cicopo
Contributor
So why would one shop make everyone come up when one person is low on air and another let people come up on their own?
There are many reasons for this so I'll just present a few for you to ponder.
To get everyone back on the boat so it can stay on schedule. This does not apply to my experience with ANY of the shops you mentioned but many years ago one specific shop ran a tight schedule where we made our first dive to about 120 feet & everyone had to surface as soon as the first diver got to 700 PSI, and the second dive was similar allowing their boats to run more trips per day.
Because you've been grouped with other divers with limited drift diving experience. Have you ever had to surface with just your buddy in unknown waters in a boat lane? Could be scary RIGHT?
Because the current is a bit strong & divers may get pulled well away from the marker buoy if the boat isn't right above the ascent zone you're supposed to stay in while going up on your own.
Because many in the group are low count divers & the DM is concerned they might not be capable of doing a proper safety stop.