Are there guidelines regarding touching other divers?

[DivemasterDennis]

For what it's worth, I can tell you what I do when I am leading certified divers on a dive. First, I like to have a fair idea of their experience level and how long since they last went on a "real dive" before we enter the water. I am a very attentive DM. By that I mean that I watch my divers, and further assess each one's skill and comfort level early on during the dive. I will touch a dive gently to get their attention. I will hold onto a diver if I am adjusting their equipment. I will hold on to a diver firmly as I assist them in returning to the planned dive profile if they have descended beyond it. I will hold on to a diver who is having trouble maintaining depth at a safety stop.
Emergency circumstances may require other touching. If I need to touch a diver to get their attention, I like a shoulder tap- the least surprising of all touches. If a diver is "bouncing off the coral" I will watch them closely, and signal them appropriately. I may, face to face, assist them with buoyancy correction if they are having a problem. The level of attention and control I give/exercise over other divers is directly related to their competence and comfort in the water. Some divers do not need or want any attention. Some don't want any, but do need it. Some ask for assistance. I never presume, but I do correct and assist. I have never had a complaint, in large part because of pre-dive interaction with and learning about the divers who will be in the water with me. I think most, if not all, competent and experienced DM's operate the way I do. I'd love to hear what other functioning DM's have to say on the subject.

DivemasterDennis

[dmoore19]

Are there guidelines regarding touching other divers?

The guide leading a recent dive grabbed my hand and guided it to the line when I was ascending, because she was concerned that I would ascend too quickly. I had not intended to use the line, so she was effectively forcing me to grab it. This seemed appropriate, but it felt a bit heavy-handed.

A fellow diver (not the guide) pulled on the first stages of several divers to pull them up to keep them from hitting the coral. One of the people he did this to was me. I was not aware that he was doing it, I was only aware that something was wrong, and I started to get a bit panicky. I later found out that it was because someone was pulling on me from above.

Anyway, I appreciate the good intentions of these divers, but I just wondered whether there were guidelines regarding such actions. There seem to be guidelines for just about everything, I thought there might be some for this too.

Thanks!
Matt

I assume that this was one of your first dives after certification since I was following your other thread. I was there recently and the DM's rise to the occasion as required. The DM's at Sunset House are pretty attentive, especially if they know you are new. The DM was probably trying to help, not offend. I know a couple of the dives I did while there had some current and maybe they were trying to keep you close to the line and save you some swimming. Did you ask about why it was done when you got back on the boat? I would have. Maybe it could have prompted a discussion and a helpful hint you might be able to use in the future. I would have politely asked the other diver why he grabbed my 1st stage. Sometimes people can sense you are new and are only trying to help. That doesn't mean they are always right but their intentions might be good. I always like it when somebody notices something and tries to help, giving pointers or trying to help me be a better diver. Hope you are having fun at Sunset House.

[NetDoc]

Like my mother's underwear: It "Depends".

If you have hired me to guide you, then your safety, comfort and fun are my only goals. I cover hand signals at the beginning of my dives so there is very little touching needed. However, if circumstances arise like you getting tooooooo close to a jelly fish, then I will intervene and push/pull or deflect with my own body. If I see you struggling to get to the up/tag line, you can also bet that I will be assisting you to get there.

If you are a student, you'll probably get a lot less physical help from me UNLESS I see your well being imperiled. Still, I expect you to learn from your mistakes and that becomes impossible if I keep intervening for you.

If you are a dive buddy, well we might hold hands or even play tag. It depends on the dive and who I am with.

[Teamcasa]

What ever guidelines there are need to be established before you dive. Ask your buddy what their touching expectations are and clearly state yours.
Here's another thread on this subject. http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/new...st6093610.html
BTW, My wife and I touch all the time.

[Matt Beckwith]

So there are no specific guidelines on touching other divers.

Perhaps there should be.

Because, based on the variety of replies to my question, people have differing expectations.

The advantage of guidelines would be that there wouldn't need to be personal preferences to guide one. You'd have the guidelines to guide you.

There is definitely going to be conflict between exigency and personal space here. I would certainly want the DM to do whatever's necessary to keep me from endangering myself or the marine life.

The diver who grabbed my first stage to pull me off the reef (and grabbed a couple of others' for the same reason as well) was actually not a DM, just a fellow, recently-certified diver. Apparently he had seen the DM do it, and thought it was okay to do it himself.

One reason I brought up this topic is that, when he did it, I felt a bit panicky. It's the only time I've had any sort of panicky sensation while diving. I wasn't sure whether there was some sort of emergency going on, and got momentarily confused and disoriented. Then I found out what had happened. I wanted to prevent this situation in future, so was wondering about the guidelines governing it.

[NetDoc]

No guidelines needed. If it's a hot button for you, simply tell your guides and buddies what you expect.

[Bubbletrubble]

So there are no specific guidelines on touching other divers.

Nope. That being said, during a dive, if a buddy team isn't on the same page, philosophically and logistically speaking, it's so easy to misinterpret hand signals or become confused by another diver's actions. It's critical to discuss expectations during your pre-dive preparations. It's also helpful to have other ways to communicate with dive buddies underwater, e.g., dive slate, underwater notes, etc.

The diver who grabbed my first stage to pull me off the reef (and grabbed a couple of others' for the same reason as well) was actually not a DM, just a fellow, recently-certified diver. Apparently he had seen the DM do it, and thought it was okay to do it himself.

Thanks for that clarification. That changes things considerably. It's completely unacceptable for a newly certified diver to be intervening in such a heavy-handed way, and either the guide/DM should have said something about it or someone else should have politely discussed why it's unacceptable behavior. In all but the most egregious instances of diver vs. underwater creature, a newly certified diver doesn't have the training or experience to judge when it would be helpful to "grab" another diver's first stage. Moreover, the newly certified diver probably doesn't understand how best to effect the maneuver so that it doesn't introduce more risk to either diver involved. Too hard of a pull could cause a sudden loss of buoyancy control which, in an extreme case, might directly lead to an emergency (uncontrolled rapid ascent, lung-overexpansion injury, arterial gas embolism, etc.). An experienced dive pro would know how to react in such a situation...but an inexperienced newbie wouldn't.

One reason I brought up this topic is that, when he did it, I felt a bit panicky. It's the only time I've had any sort of panicky sensation while diving. I wasn't sure whether there was some sort of emergency going on, and got momentarily confused and disoriented. Then I found out what had happened. I wanted to prevent this situation in future, so was wondering about the guidelines governing it.

On the whole, the diving community is a friendly bunch of folks. We help out each other in most cases. However, the behavior of the newly certified diver grabbing other divers' first stages clearly crosses the line. Someone should have told him to knock it off. FWIW, I've never seen a newbie doing something like this, so I can only guess that such behavior is extremely rare. As such, I don't think it justifies pronouncement of a sweeping guideline on how/when/how much touching there should be between divers.