Divers in Hurry

[Buoyant1]

The best dives I've had in the Keys were with DM's/guides that took their time, and kept to YOUR pace and not theirs! (seeing as I was PAYING them) A few times the "guide" seemed to be just swimming through the coral heads and not taking a pace that was conducive to taking photos or just SEEING what was there to be seen!

On one occasion, I was paired up with another guy with a camera, and in between dives we approached our guide and asked if he could slow it up a bit so we could take pictures. He semi-complied, but needless to say he didn't get the tip he would have!

I dove with BlueWater Divers in Key Largo (With Brent actually) And he kept the best pace, and we SAW a lot during the dive! (as my pictures indicate!) And it made a much more enjoyable dive to boot! (and that tank seemed to last FOREVER!)

Slow and steady! that's the way to do it!

 

[dive_lover88]

Okay dive lover. Why don't you suggest what you would expect from your tour guide.
1. Watch you back and protect you from injuring yourself
2. Ensure that you remain with the group
3. Show you interesting stuff and explain what you saw while on boat
4. Provide data to fill your log
Please feel free to response. I will definitely not start a war.

Watching my back and protecting me from getting hurt is my own problem. 2&3 is what i expect a DM to do. Since i'm an inexperienced diver, i would obviously need to be within the group until at least i m more competent and have more experience.

And also due my inexperience, i would also need someone who have more experience to point out the finer things in diving and in the sea. That's how i learn from those who have more experiences and i would do the same for divers who are new in the future if i become a DM.

 

[TSandM]

I think people jet around for a number of reasons. First off, they may not know that what you are showing them is rare or unusual, or they may not find it exciting. Second, many people have enormous trouble staying put -- they need to swim continuously in order to stay balanced. Third, there are some people with the "I need to see as much in 50 minutes as I can!"

I think you can do a couple of things: One is to ask the group you've been assigned to lead what THEIR goals are for the dive. You could put the question this way: "As a guide, what I like best to do is to take the dive slowly and really spend time finding the most interesting sea life for you to look at, but if that's not what the group wants to do, I'd like to know it before we go down, so I can give you the best dive I can." There you've SUGGESTED going slowly and looking at life, but you've given the group the out to reject that if they don't want to dive that way.

Second, during the dive briefing, talk about some of the creatures you're going to see and show pictures. That way, when you do find something cool, the customers recognize it and understand why it's exciting.

You can't do much about the buoyancy issues, though

 

[Rick Murchison]

I'd expect to make sure everybody is on the boat before it leaves (at least everybody that showed up), give a good dive briefing, make sure everybody is back before the boat leaves, know how to contact emergency services if needed, do CPR and first aid, and cook great hotdogs, and fix bunches of minor problems.

Terry

Excellent points.
Rick

 

[Drewski]

...I think you can do a couple of things: One is to ask the group you've been assigned to lead what THEIR goals are for the dive. You could put the question this way: "As a guide, what I like best to do is to take the dive slowly and really spend time finding the most interesting sea life for you to look at, but if that's not what the group wants to do, I'd like to know it before we go down, so I can give you the best dive I can." There you've SUGGESTED going slowly and looking at life, but you've given the group the out to reject that if they don't want to dive that way.

Second, during the dive briefing, talk about some of the creatures you're going to see and show pictures. That way, when you do find something cool, the customers recognize it and understand why it's exciting.(

TSandM is right on the mark here guys.

When I ran boats, I initially thought that people would want to plan what THEY wanted to see on the bottom. The truth, however, is that new divers, or divers NEW to where you are taking them, sometimes want to see the "forest" and in the process never get to see any of the "trees" (i.e., in trying to see EVERYTHING they actually see NOTHING)

Talking with your group about what they would like to see and/or do is an excellent way to help them focus on the highlights of the dive. If you have multiple groups and DMs, this process can also lead to better pairings. One DM can run the "grand tour" while another can focus on particular features of the dive. If you match diver expectations with this, it will increase diver satisfaction. It also makes it easier for you as the DM because it decreases the likelihood of groups wanting to split up (if you want to prevent that).

Another approach is building in stopping points during the dive. For example, if your guide plan is to swim 200 meters along a reef line, pick 2 or 3 points to stop along the line and point something out. Stopping points with large and recognizable physical features work well and they can also serve as "collection points" for getting a strung out group of divers back together again. Brief these "recognition" points during the pre-dive and make sure people know where they are and what to do when they get there.

Of course, no matter what they best intentions are, people sometimes just scatter. It's the nature of the beast...

Just my thoughts...

 

[Chuffy]

I think people jet around for a number of reasons. First off, they may not know that what you are showing them is rare or unusual, or they may not find it exciting. Second, many people have enormous trouble staying put -- they need to swim continuously in order to stay balanced. Third, there are some people with the "I need to see as much in 50 minutes as I can!"

I think you can do a couple of things: One is to ask the group you've been assigned to lead what THEIR goals are for the dive. You could put the question this way: "As a guide, what I like best to do is to take the dive slowly and really spend time finding the most interesting sea life for you to look at, but if that's not what the group wants to do, I'd like to know it before we go down, so I can give you the best dive I can." There you've SUGGESTED going slowly and looking at life, but you've given the group the out to reject that if they don't want to dive that way.

Second, during the dive briefing, talk about some of the creatures you're going to see and show pictures. That way, when you do find something cool, the customers recognize it and understand why it's exciting.

You can't do much about the buoyancy issues, though

When I worked in Thailand we would do this. We would divide the groups into matched experience, air consumption and interest. I would say that it was their dive and it was up to them what we did. If they had a particular interest I would taylor the dive to their needs.

I had one customer who's father was a marine biologist who wrote books on crustations. As a result he was interested in them. He had finished his OW the day before and for 50mins the 2 of us studied goby shrimps and hermit crabs. We completely ignored the rays and eels as that isn't what he was interested in. He was so thrilled that he had seen them in the wild which even his father hadn't done!! The same dive would have bored others riged.

On other occasions with really experienced divers I have just followed them during the dive to make sure we got back to the boat. (I had to be in the water with them due to liability reasons etc). They were experienced buddies and they did their own air checks etc. They didn't want a guide as the enjoyed the exploration aspect of it.

When customers were around for a few days or weeks we would keep the same DMs as it helped everybody relax and know each others style. Briefings were easier and they could relax more as they knew and trusted 'their' DM.

When we were assessing DMTs to lead customers, the most common mistake they make is to go too fast. I think that is why most people develop a 'lazy kick' style of finning. It is so much easier to go slowly, when you barely kick.

 

[Nemrod]

Why can't the DM guide those who want to be guided to look at the three square feet of bottom around the anchor and let the other divers decide for themselves how fast, where and when and what interests them? Some people do not want to be guided. Some people are more interested in Vistas than the little eel under the rock. Some are more interested in the forest, some more in the trees.

I don't like guided dives, it always results in a bad time. Your right, people are paying to do what they want and I would not want to be hanging back waiting on the person with the magnifying glass or the photog who is wallowing in the sea fans killing them.

I don't want to be guided, fast or slow. N

 

[Charlie99]

I often buddy up with relatively inexperienced divers in places like the Florida Keys. Many of them need to keep swimming fairly fast in order to maintain depth. If they stop swimming, they sink, so they just keep swimming along.

They are generally amazed at the sudden reduction in their air consumption when I point this out to them and they consciously make an effort to pause and adjust the amount of air in their BCD.

In most circumstances, if you are working hard at diving, then you aren't doing it right. :banana:

 

[Scotty g]

Apart from some great points already mentioned about expecting DMs to know the site etc, I really think that it's also party the divers responsibility to mention their intentions and interests too.

Like Nemrod just said, ok so some people dont like to be guided and i think thats fine, but i wouldn't expect a DM to know my interests unless i discussed it before hand.

Scotty

 

[kittyjg]

As TSandM stated, the DM can suggest going slow and seeing marine life that he points out that my inexperienced eyes would miss. I would normally go for that on a guided tour every time, especially if I have not been to that location before.

It is also possible that new divers and those new to the area don't know what they want to see because they don't know what there is. Another reason a suggestion may be a good idea.

I've been on a few DM-led tours that were way too fast and my buddy and I got left behind. I ended up seeing nothing and using a lot of air.