Dive With Martin? Hmmm...

[billindenver]

This is troubling at the least and does give me some concerns about DWM. Will DWM post there version?

Not likely. I doubt Mexico has quite the same employee protections that the USA has, in which an employer who did as you suggest and spoke out against an employee in a public forum, would be in trouble. Even taking that out of the picture, cozumel is still an island....and I doubt anyone would benefit from a public mud slinging contest. Most employers, even those with no education and no business sense, would not take part in such a thing.

There is obviously more to this than we know, which is a good thing. Employer/employee relations are a tricky business and seldom (if ever) is it a one sided, he is wrong and he is right situation. It usually takes both parties working in tandem to get to a point where someone is fired on the spot.

DWM has a lot of good reviews in here, I nearly went with them on last weeks trip but Christi is on the board and I chose her because of that. I tried Dressel while there as well (because Christi did not have enough divers for afternoon trips) and was not nearly as unimpressed as I expected to be (although they do limit bottom time). Next trip, DWM will probably see some of my money, dive paradise and Aldora may get a visit too.

 

[divematt]

#1. You look at your pressure gauge, dive a little and look at it again. The rate at which it goes down ought to tell you how fast it's leaking. If that doesn't suit you, look at it more often and come up sooner as you know your tank was low and was leaking to start with. You ought to be able to make a full safety stop even with a leaking tank, and have some left over if you're watching what you're doing.

#2. I highly doubt that the 10 year divemaster was fired only for the reason that he mentioned that there was a leaking tank.

#3. You can dive with whomever you choose and not dive with those that you prefer not to, but without hearing all sides of this story, and whatever Aldora story there was left out, I'd not stay away from either of these two fine dive operations.

 

[loudives]

#1. You look at your pressure gauge, dive a little and look at it again. The rate at which it goes down ought to tell you how fast it's leaking. If that doesn't suit you, look at it more often and come up sooner as you know your tank was low and was leaking to start with. You ought to be able to make a full safety stop even with a leaking tank, and have some left over if you're watching what you're doing.

#2. I highly doubt that the 10 year divemaster was fired only for the reason that he mentioned that there was a leaking tank.

#3. You can dive with whomever you choose and not dive with those that you prefer not to, but without hearing all sides of this story, and whatever Aldora story there was left out, I'd not stay away from either of these two fine dive operations.

Well said Matt

 

[don Francisco]

Bad reviews, like bad news, always travel fast.

The sad fact is that in any business you can do everything right for years and get little recognition, but do one thing wrong - or have someone, not necessarilly aware of all the facts think you did - and it'll earn you a degree of notoriety in great disproportion to the circumstances.

Prospective customers reading forums need to maintain a sense of context and take a balanced view of reviews. Long term reputations are earned every day while a single incident whatever it may be, is just that - a single incident.

 

[georoc01]

Where was the diver's buddy? Didn't he have his reserve to get the the O-O-A diver through his safety stop ?

 

[scubafanatic]

I'm not actually disagreeing with your concerns but...

1) The diver is responsible for his gas, period. He knew he had a somewhat "light" fill, and he's responsible for monitoring his gas supply during the dive. Yes, it's very disappointing to feel "shorted" on bottom time, but unless there's an equipment failure I can't think of a good reason to breathe a tank dry during a safety stop. The usual reason is neglecting to keep track of consumption.

2) Fills are relative. I'm accustomed to a "full" AL80 running anywhere from 2600 to 3100 psi. Occasionally it's even lower. In Cozumel, it's always tended to the lower end for me. It's a fact of life, and is known before the dive. If my starting pressure is lower than 2600 I ask for a different cylinder, but since I'm often on nitrox that isn't always possible.

3) Bad O-rings happen. I travel with spares so I can replace my own, but have never had to use one of mine since the boat has always had spares. I'm deaf in one ear, but even on a loud little boat I can detect a significant O-ring leak. Checking that is my responsibility as part of my equipment check.

I think people hand over way too much responsibility to divemasters. It's better to think of them as guides. If you need that much hand-holding, it's probably best to hire a private divemaster for the dive.

....not to hijack the main point of this thread, but, I'm having issues accepting/excusing substantial short fills in Cozumel...in my book, that's cheating the customer...yeah, I know, most dive ops get filled at the central fill station, not their own personal compressors...nevertheless, the dive ops need to bang-some-heads, if that's what it takes, and get the fill stations to understand it's their job tp pump out at least 3000 psi 'cold' fills in an AL 80. Yet another reason I'm so fond of liveaboards...I can get a top-off at any time as needed, NITROX or 'air'...and the crews soon learn their tips, and the level of my 'nagging' them until they learn to do proper fills are directly porportional to them doing their jobs.

Karl

 

[mstevens]

I agree that a diver is responsible for his gas. But do you see any problem in what DWM did in this case?

I don't actually know what DWM did in this case, so I can't say.

You reported that a diver become OOA during his safety stop after having noticed on the boat that his fill was "a few hundred pounds light." I still think that is entirely the diver's issue.

You also "found out" things that supposedly happened to a DM who wasn't even there. Maybe those things occurred exactly as you report, but I have no way of knowing that. At this point it's just unsubstantiated rumor from where I sit.

Either way, it's not at all clear that there is any connection between the personnel issues you cite and the dive incident you report.

There's no way I can see that my favorite op's (not DWM, as it happens) firing a DM could make me run out of air.

 

[Gdog]

scubafanatic, i tend to agree with you. A short fill is a short fill. If they are filled the night before, then a top off of all tanks would be in order? I know that there are a ton of tanks, but...2500, 2600 isnt right. However, having said that, Deep Blue has always been good about exchanging a tank for me if i have 2600, 2700. Usually, as Betsy said, the DM will take it as he can make it last much longer than my full tank.

 

[redacted]

I don't actually know what DWM did in this case, so I can't say.

You reported that a diver become OOA during his safety stop after having noticed on the boat that his fill was "a few hundred pounds light." I still think that is entirely the diver's issue.

You also "found out" things that supposedly happened to a DM who wasn't even there. Maybe those things occurred exactly as you report, but I have no way of knowing that. At this point it's just unsubstantiated rumor from where I sit.

Either way, it's not at all clear that there is any connection between the personnel issues you cite and the dive incident you report.

There's no way I can see that my favorite op's (not DWM, as it happens) firing a DM could make me run out of air.

What do you know? Do you know who the original poster was? Do you know who "you", as in "you reported" and "you also found out", is?

The issue of the OOA is not the problem. Nor is the reported firing of the DM. But I do have a problem with a shop that knowingly provides defective equipment to divers. But then, neither of us saw any bubbles.

 

[mstevens]

What do you know? Do you know who the original poster was? Do you know who "you", as in "you reported" and "you also found out", is?

Yes, I do, but I lost track of that while I was writing! Sorry 'bout that.

Maybe I was thrown by your tacit assumption about "what DWM did in this case" and stupidly conflated you with the OP.

The issue of the OOA is not the problem. Nor is the reported firing of the DM. But I do have a problem with a shop that knowingly provides defective equipment to divers. But then, neither of us saw any bubbles.

Actually, as I read it the OP thinks not only that the OOA and the reported firing do make up the problem but also that they are directly and causally related to each other. I think the one thing that neither one of us (nor the OP) knows for sure is whether a shop knowingly provided defective equipment.