Bail-out the diveleader?

[fire_diver]

The DMs job isnt to baby-sit or hand-hold the other CERTIFIED divers. He is there to give the dive brief so that YOU can plan your dive. They also typicaly act as local SMEs to point out where the cool stuff is that might get missed.

If I ever had to "bail out" the DM, he'd be paying for my dive, probably with plenty of beer.

 

[scarefaceDM]

I will re-iterate what was said above...the DM is not your private babysitter, He has a job to do. At the surface, gives a coherent dive briefing. Shows you on a map or on paper where the dive will take place, how deep and for how long. It is up to you THE CERTIFIED diver to make your dive plan accordingly. Your certified. act like you are. and plan your dive. Below water he will be your dive leader to take you around. If he goes too fast, you need to let them know beforehand to slow down.

Give the dive master a break for crap sake. He does not have eyes in the back of his head. If you see something and the DM is in front of you and this happens behind him...either signal him or you as a diver could act accordingly to a distressed diver and make the DM aware of it so he can take over if needed. f you need to share air, then do so. again you or your buddy can get the DM's attention so he can take over the Air share or do what ever is needed.

It may not be your JOB but the DM cannot be at 4 place at once....cut them some slack a little. A helping hand goes a long way. Bailing out a diver is everyone's job....regardless. you would be happy if someone helped you in a situation...so pass that along.

I had to Bailout a DM on a dive, so what, I was glad i was able to help out a fellow diver in need. I bailed out another diver that was not my buddy, so what...glad I was able to help....

Just plan your dive and dive your plan, dive with-in your capabilities and do not blame the DM because you failed as a diver to follow your plan and monitor yourself. If you are not comfortable with the proposed dive, call it....

 

[Downing]

2) A dive I did in Mexico many years ago. The dive parameters were "45 min", "dive within NDL's" and "don't forget to do a safety stop".

There were 3 or 4 buddy teams, which mostly consisted of inexperienced divers. The DM went overboard and most of the boat went overboard with her and started swimming where-ever her flippers went. The DM decided to swim at about 10m through the dive-site.

I, and my buddy,... however... decided to decend to 30m (the hard-bottom) to look for nudibranches on the sandy bottom. We were fully aware of the parameters of 45 min, no-deco and and safety-stop and followed those instructions to the letter.

The DM, however, didn't understand her own briefing and started getting spastic as soon as we got deeper than about 15 metres. She whistled us back 3 or 4 times because we went deeper than she did and started inspecting our SPG's and giving us increasingly "stern" warnings to maintain depth.

We exited the dive somewhat..... er... irritated... because the DM wouldn't accept us doing anything else besides following around behind her flippers (which is the only thing most of the divers on that dive saw).

It sounds like you had one set of expectations and she had another. Better pre-dive communication would have avoided this. A lot of DMs in the vacation diver crowd biz are used to having their divers follow them like a pack of puppies and come to expect it. If you don't want to do that, then discuss it with her ahead of time and you can probably work out something to your mutual satisfaction.

 

[ScubaGil]

ScarefaceDM put it best "the DM is not your private babysitter".
However that is not what this post is about, so here is my story. Actually to be fair this is my eye witness account..the actual rescuer was my buddy.

Location - Red Sea
Dive Site - Ras Muhamad

We were on a daily outing off of one of the many many many boats out there. The operator and the DM knew us very well as we were regular customers and both my buddy and I are certified (but not working) DM's. On this particular day we were only 2 buddy teams and the DM on a small boat. After the first dive we were instructed to put our empty tanks on the port side of the boat and immediately re-fit our rigs with a full tank from the starboard side. We all did that and then had some lunch.

As we started descending on the second dive site I see my buddy turn from a diver into an underwater bullet and head straight towards the DM who was giving the OoA sign. My buddy gave her his Octopus and they ascended slowly from about 20m (~60ft). After the dive I found out that the DM didn't check to see that her tank was filled, she simply swapped tanks and took an empty one by mistake.

That was the only true "bail-out" I've been part of or seen. However I can't even begin to count how many times I helped other underwater; fixing straps, relieving cramps, picking up fallen weights (as they fall off the belt or out of pocket), stopping folks from killing reefs, etc...

 

[DevonDiver]

How many of you have had to bail-out the divemaster

What do you mean by bail-out?

Even a divemaster/guide is still diving under the buddy system; so if they have any sort of problem, it is absolutely reasonable that they might expect assistance from another diver.

or have had to bail out a diver who the divemaster wasn't paying attention to?

Again...it's a buddy system. There is, and should be, no onus on the dive guide/master to provide immediate support to any diver that they may be leading.

Perhaps the real question should be... how many divemasters have to bail out divers whose buddies were not paying attention to them??

This should give those pursuing trust-me dives a little pause...

There are a multitude of factors that make trust me dives a very bad idea.

Perhaps the real lesson, for any divers, is not to have the assumption that a dive master or guide is there to hold you hand. If a divemaster has to help you, it means that you failed in self-reliance. Following that, your adherance to the buddy system failed. That's a pretty poor performance IMHO.

 

[fnfalman]

Don't go in a big group. Don't go with a dive master. No problems.

When I lead a dive (when you're in a two-divers group, somebody has to be the leader), I expect my buddy to correct me if I were to stray and vice versa.

 

[k ellis]

Must have been a cat in the wood pile somewhere along the line.

LOL Cat I was half asleep. It was a slow night and had the heater going in the car. bad combination!

 

[boulderjohn]

DMs in the water have a wide variety of roles depending upon where you are diving. I have seen everything from one extreme ("I am in the water in case you want someone to show you cool stuff, but otherwise do whatever you want") to the other ("I will lead the dive and you sheep will follow in close order formation behind me"). I have seen just about everything in between.

The mistake a lot of newer divers make is assuming that what they have experienced is the way it is everywhere. If you have only done dives in which the DM takes clear control of the group, then that is what you will expect on your next trip. Thus, if you see a DM not paying close attention to people to ensure their safety, you may get concerned, when in fact that the DM is doing nothing wrong.

 

[BrianKon]

What you may call bailing out, I call responsible diving. Usually only those confident enough in thier abilities would help. Even instructors are taught to not jeopordize thier own safety to help someone in distress and you shouldn't either.

if however you are confident in your abilites to help someone out, that is a good thing and you shouldn't be upset about doing it. During your surface interval or after the dive you may bring it up to the DM as something to lookout for. I am sure you get a big thank you for your efforts.

maybe one day the shoes on the other foot and all your past good karma will save your life.

good diving to you

brian

 

[TMHeimer]

I'm juuuuust about a DM. Did four 2 tank dives with a very thorough professional DM (just him & me) on a charter--learned a lot and very enjoyable. The 5th day others joined us and one jerk decided to just zip all over the place, resulting in him being lost, as well as my buddy and I, who were initially following him in 10 ft. viz. The DM managed the situation very well and it ended OK (except no one talked to the "zipper" on the trip back). 3 days before, the DM grabbed my octo. at about 40 feet depth because he jumped in with an empty tank. I guess it can happen to anyone.