Certified Diver taking Discover Scuba?? (Bonaire)

[TexasKaren68]

Not sure if this fit better in the cruise forum, or the Bonaire forum, but I didn't want to limit responses so I'm posting it here.

I'll be on the Caribbean Princess cruise ship in April. The friend I'm going with is not a diver but has expressed an interest in doing a "Discover Scuba' excursion in Bonaire. I am AOW certified, and thought about doing the two-tank boat diving excursion by myself and teaming up with an insta-buddy, but the more I think about it, I'm considering doing the Discover Scuba excursion with my friend. I wonder if it will be OK for a certified diver to do this. I figure, they're going to get money from me, so should they even care? I'm hoping I wouldn't get treated like a Discover Scuba student and can just tag along on the dive with my friend, and the instructor who should theoretically be watching out for him.

I have no idea what the Discover Scuba course is like in Bonaire. Does anyone know which Dive Op Princess Cruises uses there? Maybe I can do a little research ahead of time.

The Discover Scuba "class" I took in Australia was absolutely awful when it came to safety, but being brand new to diving I didn't know what I didn't know, you know? I want to make sure my friend gets a good, safe intro to scuba.

[Teresa McKinna]

Hi there. I just joined ScubaBoard and saw your question. I think your friend would feel more comfortable if they had someone they know looking out for them. However, I work with instructors all the time and they say it is hard to teach someone if they are constantly looking over their shoulder for approval. Know what I mean? It is one of those should I or should I not. You are probably right about doing more research. That is probably what I would do. In any case..I know you will make the right decision. Have a nice trip.

[herman]

I suspect that would not be a problem. Try contacting Bart (or maybe he will show up here) at Wannadivebonaire. Super guy with a great staff, bet he will be able to help you. Wannadive Bonaire - Courses, shore and boat diving If you are going along as another "discover diver" I don't see a problem.

[g1138]

Should be fine as long as the instructor is OK with it. But consider your dive with the Discover Scuba class as a Solo dive. The instructors should have all their attention on the non-cert divers. They may assume you'll be fine fending for yourself because you're already certified. They may get too focused on their Discover Students and ignore you entirely. Worst case scenario.

Best case scenario: You, the instructors, and your buddy have a very pleasant and social dive.

I would contact the dive op ahead of time and plan this out. You could do it when your cruise starts too. Just don't show up the day of and try to work things out.

[k ellis]

I have done just this very thing. I went to the Bahamas with some friends who were not certified. We went out on a boat and away we went. The thing is remember that the responsibility on the dive masters shoulders is increased because he has the potential to take some out to dive who only heard of a BCD just within the last 2 hours. With this in mind you should explain to your friend you will be in the water diving yourself but you will be back somewhat. This will allow the dive master to focus one on one with your friend. No mater how well intended your intentions may be the dive master will still most likely ask you to stay back and allow him to be your friends buddy.

There is alot of reasons why you should not get to involved with his discover dive and one of the most important things is the sense of false security. He may go in thinking he has absolutely nothing to worry about because you are with him and therefore leave his guard down to other potential obstacles. Another is as a very close friend you would have a tendency to want to nurture him in the dive and thus not allow him to fully get the effect of diving on his own.

Oh and as you do prepare for him be prepared because instructors typically will not allow discover divers to not bring cameras so that they can focus entirely on them and not get lost in the moment.

Other then that have fun and enjoy the dive!

[oreocookie]

If you're going to tag along on a Discover Scuba dive, Bonaire is a good place to do it because there's a lot of reef that's quite shallow so it's not like you'd be on a "lower quality" reef than if you got an insta-buddy for a deeper dive. Check with the dive op to see if they'll allow it and as has been said, don't spring it on them at the last minute.

Let your friend know that you're going to allow the instructor to do all the instructing and if they turn to you wanted help you'll point them to the instructor. You're both there to enjoy the experience but you'll be getting slightly different things out of the dive. As long as you're both cool with that and the instructor is ok with you being there, it should be a fun time. Have fun.

[TSandM]

My guess is that you would be semi-solo diving, because the pro in the water would have most of his attention on your friend. This would be true unless he truly treated you like a Discover Scuba student, and had hold of your valve, too. If you are okay managing yourself and knowing that you would have to work to get your DM's attention if you needed help, then there's likely no problem with it. I can see why you would rather hang out with your friend than pick up an unknown buddy on the boat.

[miketsp]

Should be fine as long as the instructor is OK with it. But consider your dive with the Discover Scuba class as a Solo dive. The instructors should have all their attention on the non-cert divers. They may assume you'll be fine fending for yourself because you're already certified. They may get too focused on their Discover Students and ignore you entirely. Worst case scenario.

Best case scenario: You, the instructors, and your buddy have a very pleasant and social dive.

Your worst case scenario is nowhere near a worst-case scenario based on some of the discovery dives I've seen around the world.
I've seen places where the discovery diver is not allowed to use fins - so as to make control easier by the so called DM (no qualification whatsoever) who just snorkels around on the surface for 6-10 mins holding the discovery diver 2ft under the surface. If accompanying qualified divers wanted to accompany the dive they had to accept the same (frustrating) rules.

[Quero]

It's not usually a problem. I have conducted numerous DSDs where the certified-diver-friend has tagged along. As far as standards go, the certified diver has to be counted in the maximum-group-size number and not added to it, so for practical purposes the certified diver is simply counted as one more in the DSD group, but without the need to practice and demo skills. In other words, if the dive leader is a DM and the dive is in "confined open water," the maximum group size is two, so as long as it was just you and your friend, it would be fine. If there there are two DSDs led by a DM and you go along, that would constitute a standards violation. If the dive leader is an Instructor, the ratio of students to dive leader increases to 4:1. As the certified diver, you must stick to the depth limits imposed on DSD students and not dive to the maximum depth you are certified for.

[Peter_C]

The 4:1 ratio is what my DSD was like many years ago in the Florida Keys. The instructor watched us, but they had their hands full. The instruction started in a pool and was okay. We followed it up with 2 around 20 minute dives to 18-20 feet.

If it were me, I would rather be there with my friend doing all the drills twice to everyone Else's one attempt. That is what we did in confined and open water. Twice as much practice as everyone else. Plus once out in the open ocean you will be next to your friend keeping an eye on them.

The real answer is to have your friend get fully certified before leaving on the trip!