Travel diving and being led around by "divemasters"

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We dive the Caymans a lot with Ocean Frontiers on the East End and I like the way they do it. They always ask who wants a guided dive or not. Almost always people opt for the guided dive. A great map is drawn on the white board showing everybody what the plan is where to meet etc. The dive guides then take people around the reef, wall through the swim throughs at a very leisurely pace. I have never been rushes. The guides know all the great swim throughs and where some of the good stuff is. When you get back to the boat, the guide shows you the boat and ascends. At this point you are free to do what you want witht the air you have left. If you are uncomfortable on your own go up with the DM if you want to explore go ahead. This also gives the folks who use a lot of air a chance to have a good dive and see most everything. It also allows those that are a little better on their air consumption extend bottom time and do some more exploring. I really think it is a great way to keep most everyone happy.

B.
 
I've only done one tropical dive trip (Panama). 4 of the 5 days it was just me and the DM, so the pace was perfect, of course. The 5th day 4 others joined and it was somewhat like the OP described. I have not seen these guided tours in NW FL, SC, TX or here in NS.
 
I'm with Jim L. They can say what they want but me and my camera swim at my pace not theirs. Sometimes I tip first ( guess this is more of a bribe). I just tell them I am doing Macro and if the boat is anchored I'll find my way back and if a drift meet them at the safety stop. Surprising the power of a good tip.
 
I have been diving for over 40 years and travel the world. I just returned from two weeks diving in the South Pacific with my family and came away disappointed in the way they want you to dive. Of the two diving operations I dove with, it seems they put one guy in front and another in the back and start marathon swimming. I am a hole crawler. I like to sit in one place and wait to see what happens. I move slowly and peek into all the nooks and crannies. I have found that hitting the water and swimming like hell scares the crap out of the various creatures and you only see a smattering of what's there. One operation had a tank bangers on the dive masters that I would have loved to pound up his ***. BANG,BANG,BANG shark! BANG,BANG,BANG manta! BANG,BANG,BANG humphead wrasse! BANG,BANG,BANG shark! All this banging drove me nuts. If I wanted to hear banging I'd go to a scrap-yard.
I'm introducing my grandchildren to diving and they did not seem to like the pace either. They are on their high school swim team and involved in other athletic activities, so it's about being physically fit.

So my question to posters is; Is this the way people like to dive? If so, I may have to find another activity.

To answer your question you have to look at the environment your diving in. Your taking a charter in a tropical location to a dive site which most likely caters more often then not to vacation divers unfamiliar with the area. Of these divers probably 3 out of 4 of those are vacation divers who seldom dive more then a few times a year. Dive companies realize this and therefore to limit their liability on underexperienced divers they place divemasters with the group to help reduce the likelyhood of something bad happening (Yes only reduce not eliminate).

When you speak of the constant banging you heard its not because they are getting a kick out of annoying you but instead are trying to allow those once a year divers the opportunity to see a shark they may otherwise miss. A manta they may never see again and so on.

Dive operations are in business to make money as well. If they allowed every diver to go do their own thing and return when their air supply is depleted a simple 2 tank dive could take hours. They try to go out early in the morning and take a group then return and swap out the empty tanks out with fresh tanks, restock any fresh water depleeted and also drinking water ETC.

You could always ask ahead of time how they operate and if they tell you they do the dive as you describe you can always opt to move on to another dive operation. Unfortunately though are as many novice divers who want to see the sharks and other life who take the same dives as the experienced divers so its only a matter of time before either the novice complain that no one paid them any attention and they did not get anything for their money or you get the experienced who have complaints simliar to yours. but you cant make 100 percent of the people happy 100 percent of the time.
 
I have been subjected to this style of diving here in the USA in Jupiter, Florida. I cannot fathom why you would do a drift dive that is Dive-Master led. The dive I did was a Wreck and a Reef, and the DM rushed the entire group the whole way through it. Look there's 25 goliath grouper!! (60 seconds later we are leaving the Zion King, because there is "better" stuff on the other wrecks.. ) Whatever. I came to see the Grouper. On the charters that I have been on here in South Florida, we do drift dives very differently. Take two buddies drop em on the reef, they do their thing, and come back up. What you do down there is up to you. On the wrecks you go down the descent line with your buddy, you do your thing, and you come back up together. Works well. If I am in a foreign land, I wouldn't mind a local "guide" to "assist" not lead me, through my dive, unless its somewhere where it would be reckless to do otherwise.

I have never heard of a Jupiter dive op which required the divers to stay with the guide. It can't imagine any op requiring you to say with the guide. I could be wrong. Granted the guide tries to show the "best stuff" to the divers. The Captain and guide often encourage the divers to stay with the guide, because they know the area. I'll often go ahead of the guide, stay with the guide or do my own thing depending on the dive. One as often as the other. Now..if you can't shoot a DSMB, I see where it would be wise to stay with the guide and his or her float/flag.

In fact, AFAIK, if you are spearing off a Jupiter op, there is often no guide.

The only palm beach op I know which requires divers to stay with the guides is The Scuba Club. (They are very nurturing and I recommend them to new unsure divers doing their first drift.) I was diving with SC for a while as a friend had a membership~perks and discounts. After a while, zealous guides learned to leave me alone.

Just read your post again. Did somebody tell you that you were required to stay with the guide? As to the Boynton/Pompano drifts, I've done them and enjoy them. But current is swifter here, seas can be more gnarly, we're deeper (but for the wrecks which you do as moored dives) and if you're lost off Jupiter, you probably won't be able to swim to the beach. Ops have different protocols. The crews like a flag in the water to give a general reckoning of the divers. Those who don't stay with the flag, spread out like marbles..usually shooting markers.
 
In July we spent a week at the Beaches in Turks & Caicos. The good part was scuba including all the gear was included in the package deal. Two tank dives in the am, 1 tank in afternoon. Bad part was that the resort policy for divers was all divers were required to dive with a DM. We didn't swim that quickly, and the DM's made it a point to swim very slowly. Faster swimmers swam all over the reef, most of us creeped along the reef at a leisurely pace. Biggest downside was turn around was determined by the weakest diver (ie quickest air hog!). I found myself back on the boat with 1400 psi and someone else had only 600 psi. I could've spent more time underwater.

Short answer, no I don't really like to dive like this. It is better than not diving, but would prefer dive with my buddy where we want to go and at our own pace.

One solution would be to splurge on private dive master for you and buddy. Since you are the customer, explain your wishes for the dive. If he let's you do essentially what you want independent of the rest of the cattle herd give him nice tip.

fun and safe diving.
 
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My answer is no, emphatically! I enjoy looking at everything and enjoying the little as well as big stuff. I DM for a dive op in Jupiter, and often hook off to let people catch up that are taking photos and enjoying the life they spot on the reef and nooks and cranies. Some people like to kick and cover ground, even though the current takes them along at a good speed. Many times I'll go ahead to check on the divers ahead of me, then hook off again to let the slower paced divers catch up. No one is obligated to staying with the DM. The DM is there mainly for the boat captain to follow to see where the divers are located, and to ensure divers with problems get any help they require while they are diving. When we do the wrecks, we show people the map in case they want to go ahead or lag behind for a while. I always tell my divers that I will keep their pace. They can swim around the Zion as long as they are being entertained by the Goliath Groupers, then rise to where I am hooked off to continue on. I recommend so many minutes, but it is entirely up to the group depending on what is or is not happening. Those that are comfortable staying longer are free to do so. We never insist that people stay with the DM, but recommend it if they are unfamiliar with the sites we visit.

If I travel to a country where I am unfamiliar with the sites, I will try to stay close to a DM, but let them know I like to explore and look at everything. They are usually accepting of my pace, and once they see how I dive usually leave me to do my thing and say they'll see me topside. It's all a matter of communication.
 
Ding ding ding. Glad you dropped in. Hi. :) Roger and I thunk it out Sunday. We decided we would stay with you. When his battery started to crap out at about 20 min. into dive 2, we left to find his brother in law to take pics. Good weekend.
 
I think the OP deserves a two part answer with an explanation....

No...most people do not want to be rushed on a vacation dive.
Sometimes...people like to follow a guide on a vacation dive.

If you and your dive buddies are out of breath due to the pace set by the guide, he/she deserves a talking to before the next dive. There is no way you should feel rushed nor should you put up with guides who demand that you suface as soon as the 1st person gets low on air.

On the other hand, there are many vacation destinations where you are diving in a marine park and local law/custom may not allow you to dive without a guide. You are also in an unfamiliar area and these guys dive the same locations day in, day out so they have the individual fish named. Many sites are only accessable by boat so you have to follow the rules set up by the dive op...or find a different op.

So there are many reasons you might want to have a guided dive when you are not diving in your local waters. If a guided dive is not your thing, do the research needed to find an op who will work with you to get you the dive you want.

Happy Diving!
 
For Dan Volker and anyone else that thinks like him.
With reference to his comment, quote "...we would get on the boat the way florida divers get on a boat, not the way lame tourists do ( where the crew has the lame and pathetic remove their bc's and fins in the water, and the crew hauls this up, then helps the pathetic up the ladders) :)", I find these comments arrogant, insulting, immature, and childish.
I guess you "florida divers" are so special and fortunate that you do not have people that love to dive, but also have to deal with some physical issues that may require some assistance getting in and out of the water. Instead of shooting off your mouth about the lame and pathethic, maybe you should dive with, or spend time with some of our Wounded Warriors. Many of these soldiers have overcome tremendous physical challenges and have learned to dive, despite missing or mangled limbs lost protecting your right to be an arrogant ass. After watching what they can do, and the challenges they have overcome to dive, perhaps you will not be so quick to use words like lame and pathetic to describe people that need help to be able to dive. I would like to think a good diver should be proud to give whatever assistance possible to anyone that needs a little, or a lot of help to be able to dive and have a fun dive. But I guess you proved me wrong.
 
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