Did I take too big a risk?

[JessicaDodge]

I have a question.

I don't have a lot of extra time to dive and have to plan my dives whenever time allows. (Sometimes when I can't get anyone to dive with me) So A few weeks ago I went on my first (and probably ast) dive trip by myself. When I call for reservations, the Owners of the boat said they would pair me up with someone. So I went down and everything was fine. I talked to a lot of cool people on the way out to the site, and a few mins before we got their they paired up the non-buddied people. The guy they paired me up with seemed nice, but when I started asking about previous experience he said he hadn't dived in 5 years. Me, being a relitively new diver did not feel very comfortable with this. One of the other passengers who I had been talking with and was a dive instructor said that we could tag along with his group but we would be buddies, if an emergency happened, he would be there. His group was him and 3 other divers. (not students) So I felt more comfortable. We dove a wreck in south florida that has some interior areas. there is open areas in each room so even divers that are only OW certified can go in. I told him that I didn't feel comfortable to going inside the wreck and he agreed. As we decended we agreed to wait near the bottom for the other 4 to get down. As soon as we decended he bolted off. I had to decide weather to follow him or stay with the other group. I chose to stay with him. We dove for a few mins and everything was fine. Then he signaled that he wanted to go inside. I shook my head no. He signaled that he would go in and I could stay outside. I shook my head no again. He went in. I again had a decision to make... stay outside and risk losing my buddy or going in. I chose staying outside. After a few mins. he came back out. And we finished the dive. There was a second dive on that trip and I didn't want to pair up with him again so I told everyone I was sick. I always throw up underwater so if all fit. I told the captain and divemaster the truth after everyone else went down and they were both upset that I didn't just tell them and they would have fixed the situation. The guy had told the divemaster it had been a few months since his last dive. Was I wrong to dive with him knowing he hadn't dove in 5 years? I wouldn't have even gone down but felt comfortable that the instructor who had dove that site many times would be there in case of emergency. Was I just a complete idiot that took a risk because I hadn't dove in a while and really really wanted to get wet? Just wondering.

Jessica

 

[Finnatic]

Jessica,
I'm glad you posted your experience as it demonstrates the breakdown in the chain of protocol that could potentially lead to a life threatening situation. Your buddy sounds like a real jerk. He lied about his experience (did anyone look at dive logs?), abandoned the dive plan and totally disregarded his buddy responsibilites putting not only himself but you and others in the group at risk. Not to mention ruining your dive. If your only choice was to dive with the idiot or sit it out, you definitely made the right choice. I am curious to know if he was ever confronted. If not, he is still out there ...clueless and dangerous. What happened after the second dive?

I am going on my first dive charter in a few weeks after open water cert. so I am also curious to know that in a situation like this is it customary to be compensated in some way by the dive operation for the ruined dive?

 

[Scuba_Vixen]

When you work an odd schedule, you have to take your dive times whenever you can get them, even if your usual buds can't make it. Some trips are going to be smoother than others, but the best way to make every trip easier is to work on skills and confidence. Knowing from the beginning that you can plan, execute and handle any reasonable contingency that may occur, WithOut your assigned budd's help, is when you loose that anxiety when the buddy is less than a proper buddy. It's like defensive driving, never expect to be able to depend on the other guy to do the right thing. They let you down far too often. When you're with a group, and other divers are in sight, even if your bud's a bit lame, you're still pretty well off. You face more risk statistically from your own mistakes that others can't help you with (ie rapid ascent) than from something a bud can help with.

Each diver can be their own best buddy, or their own worst nemises. The good part is, you get to choose which.

Keep diving,

Darlene

 

[Diver0001]

JessicaDodge once bubbled...
I have a question.

I don't have a lot of extra time to dive and have to plan my dives whenever time allows. (Sometimes when I can't get anyone to dive with me) So A few weeks ago I went on my first (and probably ast) dive trip by myself. When I call for reservations, the Owners of the boat said they would pair me up with someone. So I went down and everything was fine. I talked to a lot of cool people on the way out to the site, and a few mins before we got their they paired up the non-buddied people. The guy they paired me up with seemed nice, but when I started asking about previous experience he said he hadn't dived in 5 years. Me, being a relitively new diver did not feel very comfortable with this. One of the other passengers who I had been talking with and was a dive instructor said that we could tag along with his group but we would be buddies, if an emergency happened, he would be there. His group was him and 3 other divers. (not students) So I felt more comfortable. We dove a wreck in south florida that has some interior areas. there is open areas in each room so even divers that are only OW certified can go in. I told him that I didn't feel comfortable to going inside the wreck and he agreed. As we decended we agreed to wait near the bottom for the other 4 to get down. As soon as we decended he bolted off. I had to decide weather to follow him or stay with the other group. I chose to stay with him. We dove for a few mins and everything was fine. Then he signaled that he wanted to go inside. I shook my head no. He signaled that he would go in and I could stay outside. I shook my head no again. He went in. I again had a decision to make... stay outside and risk losing my buddy or going in. I chose staying outside. After a few mins. he came back out. And we finished the dive. There was a second dive on that trip and I didn't want to pair up with him again so I told everyone I was sick. I always throw up underwater so if all fit. I told the captain and divemaster the truth after everyone else went down and they were both upset that I didn't just tell them and they would have fixed the situation. The guy had told the divemaster it had been a few months since his last dive. Was I wrong to dive with him knowing he hadn't dove in 5 years? I wouldn't have even gone down but felt comfortable that the instructor who had dove that site many times would be there in case of emergency. Was I just a complete idiot that took a risk because I hadn't dove in a while and really really wanted to get wet? Just wondering.

Jessica

Jessica,

It's sometimes hard to tell topside what kind of a buddy someone will make. A good chat before the dive would probably have revealed that he wanted to penetrate the wreck at which time you would still have been able to bail. This is something to keep in mind for the next time. Just the simple question "what do you want to do when we're down" would have probably have done it. Other things to keep in mind for this chat are to agree to a maximum depth, a turning point in time and pressure, state for the record that you want to stay within your NDL'S, agree on who is navigating if necessary and run through some signals.

That said, I think you handled the situation under water just fine. You did everything that could have been expected of you and I think staying outside in to wait was the right choice.

After the dive I think you were too timid. I would personally have bawled him out for going into the wreck after I told him no not once but TWICE and you really should have reported this to the dive-leader right away and asked for a new partner. It's a shame that you sat out the second dive because of this.

Question: where was the instructor/3rd buddy when this happend?

R..

 

[midwestdvr]

Jessica, your story reminds me of my first post cert dive. Like you, I was diving solo so had to be paired up with a dive buddy. I had just received my OW cert the day before. The DM paired me up with two divers. So, fresh out of the classroom, I asked them questions- how many dives, etc. Got a response of 30+ dives each so I thought I was in good hands . This was not to be so. Should have gotten a clue when they both had to ask the DM for help setting up their gear . Maybe they were just nervous. Next clue, should have been their giant stride entry. I was taught to do this with reg in mouth, hands on weight belt and mask then leap. Mmmm, they jumped in with no reg in mouth and hands in air. To make a long story short, I ended up leading the dive which didn't give me much comfort. Needless to say, that dive wasn't a very enjoyable one ;-0 . Found out later on that it's been 2-3 years since they last dove (?sp).

I did get a lesson out of that though. Always ask how long has it been since their last dive. I also vowed to get in at least several dives each year in hopes of keeping my skills (newbie ones, that is) up to date. Important lessons learned since I'll probably will have to go on solo trips again, my buddies don't dive but I keep on trying to convert them .

 

[Wendy]

You were a lot nicer than I would have been. I would have given him the thumbs up to call the dive and surface after I told him twice that I didn't want to go inside the wreck. Back on the boat I would have and a discussion with my 'buddy' loud enough so other could hear. Don't let idiots liek this ruin your diving. You should have talked to the Capt and DM then about getting a better buddy. But we experience these things from time to time, and we learn from them. Hopefully you won't have to go thru something like this again.

 

[WileEDiver]

Jessica,

In case you haven't heard it enough here so far, let me add that I think you did absolutely the right thing on that dive. Penetrating a wreck (or any confined environment, for that matter) is not something to be done on a whim without proper planning and discussion with your buddy.

Like some others have said there are things you can do afterward. If you didn't want to confront this "buddy" (and I can understand that that can be an uncomfortable situation), a word to the divemaster earlier than the start of the next dive would have been appropriate. That's one of the things they are there for. However, maybe after the support you're getting here, maybe it will be easier to tell a jerk like this that you're not comfortable diving with them (and why) and that you think it best to find other buddies (with the DM's assistance, if necessary). [And even that would be showing more kindness than someone like that deserves! ]

And to answer your question "Did I take too big a risk?", I would say only if you had penetrated the wreck.

 

[Rick Inman]

Scuba_Vixen once bubbled...
. Knowing from the beginning that you can plan, execute and handle any reasonable contingency that may occur, WithOut your assigned budd's help, is when you loose that anxiety when the buddy is less than a proper buddy. You face more risk statistically from your own mistakes that others can't help you with (ie rapid ascent) than from something a bud can help with.

Each diver can be their own best buddy, or their own worst nemises. The good part is, you get to choose which.

Perfectly stated! Everytime I reread the above quote, I like it more.
As to confrontation, even if a person is uncomfortable with it, they must learn to confront people who might place them in jeopardy. This is not just personal preference, it's a saftey issue. You need to be able to muster up the boldness to walk up to the DM and say, "Find me another buddy. This guy swam off on me and broke the dive plan and I will not dive with him again." Better than being remembered as someone who was always so accommodating.

 

[CBulla]

JessicaDodge - From what I see, you took no risks to yourself personally. The only thing I would have done different is to have brought it up to the DM or Capt. about the actions and requested a different buddy. 'Course, I'm outspoken enough I would have just told the fella straight up what I thought... on my slate underwater and on the boat to reiterate.

 

[CD_in_Chitown]

CBulla once bubbled...
I would have just told the fella straight up what I thought... on my slate underwater

There is a handsign for that.

Jessica, don't let a poor experience ruin single diving for you. My advice is to follow all the good advice you've gotten here. Always remember you're primarily responsible for your own safety. And definately mention to the DM/Captain that there is an issue and you demand a different buddy, You're a paying customer after all.

CD