Open letter to boat dive masters

[Oldbear]

Ditto. Including the part where the DM turned off my gas.

Ditto...always a good practice to personally verify or "reverified" it

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

With that said, it never ceases to amaze me how many jump in with their mask backwards on their head and sunglasses firmly in place, folks who jump in without weights or fins, or their air turned off. Or those who jump negative without a regulator in your mouth.

It's easy to forget something really basic if you're interrupted in the middle of your setup routine ... or if you've got your head already into the dive. A couple years ago I was on a charter in the Channel Islands ... first dive of the trip, so I was pretty excited. Had my sidemount tanks on, camera in one hand, scooter in the other, making my way to the gate, when the deckhand asked me a silly question ... "Aren't you going to take your fins?" Boy did I feel dumb when I realized they were still sitting over where I'd just geared up. Fortunately someone brought them over and helped me into them while I was standing there with all that gear on.

It happens ... sometimes even to divers who consider themselves "experienced" ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added December 28th, 2012 at 11:39 AM ----------

bob I know that in speaking with you for like five minutes I would be aware that you know what you know what you're talking about and would then welcome your assistance but I see no reason to trust a person just because they say I'm a dive master

Oh, I know where you're coming from ... had similar issues with a crew in Roatan who insisted on setting up my gear (because it was company policy) despite the fact that they had no idea what to do with a BP/W and long hose reg set. After the first couple times asking them to just let me do it (and showing them how) I just gave up, let them do their thing, then took the whole thing apart and re-did it myself. Kept us both happier.

As RR once said ... trust, but verify ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Akimbo]

Perhaps a better practice would be for the DM to observe the diver adding air and/or taking 4-5 breaths before granting permission to jump? One or two breaths isn’t enough to breathe down enough gas in regulators with long and lots of hoses to be sure that it was not pressurized and closed. Just discuss the procedure on the predive so people know not to add gas to their BC and to save their regulator breathing test of a pre-jump check.

 

[macado]

Most boats in New England don't have divemasters on board however when I help deckhand I will occasionally jump into a DM role. While I won't touch people's gear, I have no problem helping them get in and out gear, holding their tanks, grabbing their fins if they ask or if they look like they're struggling.

I won't touch people's tank valves but I will sometimes ask people if their gas is on right before they jump in the water. This will cause most people to think and double check their gas.

With that being said, you would be very surprised how often people jump into the water without their gas turned on. Usually it's not a huge deal as long as they're positively buoyant since I can have them swim to the ladder and get to their valve. Other mistakes include jumping in without fins, jumping in without zipping your drysuit (not fun!), jumping in without weights. I have seen many different variations of all of these and even I'm not immune to it myself.

I have seen some instances where people have jumped in the water with their gas off and their BC/Wing not inflated and it can be very dangerous especially when we're doing scallop diving where there is current and you need to do a negative entry to get down as fast as possible.

I will say this, if you want to dive independently and not have people touch your gear make sure you position your tanks so that you can reach your own valves. I always make sure I can reach my own valves.

 

[Wookie]

Perhaps a better practice would be for the DM to observe the diver adding air and/or taking 4-5 breaths before granting permission to jump? One or two breaths isn’t enough to breathe down enough gas in regulators with long and lots of hoses to be sure that it was not pressurized and closed. Just discuss the procedure on the predive so people know not to add gas to their BC and to save their regulator breathing test of a pre-jump check.

Winner winner chicken dinner. I would far rather you prove your air delivery system works by demonstrating it in the jump-gate than by any other method. Many would argue that that wasted their precious air for diving...

 

[Insta-Gator]

Whiner?

You can take a breath or two from a pressurized reg even if the valve is off. Why not just comply with the rules of the boat?

It's auto-correct via Tapatalk 2, figure it out.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Winner winner chicken dinner. I would far rather you prove your air delivery system works by demonstrating it in the jump-gate than by any other method. Many would argue that that wasted their precious air for diving...

... if they're cutting it so close that a few breaths at the surface make a difference, they need a bigger tank ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[uncfnp]

Whiner?

You can take a breath or two from a pressurized reg even if the valve is off. Why not just comply with the rules of the boat?

It's auto-correct via Tapatalk 2, figure it out.

You can indeed take a few breaths after the tank has been cut off but if you are watching the gauge, you will see a dramatic drop in pressure!

 

[Akimbo]

…You can take a breath or two from a pressurized reg even if the valve is off. Why not just comply with the rules of the boat?...

I could not agree more. Maybe this would have been a clearer way to state it?

Perhaps a better practice would be for the DM to observe the diver adding air (to their BC) and/or taking 4-5 breaths before granting permission to jump? One or two breaths isn’t enough to breathe down enough gas in regulators with long and lots of hoses to be sure that the valve hasn’t been closed after a test pressurization...

Maybe this random thought could be messaged into a better procedure… but what to call it? Somehow I suspect the “Scubaboard jump” is lacking.

 

[Wookie]

... if they're cutting it so close that a few breaths at the surface make a difference, they need a bigger tank ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

More practice? More exercise? Quit smoking? Lose weight?