Your personal evolution in diving, and an etiquette question

[scrane]

If you want to dive slow get in with a group of photographers.

I agree with Ana. One of my most memorable dives was speeding above the coral in a ripping current, arms and legs outstretched to catch the drift like a sailboat before the wind. There were six of us, all good divers, and we all came up smiling.

 

[caruso]

One of my most memorable dives was speeding above the coral in a ripping current, arms and legs outstretched to catch the drift like a sailboat before the wind. There were six of us, all good divers, and we all came up smiling.

Those weren't smiles- it's what the current does to your face.

 

[markmud]

Anyways, all this to say: is it selfish to insist on my style of diving and hope that maybe, like us, the other diver will learn from it?

Hi Dianna,

Short and simple answer: No.

As others have opined and the Chairman has written in declarative terms, slow is more fun.

It's my opinion that there are more situations where slow diving is the BEST diving than the other way around. You just can't see as much during these forced marches. I hate them. I just slow down.

Pete uses the term "forced marches." I have used the term "Olympic level swim race."

My best dives have been right under the boat. My best dives have been splashing, going down to 1.4 ata (30-34% Eanx), and then slowly zig-zagging up the reef and straight back to the boat. Nice and slow. My flashlight is burning holes in the reef the entire dive. One-way buoy to buoy diving is fun (its a term with many deviations--don't go ballistic on me)

I have told DMs that we enjoy a slow pace. We try to dive with a group of photographers. They usually take their time and don't worry about the group. We hang with them and let the DM slow everyone else down (if they have to).

I have dived with Pete, his words are true, no bull.

Try asking the DM to put you in a group of photographers, as you like a slower pace and enjoy searching smaller areas more thoroughly.

A few times, the dive op allowed me to dive solo under the boat, the group did their own thing. Some of the best dives I have had.

I believe the dive industry needs to change the vacation diving model. It needs to stop focusing on the lowest common denominator, and focus on the experienced diver. But that is another thread.

Have you met @cardzard and @ROXANNE? They have a crystal ball for matching divers on their trips--it works well.

Good luck,
markm

 

[mtngoat2674]

As an experienced and frequently solo diver, I tend to avoid diving with groups. Breaking the group into buddy pairs, at the very least, is much more reasonable to me. I prefer to manage my own dive plan and my own navigation. If the site warrants it, I may choose to follow a guide or group for a period of time, but often break off to do my own thing for the second half(ish) of the dive. I also tend to have a much longer dive duration than most divers, so I often hang out in a small area looking for macro critters even after others have returned to the boat. The important thing is, I communicate this with the shop, the DM, and the guide or guides that are in the water. Prior to booking a trip, I interview shops looking for those that are willing to work with my style of diving. I talk to the DM once I arrive at the shop, and I communicate with the DM or guides above and below the surface. I have never had a DM or guide have a problem with any of this. Some have required a checkout dive, or that I remain with the group for my first dive so that they can verify my skills. I find that perfectly reasonable. In Fiji, the dive shop's policy was that a guide must remain in the water if clients were in the water. I had the shop's guides arguing about who got to dive with me, because they were almost guaranteed a half hour "break" at the end of the dive where they could just hang out and look around (as opposed to supervising or managing divers). I was quite content to spend the last 30 minutes of my 90 minute dives looking at macro critters not far from the boat. My dive/travel buddy wasn't so impressed, since he got "bored" looking at the small stuff and he often returned to the boat long before I did.

Lots of divers have different preferences. The important thing is to communicate those preferences before they become an issue in the middle of an outing or dive. If you prefer to just "hang out" and look at the small stuff, talk to the shop beforehand. They may be able to separate groups of divers or choose specific sites that are more geared toward macro critters. Just ask around. Some parts of the world have specific laws that impact the way dive shops operate, but I've found that most areas have shops that are much more willing to work with their customers than others are.

 

[scrane]

Unfortunately, experienced divers are no easier to catagorize than newbies. The secret is making the best of whatever circumstances may offer.

 

[Ana]

I see the answer in markmud's signature
"Dive and Let Dive"

Figure out what diving gives you pleasure and do that.

Somebody's BEST dive was super slow, other's was a fast one. Why would anyone believe there's only one "right" speed?

If that's the case, then there is another way for me to do it wrong in diving.

 

[The Chairman]

Have you met @cardzard and @ROXANNE? They have a crystal ball for matching divers on their trips--it works well.

They do, indeed.

One of the great things about a ScubaBoard Invasion or Surge are the people I get to dive with. All of us are slow and very safe divers. People look at 100+ people on a trip together and think of all sorts of bad scenarios. They simply don't happen. We take over the boats and resorts we go to. They dive OUR dives. They do things OUR way. No cattle boating. No forced marches. Always room on the boat because we require that ahead of us getting there. @cardzard and @ROXANNE handle problems way before most anyone even notices them. They even pull out that crystal ball and manage to match divers in a group so that everyone is happy. We're going to Fiji in a couple of months if anyone wants to see how great they are. It's a small group, only 64, and again, we've taken over the facility. I can't wait!

I see the answer in markmud's signature
"Dive and Let Dive"

Indeed. You'll find the "Dive and Let Dive" link in many of our signature lines. I can tell you what's best for me: not what's best for you.

 

[Storker]

you want to dive slow get in with a group of photographers

...and prepare to spend the whole dive on one square meter. Particularly if they're shooting macro.

 

[dianna912]

...and prepare to spend the whole dive on one square meter. Particularly if they're shooting macro.

This is what I dream of!

To be clear, I am a very confident diver, but if you take me against a current so strong that we are swimming in place, I do start to get very agitated. That was one truly odd thing about this guy. On several dives, we would signal that we were down to 70 bar. For some reason he’d start swimming like a bat out of hell at that point. He made several references to trying to lose weight so maybe he was trying to make sure he got a good workout in?

 

[dianna912]

They do, indeed.

One of the great things about a ScubaBoard Invasion or Surge are the people I get to dive with. All of us are slow and very safe divers. People look at 100+ people on a trip together and think of all sorts of bad scenarios. They simply don't happen. We take over the boats and resorts we go to. They dive OUR dives. They do things OUR way. No cattle boating. No forced marches. Always room on the boat because we require that ahead of us getting there. @cardzard and @ROXANNE handle problems way before most anyone even notices them. They even pull out that crystal ball and manage to match divers in a group so that everyone is happy. We're going to Fiji in a couple of months if anyone wants to see how great they are. It's a small group, only 64, and again, we've taken over the facility. I can't wait!


Indeed. You'll find the "Dive and Let Dive" link in many of our signature lines. I can tell you what's best for me: not what's best for you.

When are you going to Fiji?

Oh, I found it. It looks amazing! Maybe next year we can get on the invasion!