DM said "Don't worry about it".

[Diving_Parrot]

Newbie vacation diver here. We don't take dive vacations, we have been going to places where we take a vacation and a good place to throw in 4 dives or so. I got thinking about our last trip to Belize. First day out we did the touristy thing and book a combo for a snorkel to 'shark ray alley' and a dive at Hol chan.

Integrated bcd's. Cool. New to us. Just before the dive I check the releases and they don't work. Just a piece of thread hanging where I assume pull tabs should be. DM says "Don't worry about it"..ok. I reason it's only 35 ft. Hey, what could go wrong. Dive was fine with a stronger current than expected. No big deal I guess. Guy says we'll have the bcd fixed for tomorrow.

Next day I um.. had a stomach issue due to food or water and couldn't make it. My buddy said they had the same bc set out for me and the releases weren't fixed. This dive was 85 feet. I don't know that I would have been comfortable "not worrying about it".

What would one do in this situation? Practice removing the weights on the boat? Or declining the dive? I won't name the shop as I'm not looking to discredit someone's business, they were nice guys trying to earn a living.

I'm new. I simply don't know. Thanks.

 

[lv2dive]

I would ask for a weight belt. I wouldn't dive with a BC where i couldn't get rid of ditchable weights.

Note: when diving an AL80 in warm Caribbean waters I typically dive a system with no ditchable weight (BP/wing) with no additional weight needed - but I know I can swim it up from depth with no problem.

 

[Patoux01]

I simply don't need ditchable weights . YMMV, but that seems to be the most robust solution one can find.

 

[Diving_Parrot]

I'm not experienced enough to comment on how the rest of the equipment was maintained. Somebody used the back up reg because the primary seemed to have been chewed apart. I'm not posting to flame a shop. Once we were ready to go I don't think there were other bc's available on the boat.

 

[Coztick]

I'm guessing but, if they are operating their own filling station with the same regard for maintenance, a little co or oil would also be nothing to worry about...
Here's hoping they don't hurt anyone.

 

[Dizzi Lizzi]

So, other than getting a C0 detector, what visual things can can cue you into a perhaps questionable filling station. BTW CO detector is already on my to buy list.

 

[Diving_Parrot]

Guys..I have all of 14 dives..maybe I shouldn't have posted. Scuba shack at Chankanaab in Cozumel said no we don't need to see your card. Loved San Francisco and San something else. Guy at work says place I'm looking at in Cuba doesn't ask for card. Place out of San Pedro was questionable. Can I have 100 dives before I look back and judge.

I was just wondering if you do 85 feet without the release working.

 

[Marie13]

Sorry if I'm a bit forceful, but this is a hobby that can easily kill you if you're not careful. Didn't your OW class go over making sure gear is in good shape and working?

 

[undrwater]

Guys..I have all of 14 dives..maybe I shouldn't have posted.

Posting is the best thing to do. Now watch and read the thread and learn.

Were there weights in the BCD? Who packed them, and how much? You could have asked them how to remove / replace the weights. You could have asked the DM to trade for his BCD as he wasn't worried, and better trained.

Well maintained gear is one great sign of an operation that gets it, poorly maintained gear is a very clear indicator of something wrong.

If you have the contact info of that operator, at the very least, make THEM aware of this thread, and perhaps it will inspire them to improve their business.

 

[2airishuman]

What would one do in this situation? Practice removing the weights on the boat? Or declining the dive? I won't name the shop as I'm not looking to discredit someone's business, they were nice guys trying to earn a living.

I'm new. I simply don't know. Thanks.

Hello Parrot

There isn't a good answer, in the moment, of course. One alternative is that you can call the dive. That's easy to suggest for people who weren't there and didn't have to deal with the disappointment and expense. Another is that you can do exactly what you did, and go on the dive anyway with equipment known to be dodgy. Or you can try to thread the needle and make enough of a scene to get the dive op to do something about the problem, maybe by having you dive the DM's BC or something, but there's no guarantee that will work and it can be frustrating enough to spoil the experience.

I'm not going to second guess your choices in the moment.

You can bring your own gear, which is what I do, which means I have to drag it through airports and so on, but I see it as worth it. If you do not have your own gear, you can rent gear from a local dive shop near home that you trust. Most have reasonable rates for vacation rentals for people traveling.

You can also be more careful about vetting dive ops. They all have good and bad days but some of them are better than others.

At this point in my diving I rely less on ditching weight than some other divers. Readily ditchable weight does provide a safety benefit. Proper weighting (that is, no more weight than necessary) makes ditchable weight less important particularly in warm water, as does the skill of being able to swim up a kit with an empty BC, oral inflation, and being comfortable removing the kit in the water.