How to ensure my safety when there is no guide dive with me?

[Clammy]

Hi thefirststep2000,

You are in San Diego? Although I'm not going to give you suggestions on how to dive without a guide, I can point you to a group of people that will help you out in SD. I actually dive down there quite often as well. There is a group in SD called Powers Scuba that is organized via Meetup.com here
Power Scuba (aka Scuba Diving in San Diego County ) (San Diego, CA) - Meetup.com
You can sign up and they are just a group of people that organize get togethers for diving. NOT instruction or anything official!! However, they recently started organizing dives where Veteran divers take a newer diver and try to help them and get them comfortable in the water. Though you are not really a newbie diver, you are new to the way we dive. This group of people (myself included though I'm not in SD) have many members that would be more than willing to help you out, dive with you, and get you to a point where you'd be comfortable without a guide and just a buddy.

I highly recommend that you join this group and just show up to one of their dives and talk to them. You will find that there are many people willing to help you out! Maybe I'll see you at one of the dives!

Good luck!

P.S. Having a compass and learning nav skills is always useful. The boats in SD tend to go out to the wrecks a lot where a compass is useless but then you have a wreck to follow!!

 

[boulderjohn]

E But I would not be too hard on those who responded somewhat harshly about the need for additional training. Better to be honest and make the diver evaluate of the need for that, than to read about it in "Accidents and Incidents".

I was not aware that honesty required ridicule.

 

[merxlin]

I was not aware that honesty required ridicule.

It doesn't. Hence the "Except for a couple exceptions" part of my post. However, there was a tone (perhaps only in my head) in some of the responses that lumped the negative/unhelpful posts in with those that suggested the OP may be under trained, versus it being OK to need a guide. I don't see the suggestion that they get more instruction being negative. This diver could dive their entire life on guided dives. That's not for me, but maybe it is for them. It was the comment about the cost of having a guide that added to the discussion. They want the perceived assurance and safety of a dive guide but didn't want the cost. Again, personally I don't trust my diving to anyone else. Short term answer is to help them find a cheap guide. But the only way I see around needing a guide is to become self sufficient, and that will only come with [-]more[/-] better training.

 

[fnfalman]

I was not aware that honesty required ridicule.

And there's also a big difference between a new diver asking for assistance/pointers instead of whining about how a boat or a charter doesn't have guided tours and how they felt their lives were threatened because no DM/instructors were there to hold their hands.

I found a major difference for scuba diving in United States than in Asia is that DM in United States won't get into the water take care of divers. All the divers in United States are asked to get into the water by themselves, no DM would take care of the divers underwater and lead the team.

I'm sorry, but this paragraph put me off on the wrong foot.

The rest of the OP's questions were entirely legitimate.

 

[stadevene]

I don't know for sure, however when I read the post I get the impression the OP is not a native English speaker so the choice of words may not be the best. I don't think the OP means take care as in babysit or nursemaid, I think the OP means take care as in be a dive guide.

My analogy is walking around an unfamiliar city. You can generally figure out where you're going and how to get from point A to B however you might not take the best route and wander into an area where you shouldn't go. Having a local along with you would ensure you avoid the street with the crack alley half way down it and instead take you past the little known park or the hidden church with really cool stained glass. With time all it may take is a trip to the tourist office where someone will pull out a map, circle some interesting things to see, and put an X over the area you should avoid and you're ok to be on your own.

It's the same with diving. Tell me to look for the cut in the reef on the left about 10 minutes into the dive where there is a cleaning station and tell me about the cavern structure which has a dead end, narrows greatly after the entrance, and should be avoided by all but the most experienced. Depending on the conditions of the location, this may be sufficient. If the dive is more challenging, then it may be worth an additional $40 /dive or worth waiting on doing once more experience is gained.

 

[DevonDiver]

IMHO, the OP's question is completely valid and applicable to a broad proportion of divers globally.

I've worked in the dive industry in Asia for several years. Certainly in places I've worked/vacationed like Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Maldives, Vietnam and Indonesia - it is common practice for every dive to be led/guided. In some resorts, it is even standard practice for staff to assemble and check divers equipment.

This is because dive operations wish to ensure the safety of their divers, provide superior customer service - whilst offering expert in-water services in respect of locating and identifying the local marine life to customers.

Sadly, for those divers who only dive in locations like these, it becomes almost inevitable that many (most?) succumb to the 'sheep' mentality and abdocate all responsibility for dive planning, navigation and general awareness to the dive guide.

In the worst instances, divers certified in these locations can be trained by an instructor who has an expectation that the divers concerned would only ever be diving in such a 'sheep' way.

Thus far, the replies on this thread seem very US centric....but those posters need to appreciate that truly independant diving (as it is supposed to be!) only tends to occur commonly in 'home' countries, not in the overseas vacation market.

That is certainly the case in the UK, where certified divers are far more likely to book spaces on a charter diving boat - with no DM supervision. I guess it is the same in the USA. I think it is a good thing in many respects, but also recognise that standards and expectations vary around the globe.

My best advice to any diver who primarily (or only) dives in an environment where they are 'shepherded' by a local dive guide, is to remember that they should maintain personal responsibility for the dives that they carry out. Resist the temptation to be lazy and allow the dive guide to dictate the dive to them...and be prepared to remind dive guides that they are certified to dive independantly and without supervision. As such, you should remind the dive guide that you desire to plan and conduct the dive independantly -but, of course, would wish to follow their lead in respect of their expert local knowledge.

Understand the difference between utilising 'local knowledge' and the temptation to utilise the dive guide as a shepherd/baby sitter.

 

[BettyRubble]

Well being the newbie on these boards, I've been lurking here but not posting. Now that everyone has beat each other to a pulp, I'm going to add my 2 cents which is worth about half that so take it for what it is.

We new divers are FREAKING OUT about 99% of the time.

We not only feel incompetent we usually KNOW we are incompetent.

I suspect the OP is still at this stage of his diving.

I suspect this because when I headed to ITK for my dives 10-19, my greatest concern (aside from sharks) was being paired with someone equally as inexperienced. I was planning to hire a guide for all of my dives at $50 a pop. Because 2 newbies almost guarantees an incident. But fortuantely, some very kind SB'rs took me underwing, dove with me, and gave me confidence.

So yes, we newbies are idiots. The only way we are going to become less idiotic is if we dive more. The only way we are going to dive more SAFELY is to ask stupid questions.

So please try to keep that in mind when we idiots post in the new scuba sections. I rolled my eyes too when I read his post as I had the same gut reaction - here comes a future A&I , but I reminded myself what I felt like on dive #10 headed to the Ocean when I've only been a quarry girl. As some of you will recall, I asked my stupid questions. If we scare away the idiots, they may show up on your next dive vacation and be your insta-buddy - without the advantage of having received some good advice before hand.

Ok, I'll step off my 'leave the newbie alone' soap box now. Besides, I see a pop tart that needs my attention.

 

[ZzzKing]

When I read the original post I felt sorry for the guy. If I felt that way about diving (fear and lack of self-confidence) I don't think I would continue to do it.

 

[BettyRubble]

When I read the original post I felt sorry for the guy. If I felt that way about diving (fear and lack of self-confidence) I don't think I would continue to do it.

I still have moments like that . . It takes everything in me to suck it up, not panic, and get on with the diving. But for those few moments of nirvana when I don't want to ever come up for air again . . . it's worth every second of anxiety.

 

[fnfalman]

Well being the newbie on these boards, I've been lurking here but not posting. Now that everyone has beat each other to a pulp, I'm going to add my 2 cents which is worth about half that so take it for what it is.

We new divers are FREAKING OUT about 99% of the time.

We not only feel incompetent we usually KNOW we are incompetent.

I suspect the OP is still at this stage of his diving.

So true!!! It wasn't that long ago that every time I jump into the water, I have a slight freak-out episode and every time I surfaced, I was too eager to pull the mask off my face and suck in fresh air, and hurrying back to the boat to get out of the water.

HOWEVER, there's a difference between recognizing your shortcomings and feeling apprehensive due to lack of experience and skills (that's natural and is a good check for the foolhardy types), and whine about lack of babysitting practices by certain boat charters.

Dive vacation charters/resorts in said countries are geared toward the vacation divers and they operate in a different manners than dive charters in non-typical vacation spots. The divers who dive regularly in the US Pacific Coast, Alaska, frozen lakes, the North Sea, the English Channel, etc., tend to be the more enthusiastic, devoted types who go out of their ways to achieve better diving skills and independence.

A vacation diver in one week or two weeks can slam out the same number of dives that would take me a year to perform. BUT I'm doing it twice a month, and I visit Scubaboard for information, I socialize with other enthusiastic divers, I read scuba technique books, etc. I spend some of my free times going through my memories about the dives, trying to determine what I did wrong, what I did right and how my equipment operate so that I can better myself.

And there lies the crux - the difference in mentality between the once-a-year vacation diver and the regular dive.