Do I need a Dive Master as a new OW certified?

[namerg]

Hello,
I am planing to visit south Florida on mid April. It will be my first time scuba diving into the ocean. I found and operator according to Google reviews I called them but they do not offer a dive master unless you want it and pay. Obviously, I will have a buddy or they will assign it to me.

Question: Do I need to dive with the dive master as a newbie or my buddy will be enough ?

Thanks for your help,

 

[oly5050user]

Hello,
I am planing to visit south Florida on mid April. It will be my first time scuba diving into the ocean. I found and operator according to Google reviews I called them but they do not offer a dive master unless you want it and pay. Obviously, I will have a buddy or they will assign it to me.

Question: Do I need to dive with the dive master as a newbie or my buddy will be enough ?

Thanks for your help,

As a certified ow diver you should be comfortable to plan and execute a dive within your limitations with your buddy. Sorry , but if you have to ask this question I suggest getting more training from a professional. Either a speciality like peak performance buoyancy or boat diver or any that May interest you. Not that the skills in the speciality itself is the goal but to go diving under supervision and perhaps become more comfortable in the water. Try Rainbow reef divers in key largo if you choose to dive with a dm. They provide one at no charge,just tip him/her well.

 

[namerg]

Damnn... I just got spanked I am just asking...you know. And you are right. Thank you.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

I would ask myself the following -

What kind of dive is this? Drift, Wreck, Reef, Deep - need to know for a first time to understand the risks and your comfort level.
How confident are you in your water skills?
How deep are you diving with this Dive Op or what is the max depth?
What kind of conditions do they expect on this dive? Is there a current that could be a concern if they are moored?
Will you need to use a compass to get back to the anchor line or navigation skills?
Is this a drift dive on a reef?
Is this a wreck dive and the boat is moored? So is it easy to get back to the anchor line?

You need to find out what kind of dive this is before meaningful information can be discussed - in my opinion.
You do not want to find that when you hit the bottom and your buddy gets separated that you may have issues. You want to know before you splash as much as you can about the dive, dive location and what can be expected. Is this considered a beginner OW dive or is it a more advanced OW dive site?
Then you can decide if you want a DM to show you the ropes.

 

[namerg]

Yessss, this is what I wanted it. Thank youuuuu.

 

[RickyF]

I would highly recommend it for your first ocean dive. It helps to have someone to show you how to properly do boat dives and navigation can be an issue for a new diver with a high task load.

 

[namerg]

Thanks @RickyF

 

[tstormdiver]

I second Oly5050user's recommendation. As a certified diver, if you are not comfortable with diving within your training, I would definitely find another instructor, who will make sure you are comfortable before going on any dives. One of my biggest pet peeves are instructors that will pass students on through that can do the skills, but are not comfortable with them. That was how I was trained & why I refuse to do that to my own students,.... in fact I am extending my current class because I have a couple students that are not entirely comfortable yet & a couple that have missed a session. More time in the pool can only help them become better, safer & more comfortable divers.

 

[sheeper]

nearly all the operators here (treasure coast) will put a DM in the water. At the very least a DM totes the ball for the boat as our dives are drift dives.
Come visit Jupiter and the Palm Beaches for some awesome diving!
and check in with the Vero Beach Scuba Club on Facebook. we have lots of trips going out on boats with DMs!

 

[boulderjohn]

Your profile says you are not certified yet--is that still true? If so, that can explain your questions.

If you are certified or planning to certify through PADI, your fourth open water certification dive should have been or will be one in which you plan the dive and do it without anyone leading you. The instructor on that dive is supposed to observe you and only intervene if there is a problem. You should therefore have some experience in diving without professional assistance.

You don't say where you are going to be in South Florida. In my experience, what happens in South Florida has changed a whole lot in the last few years, and it varies quite a bit from one location to another. It used to be that pretty much no operator put a DM in the water unless you paid extra, as you were told. These days a lot of them put DMs in the water routinely. I have gone to South Florida every year for a long time now, and I have seen a real change. The operator I have used the most over the past few years now puts a DM in the water with no extra expense on every dive, and this year was the first time I ever saw it. You are free to stick with that DM or not--your choice. You may want to ask around.

I live near you, up in Boulder. If you send me a private message (PM), I may be able to give you some more explicit help.