Incident 1: That was stupid for him to say that in a vehicle filled with paying customers and loud enough for everyone to hear that. This is a good legit item to inform the operator about if you felt uncomfortable.
Incident 2: Bringing ones spouse or significant other on the vessel would depend on the policy of the operator, boat owner, and captain. In regards to eating the LOBs I have worked on and been on the crew normally eats what the guests are eating, I know some LOB have fine dinning and then the crew will have a different meal prepared. The normal rule is, crew is not allowed to eat until every guest has been served or has had 1 round of food, then the crew can go ahead and have dinner. If the crew is eating differently then the GF eating the guests prepared food is a legit issue even if there is left overs and guests want a second helping. If the guests are done then I would not see any issue.
The dive master was in the wrong for using this a trip to spend time with his GF he should have been focused on the group at all times, it does not matter the experience level of the divers the DM is being paid to to be with the guests. Some LOB the dive masters are just there to point out a few things keep an eye on the group in case of an incident, others the DM is their to be the underwater guide help point out things to divers, check divers remaining air to plan the dive, this will depend on the operators policy for its crew.
As for the photos if you were asking him to take photos then he should have been following the group or diver(s) who wanted them taking photos to sell, generally if not asked then the photographer will only be taking general photos to sell to everyone at the end of the trip. But the DM should always allow the divers first glance at aquatic life if he is specifically pointing something out. A good DM will generally ask divers with cameras to allow others without to see the specimen first as photographers will spend more time with the subject. If a diver is about to photograph the same specimen as the DM/ photographer about the same time the DM should let the diver go first they are the ones paying.
#3: Dive Site Maps, this can be a touchy one depending on the site and the map, some maps are custom made by the crew, or even have to be purchased and can sometimes be costly. They may not allow those to be photographed especially if it is a site that maybe only that boat knows about and does not want others to know about as this is how they keep business and limit divers at certain areas. But the DM should have politely ask the guest not to and reason why, or if it was ok to wait until after the briefing.
#4: Was this the first dive or a repetitive dive, if the first dive how many times did this happen before the incident? if it was the very first dive of the trip the DM should have calmly and nicely informed the diver, then had a discussion off to the side on the surface. If the diver kept doing this multiple times then yes this could irritate a DM but still he should have kept his cool. On some boats you may loose some diving privileges if you are damaging coral, just because you paid does not mean you can kill the reefs.
#5: Did you loose just the filter or the whole kit? Also knowing their was not string you should have been persistent on having the DM find away to tether the item. Also if you are overcharged a little for an item like that in my opinion that is reasonable as now the DM or boat is loosing money by not being able to rent out the item loosing money, it may not seem like a lot but it does add up. If it was his personal gear he should have told you before hand, any damage or loss to his equipment should be paid to him, the invoices you receive from the boat operator should only include items that are owned or sold by the boat/ operator. If it was boat rental gear then yes you should have an invoice for that.
#6: I can understand how he was thinking but yes it was a bit inappropriate. You should never touch something that is not yours especially electronics. Photographers on the boat make their money with their laptop if a guests damages it then it is going to be a huge ordeal, also that is personal property it does not matter how much you are paying to be on that trip. He may have things set up a certain way and doesn't need someone to screw up his set-up. If they guy was IT and knew what the problem was then he should have said something before just going and touching what is not his.
#7: Logging of dive time and depth- I don't know of any that do not do this, some do it differently. Depending on the boat the DM may log the dive time and max depth they have on their computer for everyone in the group, the other way is the DM will have everyone check the computer and log their own dive time and max depth. This is done for liability reasons for the boat and the operator, in case of DCS they have a record of the divers depths. You should be logging your own times and site info yourself, yes if you were to ask me to see your record and dive site names yes I would show you. Not all operators have the luxury to input your data into the computer and give it to each individual diver.
Also as we do not know exactly how the group of guests was it could have been a very stressful trip and the computer incident put him over the top it happens. That is still no excuse but everyone has their breaking point. Also from experience working on LOB crew sometimes only get 12 hours off if that in between trips, some trips can be very stressful and draining depending on the group and yes just like anyone else they get stressed they need a break but have to keep pushing through. Yes we chose this job and we are supposed to be customer service oriented, put a big smile on, and please everyone but it happens where someone just has their breaking point. This may have been an isolated incident where it was this case unfortunately it does happen from time to time.
Incident 2: Bringing ones spouse or significant other on the vessel would depend on the policy of the operator, boat owner, and captain. In regards to eating the LOBs I have worked on and been on the crew normally eats what the guests are eating, I know some LOB have fine dinning and then the crew will have a different meal prepared. The normal rule is, crew is not allowed to eat until every guest has been served or has had 1 round of food, then the crew can go ahead and have dinner. If the crew is eating differently then the GF eating the guests prepared food is a legit issue even if there is left overs and guests want a second helping. If the guests are done then I would not see any issue.
The dive master was in the wrong for using this a trip to spend time with his GF he should have been focused on the group at all times, it does not matter the experience level of the divers the DM is being paid to to be with the guests. Some LOB the dive masters are just there to point out a few things keep an eye on the group in case of an incident, others the DM is their to be the underwater guide help point out things to divers, check divers remaining air to plan the dive, this will depend on the operators policy for its crew.
As for the photos if you were asking him to take photos then he should have been following the group or diver(s) who wanted them taking photos to sell, generally if not asked then the photographer will only be taking general photos to sell to everyone at the end of the trip. But the DM should always allow the divers first glance at aquatic life if he is specifically pointing something out. A good DM will generally ask divers with cameras to allow others without to see the specimen first as photographers will spend more time with the subject. If a diver is about to photograph the same specimen as the DM/ photographer about the same time the DM should let the diver go first they are the ones paying.
#3: Dive Site Maps, this can be a touchy one depending on the site and the map, some maps are custom made by the crew, or even have to be purchased and can sometimes be costly. They may not allow those to be photographed especially if it is a site that maybe only that boat knows about and does not want others to know about as this is how they keep business and limit divers at certain areas. But the DM should have politely ask the guest not to and reason why, or if it was ok to wait until after the briefing.
#4: Was this the first dive or a repetitive dive, if the first dive how many times did this happen before the incident? if it was the very first dive of the trip the DM should have calmly and nicely informed the diver, then had a discussion off to the side on the surface. If the diver kept doing this multiple times then yes this could irritate a DM but still he should have kept his cool. On some boats you may loose some diving privileges if you are damaging coral, just because you paid does not mean you can kill the reefs.
#5: Did you loose just the filter or the whole kit? Also knowing their was not string you should have been persistent on having the DM find away to tether the item. Also if you are overcharged a little for an item like that in my opinion that is reasonable as now the DM or boat is loosing money by not being able to rent out the item loosing money, it may not seem like a lot but it does add up. If it was his personal gear he should have told you before hand, any damage or loss to his equipment should be paid to him, the invoices you receive from the boat operator should only include items that are owned or sold by the boat/ operator. If it was boat rental gear then yes you should have an invoice for that.
#6: I can understand how he was thinking but yes it was a bit inappropriate. You should never touch something that is not yours especially electronics. Photographers on the boat make their money with their laptop if a guests damages it then it is going to be a huge ordeal, also that is personal property it does not matter how much you are paying to be on that trip. He may have things set up a certain way and doesn't need someone to screw up his set-up. If they guy was IT and knew what the problem was then he should have said something before just going and touching what is not his.
#7: Logging of dive time and depth- I don't know of any that do not do this, some do it differently. Depending on the boat the DM may log the dive time and max depth they have on their computer for everyone in the group, the other way is the DM will have everyone check the computer and log their own dive time and max depth. This is done for liability reasons for the boat and the operator, in case of DCS they have a record of the divers depths. You should be logging your own times and site info yourself, yes if you were to ask me to see your record and dive site names yes I would show you. Not all operators have the luxury to input your data into the computer and give it to each individual diver.
Also as we do not know exactly how the group of guests was it could have been a very stressful trip and the computer incident put him over the top it happens. That is still no excuse but everyone has their breaking point. Also from experience working on LOB crew sometimes only get 12 hours off if that in between trips, some trips can be very stressful and draining depending on the group and yes just like anyone else they get stressed they need a break but have to keep pushing through. Yes we chose this job and we are supposed to be customer service oriented, put a big smile on, and please everyone but it happens where someone just has their breaking point. This may have been an isolated incident where it was this case unfortunately it does happen from time to time.
