AOW, but I don't think I'm any good- how to improve?

[lisa1234]

I feel a bit strange reading this actually. Could be just a big misunderstanding due to cultural differences and expectations.
I'm surprised you feel uncomfortable that they were trying to help. It's their idea of providing good service. Yes, they do this in the Phillipines, and also in the Maldives I'm told, as well as all the more upmarket LOBs in places like Palau, Galapagos, Indonesia, etc.

Many of the guests are thankful for this actually. I find it easier to put on my own fins, so I just tell them politely that I find it easier to do it myself, and they oblige.

Some of us, especially guys, have big egos and don't want to be seen as "needy divers" and may feel that others might look at us funny if we accept help, but I'm on holiday and have clocked enough dives to not bother what others think. If I think it's easier for me that someone puts on my fins for me, I let them. We're both happy.

So, about the service, it's not that alone that makes me uncomfortable, it was the whole atmosphere. He told us they had a device that automatically put our fins on for us, and then pointed at a person and laughed. He tells us the locals are simple-minded and incapable of rational thinking, and has used the word "idiots" to refer to locals on several occasions.
And no, I don't feel comfortable when someone has to kneel to try to put my fin on when I'm in a position where I'm perfectly capable of putting it on for myself. I wouldn't mind them setting things up, as I understand that's how it's done here (though I would prefer not- my first instructor had been in the military and really insisted on us doing everything), but there's setting things up, and there's having two people help you into your BCD and doing up your zippers and fins for you...

And no it's not about being a macho guy (I'm a girl, by the way) and not being needy, I just dislike being helped so much that I don't have the time to at least check (when two people are holding out the shoulder straps for you to put your arms in, it's hard to take your time to check everything while trying not to be rude), and also I don't like being helped when it's clear I could do it myself (sitting down, the sea was pretty still, not wearing my bcd yet, hands free, and they still tried to help me put on my fins...), as though I were being waited upon, by people whose "manager" I have never heard use the words "thank you".

Then again, my mom tells me all foreigners and rich people here have maids- so of course, could be just a big misunderstanding due to cultural differences and expectations! -_-

I'd rather not hold on to anything, but perhaps he was again trying to help, knowing that you're a new diver, and afraid that you might struggle and thrash the reef, holding on to rocks or hard corals with fingers isn't going to do much harm.

Sure, if it were just some kind of damage control. I mean, I wouldn't, I hate seeing marks on corals at places where people frequently pass, if I were frequently kicking corals, I'd rather swim a meter above the reef that risk it, but whatever. But it's more than that. He encourages us to kneel on the bottom, hold on to corals, and he does that himself too. He frequently gets his fins, knees and elbows on the bottom to watch something or take photos, or wedges a fin between corals to stay still. He holds on to corals, pokes things with his stick, sometimes uses his stick to move himself around, and kicks things- I saw him break a piece of coral with his fin. And now my dad has started to do so too. So both of them grab corals with both hands and stay perfectly motionless to watch a turtle and I'm doing my best to fin backwards while trying not to move to much and scare the turtle, and bumping into them because I'm moving with the current and they're not. And if only it were only to not scare away turtles- he also holds on to coral to see nudibranch, and it's not like they're going to be scared away by moving divers -_-

Well its nice if the guide checked, but that's not really his job. The job of a guide around these parts is to find critters for you to see or take pictures of, and bring you to the interesting places like swim throughs. If you are already certified, you are supposed to check your own gas.

Perhaps I formulated that wrong. I didn't expect him to check on my dad's gas. I was just expressing my worry that my dad forgot (though perhaps that was because it was the first dive). I shouldn't have put those two sentences together, sorry.

You didn't say how deep you were? 3m? 5m? or 10m?
Could make a big difference in how this situation is judged.

We were at maybe 6m. Yes, maybe not such a big deal, but we were waiting for the boat, it was quite far away, I had no idea when it would get there, and there was current. Maybe that would be a reason to stay so long, but then, why not deploy the smb earlier? Later on, I stayed till 30 bar, and I wasn't worried because the bottom was at 4m, we were at 3m, no current, and the boat was in sight.

Is this a swim-through? Or a cave?

It was a hole in the wall, that seem to branch into two parts 2 or 3 meters in. I don't know how deep it was. It was very wide, but not too high, you'd have to be careful not to bump the top or bottom once inside.

Just wondering, does your computer allow the programming of deep safety stops? I know the Cressi Leonardo does. Not to doubt you but the profile you mentioned sounds like a deep safety stop at 1/2 the maximum depth of the dive. A safety stop is different from a decompression stop, and not all computers have deep safety stops.

As long as NDL wasn't violated, there will not be any decompression stops.

I may be wrong, but I don't think it was a deep safety stop. I have the mares puck pro, it says deep stops are either 2x1min or 2 min, and my computer told me to stop for 3min. Also, usually, safety stops show up on screen once you get to the right depths, along with the word "safe" and a timer. This time, the word "deco" "12m 3min", showed up on screen when I checked at 25m, way before reaching 12m. Also, all the nitrogen bars were filled in. And the computer logbook says "deep deco", instead of the usual "no deco".
According to the computer, NDL for 27m is 21min. I don't know if we spent 21min there, as I didn't check frequently at first (the visibility was so perfect I didn't realize we were that deep, I should have :/ ) but it said "deco" 34min into the dive, so it's not impossible. Or maybe this could be due to previous dives?

Anyways, nothing much new, except for a lot of infuriating watching people kick at and grab at corals, and my dad dropping like a rock to the (thankfully) defined bottom at the start of every dive. We have done rather "easy" dives, not gone deeper than 18m, and spending most of our time around 10m, perfect visibily and no problems with currents, so there's that. I'm scared that I was worrying too much for the first few days- the guide says he dives here everyday, probably alone, and that he comes from technical diving, so I suppose my concerns would look so trivial to him. It turns out that my dad actually did think I was worrying too much because "isn't decompression just like a safety stop?" and now he's talking to me like he does to my mom (who worries about everything and anything).
I'm really glad at least people here don't think I was over reacting
As for training, most of that, since OW when I was 13, comes from reading Scubaboard, so thanks to you guys

 

[WhiteSands]

I see. The DM sounds like a douche bag.

I've found the reviews for dive centres on Tripadvisor pretty accurate thus far, you might want to check it out before booking your next trip. The local sub-forums here on SB have also been very helpful in recommending stuff like DCs, hotels and places to eat.

 

[divin'dog]

It turns out that my dad actually did think I was worrying too much because "isn't decompression just like a safety stop?"

Hmmm... Not really. A safety stop is optional... if you have to get to the surface, blowing through a safety stop should not bring on DCS. Blowing through a deco stop may not bring on DCS (at your deco times) but the risk is definitely there and you're crossing the fine line of safety from a comfortable NDL. A deco stop is mandatory and not something you want to blow off if your computer thinks you need it. If you are low on gas and need to do a deco stop, will you have enough to complete it? 3 mins is not a lot of time but that's like saying you're only going into the cave a little way... Where is the limit? It's skirting the safe zone of doing NDL dives.

 

[drbill]

The fact that you recognize your current certification level and experience is essentially just a beginning indicates both intelligence and objectivity about your diving. You are at the start of the learning curve.

As others have pointed out, the GUE fundies course would be a good addition. If you were here in SoCal, I'd recommend the Los Angeles County ADP (Advanced Diver Program). Not sure what options you have there in Europe but I assume CMAS or other agencies have some good alternatives.