Welcome to ScubaBoard, an online scuba diving forum community where you can join over 205,000 divers from around the world discussing all things related to Scuba Diving. To gain full access to ScubaBoard (and make this large box go away) you must register for a free account. As a registered member you will be able to:
Participate in over 500 dive topic forums and browse from over 5,500,000 posts.
Communicate privately with other divers from around the world.
Post your own photos or view from well over 100,000 user submitted images.
Gain access to our free classifieds marketplace to buy, sell and trade gear, travel and services.
Use the calendar to organize your events and enroll in other members' events.
All this and much more is available to you absolutely free when you register for an account, so sign up today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact the ScubaBoard Support Team.
Ok, I've got around 30 dives, and I bought a BP&W shortly after certification. I love it, won't ever dive anything else, and take it on all my dive trips. Usually I never get anything more than curiosity from the boat operators at most. This all changed on my last trip...
I went on a cruise last week. Got to dive in the ABCs. One boat was an all-Dutch crew except for one American DM. My wife and I are assigned to the American, no problem, we have a great conversation on the way out to the dive site. When I start setting up my gear though, the conversation quickly drops off. He moves on to talk to other divers. No worries, I'm busy anyway. Did notice I'm the only one with a BP&W here, but I'm quite used to that.
We get to the dive site, and it's beautiful. Except for some swells running across the current, it's perfect diving. Because of the wave conditions, the boat is rolling from side to side a good bit once we moored. Time to hop in, and I start putting on my rig. With the rolling, it's a bit of a challenge, and the DM sees me struggling with a hose. He comes over, helps me get squared away, and then lays into me about how "technical" gear doesn't belong on a recreational dive boat. I'm a bit stunned, and once I'm straightened out he turned to help other divers and I didn't have a chance to respond. After the dive, he's helping everyone else out of their tanks and left me to handle my own. The captain gave me a hand with it, though it wasn't really needed (but highly appreciated).
After the first dive, I talked a minute with the boat captain. I asked him what he thought of my kind of rig on his boat. With typical Dutch aplomb, he says, "Dive whatever you want. I could care less as long as you get back on the boat without hurting yourself." After a bit more conversation, he reassigns me to the other DM, another Dutchman. As we suit up at the second dive site, the new DM is right there to help me into my tank, and is equally helpful afterwards. I had a much better experience.
Has this happened to anyone else? I was under the impression that a BP&W is just as suitable for recreational diving as it is for "tech". I think I caught a DM that for whatever reason has something against anyone he considers part of the "tech" crowd.
By the way I never presented myself as anything other than what I am - a rookie diver. The DM had no reason to assume I was a tech diver of any sort.
Finally, how would you handle the situation? Would you have done anything differently?
I think I would be predisposed to ask the DM what is so technical about a very simple piece of steel, an inflatable bladder and some harness webbing. It has no more components than a jacket or back inflate style of B/C, and in many cases, much fewer.
[countdown=10/8/2010 12:00 PM;Vortoberfest VI]Count down:[/countdown] VORTOBERFEST VI Long after man is gone and his dams burst, the rivers will, once again, flow freely to the sea.
My gut reaction is that the DM doesn't like anything outside the norm. The norm for this DM is probably all the jacket BC's that the boat rents. As long as he didn't do anything to jeapordize your life/health don't worry about, just tip accordingly.
I wouldn't worry about it. There are some people who have never seen a bp/wing/long hose, so they may have previous notions based on something that someone told them.
I don't dive a long hose yet. Just the BP&W. Whipping the DM with the long hose ... that's an interesting thought. Not sure it would have gone over well though.
Though you never presented your self as a tek guy, your gear denotes you as one. Technical divers don’t want help and like to be left alone in general. They have very specific configurations in their gear and don’t like anyone to mess with them or their gear due to safety concerns. Your gear will cause boat crews to avoid helping you unless you ask for it. When you need help just ask, I am sure they will be happy to help.
If you ever want to see some odd looks, take a group of OW students out and get off a boat with doubles and a stage for a training dive. I am not a tek guy but I am comfortable with the gear that I dive and feel that it provided a safety margin that most recreational equipment does not. I have had many arguments with boat captains, dms, and crews over my gear.
He's a DM.. probably got certified at a shop, bought all his gear at the same shop, and works for the same shop. And I bet that shop doesn't sell backplates to rec divers
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Uncle Pug
