with getting gear on or off, and try to be a diver others would want on the boat with them. The "Dangles" thread made me think I may be doing something and not even know about that violates an unwritten rule. ( I have an air 2- no Octo- and console on a clip)

i had a diver swim over me in a very narrow but relatively long swim through in the reef in Coz. I was pretty impressed that my buoyancy had me in the middle of about an 8 foot wide swim through then, all of a sudden, my buoyancy went to crap and I almost face planted into the sand. I bottomed out and something hit my head...it was the other divers knee. They had pushed me into the sand. Turns out if the guy lost site of the DM he would make a bee line to get to him.

I dont want to embarrass anyone, no need to post pictures or give identifying information on the person, but what have you seen other divers do? Even if it is just a personal pet peeve, I'd like to know.

thanks in advance for your response,
Jay

Mine is divers priming their drysuit pee valve while the rest of the divers are still suiting up on the boat.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Getting back onboard soon after peeing in their wetsuit. The smell stayed with us for a long time. Don't believe what people tell you. Pee does not rinse out while you're still wearing the suit.

 

[Scubagolf]

Diver with camera who thinks it's his God-given right to hog the view until he gets just the right exposure in the right position. (This always seems to be a "he".)

 

[Hintermann]

Diver with camera who thinks it's his God-given right to hog the view until he gets just the right exposure in the right position. (This always seems to be a "he".)

Agree with you on the sentiment but not the gender classification. I agree that majority of the lingerers are male but two of the worst that I encountered thus far were very "she".

 

[boulderjohn]

Don't show up at a small boat with a big suitcase full of dive hear that will have to be stowed somewhere and take up valuable space.

 

[RJP]

Everything boils down to one thing:

"Don't be a d**k."

 

[chillyinCanada]

The four top things I would have said, have been said, including the OP's complaint. . I've still got a fin divot in my forehead from a couple of weeks ago.

 

[g1138]

Dry pee then step over someone's gear. Definite no no.
How do I know this? We heard water dripping out of nowhere and turned to see him frozen midstep in horror as it leaked out of a hole in his booty.

Him being a friend and having a "I'm innocent/stupid smirk" made us laugh hysterically.
But still, gross. Pee leaks out of bootie zippers too, FYI.

 

[KathyV]

I have 3 "pet peeves" about fellow divers, I call the first one the "needy diver" these are divers that are not comfortable with their skill level so the survival plan is to stay glued to the divemaster. That would be okay if they weren't so aggressive about it. Lord help you if you inadvertently get between them and the dive guide - they will mow you down if you are blocking access to their living life preserver. It sounds like the OP had an encounter with the "needy diver". Depending on the site, sometimes my husband and I go off on our own and sometimes we follow the dive guide - but when we do, we have learned to stay back and out of harm's way.

I call the second pet peeve "the tormentor", these are divers that happily terrorize animals underwater and won't stop. For example, we were doing a night from a liveaboard in the Bahamas one time when I found an Octopus out in the open. I enjoyed watching it for a short while and then showed it to my fellow divers - that was a mistake.

A group of divers circled and trapped the poor creature and bombarded it with bright lights and photo flashes. It was desperately trying to get away and it even "inked" in an attempt to escape - but they just kept playing with it, pulling it back, and tormenting the poor little thing. I felt guilty because I had showed it to them.

I finally had enough and I broke into the circle, wagged my finger at them and went around turning off all their lights while the octopus made good with an escape! I could hear my husband laughing underwater but my fellow divers were rather upset with me when we got back on the boat - I didn't care, they were tormenting jerks IMO! I usually try to mind my own business, but not when I see an animal being stressed or harmed.

My third least favorite kind of diver is the "know-it-all", the busybody that appoints himself an expert and makes it his business to chastise others about their diving technique. (Although I'm sure my fellow divers would put me into this category when I turned off their lights in the example above, but I'd still do it again!)

We were on a boat with one of these know-it-all guys a few years ago, his wife was dangerous and he wouldn't dive with her - so she kept trying to hook up with others. Instead of watching his wife, who needed his attention, he watched everyone else and loudly told us whatever we were doing wrong, in his opinion.

Our last dive with him and his wife was a fiasco. It was a rough day and after I jumped into the water I found that I was dangerously close to the hull and being pushed closer by the waves. I know that I should have signaled "okay" to the divemaster on board but I didn't; I pushed away from the boat and went straight down because I was really afraid of cracking my head. I did signal okay to my buddy and the divemaster in the water after I submerged, but I recognize that I missed a safety step on the surface.

After the dive when we were back on board, the know-it-all started giving me a dressing down for not signaling okay on the surface. I acknowledged the omission but explained about the danger of hitting my head on the boat but he kept going on about it. I finally told him that it was none of his business and that it was up to the divemaster to tell me if there is a problem with my technique.

The irony of the story is that when his wife surfaced after the same dive, it turned out that she had gotten confused after a swim-through and had gone down to 150 ft on Nitrox! She said she couldn't figure out what was making all that noise but it turned out that it was her computer screaming at her! She was furious when the dive shop told her that she couldn't dive for the rest of the week. Neither of them came back and the rest of us didn't miss them!