Divemaster did NOT get in the water...

[Dogbowl]

Up here in Canada, I've never heard of a DM being on the boat, let alone dive with the guests. In Tobermory, you can hire an Instructor or DM to come with you, but I don't think it happens very often.

Having certified in the Caribbean, no DM in the water came as quite a surprise. Knowing that cold water diving is a different beast than warm water tropical diving, we thought hiring a DM would be prudent. After checking on prices (DM = $150 + 2-tank charter = $85), we decided to forego local (Canadian) diving at least for now.

We are realizing more and more how spoiled we are by Caribbean diving...and we like love it!

 

[boulderjohn]

The experience divers have in many sites in the world, where the dive crew takes care of you from start to finish, unfortunately undoes training and teaches them to become unnecessarily dependent on others. I know. It happened to me.

I was certified 20 years ago, and I did all of my first dives in Cozumel. The DMs set up my gear for me, led the dive, broke down the gear at the end of the dive, and carted it off for cleaning. I had expected none of this in my dive training, where DMs are not even mentioned. I assumed I was learning how diving was done in the "real world."

Then I went for a dive in South Florida. I brought my gear onto the boat and was assigned a spot. The boat headed out toward the dive site, and I sat back and waited for the DM to come and set up my gear. I waited. And I waited. When I finally realized that it wasn't going to happen, I scrambled. Let's see, I asked myself, how do you do this again?

Diving for too long in boutique operations makes you dependent upon them. It is a good idea to dive somewhere that requires you to set up your gear, plan your dive, navigate back to the boat, etc. If you don't, you will never develop those skills, and if you ever had those skills, you will lose them before too long.

 

[Dogbowl]

The experience divers have in many sites in the world, where the dive crew takes care of you from start to finish, unfortunately undoes training and teaches them to become unnecessarily dependent on others. I know. It happened to me.

I was certified 20 years ago, and I did all of my first dives in Cozumel. The DMs set up my gear for me, led the dive, broke down the gear at the end of the dive, and carted it off for cleaning. I had expected none of this in my dive training, where DMs are not even mentioned. I assumed I was learning how diving was done in the "real world."

Then I went for a dive in South Florida. I brought my gear onto the boat and was assigned a spot. The boat headed out toward the dive site, and I sat back and waited for the DM to come and set up my gear. I waited. And I waited. When I finally realized that it wasn't going to happen, I scrambled. Let's see, I asked myself, how do you do this again?

Diving for too long in boutique operations makes you dependent upon them. It is a good idea to dive somewhere that requires you to set up your gear, plan your dive, navigate back to the boat, etc. If you don't, you will never develop those skills, and if you ever had those skills, you will lose them before too long.

I don’t disagree with you.

 

[Wookie]

Gotchya. I suppose if I was abducted by aliens during a dive trip I wouldn't tip the crew either.

Nope. I’d plan that way too.

 

[CathyE]

The experience divers have in many sites in the world, where the dive crew takes care of you from start to finish, unfortunately undoes training and teaches them to become unnecessarily dependent on others. I know. It happened to me.

I was certified 20 years ago, and I did all of my first dives in Cozumel. The DMs set up my gear for me, led the dive, broke down the gear at the end of the dive, and carted it off for cleaning. I had expected none of this in my dive training, where DMs are not even mentioned. I assumed I was learning how diving was done in the "real world."

Then I went for a dive in South Florida. I brought my gear onto the boat and was assigned a spot. The boat headed out toward the dive site, and I sat back and waited for the DM to come and set up my gear. I waited. And I waited. When I finally realized that it wasn't going to happen, I scrambled. Let's see, I asked myself, how do you do this again?

Diving for too long in boutique operations makes you dependent upon them. It is a good idea to dive somewhere that requires you to set up your gear, plan your dive, navigate back to the boat, etc. If you don't, you will never develop those skills, and if you ever had those skills, you will lose them before too long.

I agree, that's why we drag everything down to the St. Lawrence a few times in Sept/Oct every year. I don't particularly like the dives and they never last longer than 25 or 30 minutes, but I do it.
In all fairness tho, it doesn't have to be a boutique op when diving warm. We usually set our own kit up, but I am happy to let the young guys cart the heavy stuff.
We also did our first few Canadian dives with our lds on group dives. You didn't have a DM directly leading you, but you weren't totally alone either.
If the fish were prettier I wouldn't mind the water temp so much. :-(

 

[tursiops]

Gotchya. I suppose if I was abducted by aliens during a dive trip I wouldn't tip the crew either.

LOL. You clearly have not met Wookie.

 

[Wookie]

Are Wookiee’s aliens? I guess we are.

 

[DiverDownD3]

I don't think there is any "custom", other than possibly regionally. E.g. in Cozumel, they all put a DM in the water with you. I think it's required there, by law, in their marine park. But, in NC, they never (that I've seen) put a DM in the water with you - unless you request and pay for one.

Even in NC, where no DM gets in, I still tip a normal amount (for me, usually $20/day).

It's like I tell people that ask about diving in NC. If you're going to come here you're not getting your hand and should plan accordingly

 

[stuartv]

It is a good idea to dive somewhere that requires you to set up your gear

You don't have to dive somewhere else. I went to Cozumel in April. They tried to do all my stuff for me. I told them paws off and did it myself anyway.

I did let them hold onto my BP/W overnight twice. Both times they showed up to pick me up the next time with my BP/W already installed on a tank. Both times, I had to take it off and re-do it correctly....

They also tried to do it all for me in Hawaii. I've never had any trouble talking to them politely and explaining that I would prefer to do it myself. It helps that I also generally (politely) decline to hand over my gear bag to them in the first place.

 

[Dogbowl]

It's funny how I hear many people here on SB say things like, "paws off my gear", and yet the people I've seen diving in Cozumel were fine having their gear assembled, disassembled, taken care of by the DMs. I was going to say that "paws off my gear" is an American attitude, but then realized everyone I dived with in Cozumel were Americans!

I think SB members are not necessarily representative of real world divers.