Diving with men

[divemistress]

A new friend, a guy, invited me to dive with him this weekend, but I'm kind of worried since I've never been diving with men buddies.

Some of the posts I've read in this section (by men!) make men divers sound like awful buddies: pushy, aggressive, bossy, air hogs, etc. I swear, they sound like a different species!

Plus I hear men buddies get freaked out by little things -- like if you don't like getting so cold that your vital organs freeze. Or if you take a few minutes to, you know, center yourself before a dive, instead of being the first person off the boat. And if they see a Tampax in your bag -- like the one you forgot to put away when your period ended last week -- they're sure they're shark bait!

So, should I give men divers a chance? Or should I tell this guy I've already got plans -- with the girls?

Thanks!

 

[chiara]

Most of my diving buddies were and still are guys.

If you trust your friend go ahead.

At the worst you'll know you need to avoid him in the future, but I wouldn't be too pessimistic, give him a chance!

How is your new furry friend?

 

[zeN||]

Why do I get this icky feeling when I read this thread? It's like you are talking about diving with a different species. Were you all raised by wolves?
Just treat us underwater the same as above water. Simple enough?
We're not gonna attract sharks, or break a nail, or start crying, or try to get you to talk about where our relationship is going. We're there for the same reason you are.

Forgive my momentary humorlessness about the subject, but this whole thing just seems so ridiculous to me. Why not worry about something else that really matters, like whether your buddy knows what he/she is doing?
I can't really put it into words why I have managed to get my knickers in such a knot over this subject. Maybe it's the generalizations that are being made.
Take this and reverse it--if a woman posted about having male dive partners and any special considerations, it wouldn't really make all that much sense, would it it?
This whole thing really is rediculous. Grow up.
These were some of the posts to my question, " Diving with women." Aint it a hoot? zeN||

 

[Walter]

Quite frankly, some men are terrible buddies. Some are terrible buddies for the reasons you listed, others for other reasons. OTOH, some of the best buddies I have are men.

I think you should go diving, it will give you a much needed break. Of course, since I've never dived in CA, I'll be jealous and will want a detailed report. Discuss your dive plan with your friend in advance and voice your concerns. Go have fun then come tell us about it.

 

[chiara]

zeN|| once bubbled...
Take this and reverse it--if a woman posted about having male dive partners and any special considerations, it wouldn't really make all that much sense, would it it?

Wait a second, she's a woman!

And she wasn't raised by wolves, despite the picture in her profile

 

[Diversauras]

You ought to reel in a bunch with this story line...

 

[ppilot]

So, should I give men divers a chance? Or should I tell this guy I've already got plans -- with the girls?

Thanks!

I'd say you shouldn't give men divers a chance. Tell the guy you've got plans with the girls. Maybe you can bake cookies or something!

 

[diverbrian]

divemistress once bubbled...
A new friend, a guy, invited me to dive with him this weekend, but I'm kind of worried since I've never been diving with men buddies.

Some of the posts I've read in this section (by men!) make men divers sound like awful buddies: pushy, aggressive, bossy, air hogs, etc. I swear, they sound like a different species!

Plus I hear men buddies get freaked out by little things -- like if you don't like getting so cold that your vital organs freeze. Or if you take a few minutes to, you know, center yourself before a dive, instead of being the first person off the boat. And if they see a Tampax in your bag -- like the one you forgot to put away when your period ended last week -- they're sure they're shark bait!

So, should I give men divers a chance? Or should I tell this guy I've already got plans -- with the girls?

Thanks!

Not all of us are that way. Some of us are as cute and cuddly as your new friend. We just get that way around other men, LOL. We need women around to slow our gentle, sensitive side....

Yeah, right! Now, I have a dive buddy that I am normally first in the water with and last back on the boat. We don't push each other, that is just the way that we are. We are first in because we are not air hogs and want to be considerate to the rest of the boat. It is no fun for the rest of the divers to sit on the boat waiting for us to come back up. If my dive buddy wanted to wait, no biggie, I mean it.

As to the left-over hygenie products, I wouldn't worry about shark bait as much as "I wonder what multiple uses she has for that. It is great for putting a shine on a pair of shoes, for example. I will have to ask her. " Shark bait: no. "Ingenuity factor": yes.

Most of the women that I have met are bossier than me. My teeth don't get sharpened unless someone really wrongs me. This isn't likely to happen on a dive. If it did, I would be having such a good time diving that I wouldn't care.

Definitely dive with the guy if you want to. The worst that can happen is the guy learns something. (And spend some time with the puppy too.)

 

[divemistress]

of unclear writing. (middle of the night and all.....)

i will edit that yucky-sounding part for clarity.



DM

Edited to add: Grrr. Rrrr. I can't get back into that post. Rewriting here:

And if they see a Tampax in your bag -- the new one (look, guys, still in the wrapper) that you keep in case of emergency -- they're sure they're shark bait!

 

[ZenSquirrel]

divemistress once bubbled...
A new friend, a guy, invited me to dive with him this weekend, but I'm kind of worried since I've never been diving with men buddies.

Some of the posts I've read in this section (by men!) make men divers sound like awful buddies: pushy, aggressive, bossy, air hogs, etc. I swear, they sound like a different species!

Plus I hear men buddies get freaked out by little things -- like if you don't like getting so cold that your vital organs freeze. Or if you take a few minutes to, you know, center yourself before a dive, instead of being the first person off the boat. And if they see a Tampax in your bag -- like the one you forgot to put away when your period ended last week -- they're sure they're shark bait!

So, should I give men divers a chance? Or should I tell this guy I've already got plans -- with the girls?

Thanks!

I'm sure that there are people like that but there are people that are not. Is your friend a pushy, aggressive, bossy person when he is on dry land? If he is not, then it is likely that he will not be like that under water.

I have greater cold tolerance than my dive buddies and respect their wishes when they need to get out of cold water. Hypothermia is bad news anytime, I wouldn't want to deal with it underwater. So there is an example of a male that respects people getting cold.

I think air consumption is more affected by physical fitness and efficency of swimming than by lung size and/or gender. I'm a competitive swimmer (very efficient in the water) and when my female dive buddie is surfacing with 500 psi, I still have 1000+! Part of the problem is that she just sucks air. I also come up with more air than my male dive instructor that has been diving for many, many years.

My vote, if you like him enough on land to call him a friend then you will probably be able to dive with him too. People don't often change their stripes.