Dive Operator Best Practices

[Mike Boswell]

Dive travel often means spending thousands of dollars, in advance, on hotels and dive operators who provide rooms, food, dive boats, guides, and equipment. These operations have very different facilities, different maintenance standards, and different ways of doing things, and some are much better than others.

I think most of us would agree that it's nice to have a full tank of breathable air and a place to hang wetsuits, but there are many other things which affect our experience. We divers might be able to improve things if we could communicate those things we like, and those we don't.

Experienced dive travelers could easily identify many things that should be "Best Practices" within the dive industry, and we on SB could make the list.

Got any ideas?

 

[iztok]

I do travel a bit inside and outside of the USA (for work) and take my gear with me to dive a lot of the times. Here is what I like:

1. Carolina down rig for where there can be significant current.
2. Operators that serve meal should make sure to check dietary restrictions of their guests or have ability to provide some basic things like vegetarian on the spot.
3. Knowledge of the dive sites. (Map of the dive site is good when possible.)
4. Anything that goes above and beyond for traveling divers that travel alone. (i.e. place to crash for the night or connections to places where one can do such)
5. Option for night diving. (I am big into night diving when possible.)

 

[TSandM]

I guess my reaction to "best practices" is to think of things which are safety-related:

A full roll call at the end of each dive, before the boat leaves the site.

Oxygen available on board any boat, and on land at a resort; the location of the O2 kit and who on site is trained in its use should be part of the orientation.

It is my personal opinion that no commercial operation should have the boat unattended while divers are in the water.

Water entry and reboarding procedures should be designed with an eye to safety; in particular, there should be solid handholds along the path of any diver reboarding the boat in gear. Gear donning and doffing procedures should be designed to avoid any need for "unusual attitudes" on the part of the diver -- benches should be of appropriate height, and there should be adequate support for rigs while they are being donned.

Walking areas for divers in gear should have non-slip surfaces.

Tanks and rigs should be well-secured while not in use, to avoid damage to gear and safety hazard to divers.

There are a lot of amenities I've enjoyed at various places, but I don't consider those "best practices", but rather matters of comfort or enjoyment.

 

[Mike Boswell]

Lynne, I think perhaps the term "Best Practices" may have been appropriated from the healthcare field, but in any event it is now a business buzzword: Best practice - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In my mind there are lots of things that could qualify as "Better Practices", safety related and otherwise. For example:

A lockable compartment for your gear.
Air compressor maintenance procedures and test records.
Regular scheduled replacment of cylinder O-rings.
Open-sided boat ladders.

 

[hg frogman]

Number one for me (by far) as a client : small groups of divers with homogeneous level and experience, with a small total number of divers on the boat, hence the maximum of flexibility for choosing/optimizing the dives.

For example, much better in Indonesia (Bunaken, Lembeh ...) to be 2 divers per guide and 2 guides per boat (4 guests total per boat) than 6 divers per guide and 3 guides per boat (18 guests total per boat).

Other example, on a Red Sea live-aboard, much better to be 6 to 8 divers maximum (same level, otherwise it may be a PITA) on a 18 meters boat with one guide and one Zodiac, than 24 divers on a 35+ meters boat with 2 guides and 2 Zodiacs.

Real (and worthwhile) luxury/service in diving is not plasma screens, or marble in the bathroom ; it is to have something akin a private boat/dive center.

PS: apart from this, having good, safe air (or gas) fills, and having oxygen readily available, is of paramount importance. But safety stuff like this isn't part of the "value of use" of a Dive Center. I mean it should be guaranteed to the client anywhere and not be part of a "Best Service". In other words, safe fills is a constraint for the dive center, not an incentive for the client.

 

[danvolker]

My vacation diving wish list for dive operators:

• boats are stratified by ability levels so advanced divers are not paired with new divers..has a great deal to do with "what dive sites" we will be going to.
• Operator should have a boat with a platform which lays down flush with the water ...I like this much better for getting back on
• Boat operator allows dive buddy teams with good skills (known to dive operator), to dive their plan, their way, irrespective of how most tourists are handled. While this is common in S florida, at Caribbean or at most exotic destinations it is not...Although Beqa Lagoon Resort dive operators let the group of Florida divers I was in, do anything we wanted, with zero resemblance to the manner they typically dive tourists there. They even let me freedive spearfish, and invited me on night time spearfishing with them
• Which reminds me, spearfishing should be allowed on "some boats".
• if I was "forced" to dive with a big "gaggle" of divers on an exotic vacation dive, I would be VERY unhappy if I was expected to come up when the first person in the group got low on air....ie., if the dive master called the dive to keep evryone together. Fortunately, I have never been forced into this scenario, though on a few occaisions I came close

DanV

 

[mopro]

I have only seen this at one outfit (when I DM'd at Club Med) but having a safety stop bar with both multiple regs and spare weights hanging down is a huge plus in diver comfort. Such an easy concept to implement yet out of around 15 different dive ops I've been to, CM was the only one with this setup.

Also, I've never seen this (and always wanted to do it), but a simple basket pulley system for camera gear would be great, esp. when diving in a strong current or rough seas.

 

[D_B]

require a Surface Marker Buoy for each person ( I think this sounds like a good idea, are there any reasons it's not?)

 

[Mike Boswell]

On many dive boats you have to stow your personal and dry gear up in the bow. Accessing your "stuff" before and after every dive is inconvenient at best, and in rough seas it can be dangerous.

On the last boat I was on, they had overhead mesh hammocks along each side of the boat, which was great for stowing dry clothes, hats, glasses, defog, towels, etc.

 

[likestodive]

A decent camera rinse bucket and/or hose on a smaller boat. A place to put my dry stuff that actually stays dry. Small groups of similar skilled divers. If all divers don't have similar skills, multiple divemasters/groups. Being able to use my computer instead of the old table limits - especially for a multilevel sites (20 minute dives in a place that should be > an hour is a sure way to lose my business). Nitrox availability with an analyzer that works on the boat. Boats that leave on time. Don't tell me to be there an hour or even 30 minutes early. I can tell time. Go to the best available site instead of just the nearest/quickest. Friendly boat captains and dive masters. Unless conditions absolutely warrant, don't require me to 'bob around' on the surface while other people get in. For that matter, unless the current is 'ripping' or some other condition that requires everyone to stay very close, allow me to do my own thing. 2800lbs is NOT a full tank. 200 lbs does matter to me - especially if it is every tank over a week. Have extra dive gear on the boat, including an extra computer. Secure dive lockers for a landbased op. Free tanks for shore dives if practical. Don't change how I mount my tank or other equipment without asking.

Long list, but I know what I like.

I tend to go with the same small operators over and over. They know how to do it right.