Inconsiderate Divers

[redseal]

Hi Everyone!
My twin daughters and I just returned from our first ocean/boat dive experiences, in Key West and in Grand Cayman. I know it's been said before by many others, but diving in Grand Cayman has got to be as good if not better than heaven (I'll wait to find out).

On our dive boat were 21 divers and three DMs. My girls and I were assigned to a DM along with 4 others: a sister and brother about 20 years old, and two middle-aged guys who spent the entire trip out to the dive sites putting on and adjusting all of their $$$$$ gear. {The rest of us had on swim suits, a few with skins). When the captain explained that the first dive would be a group dive at Sand Chute along a wall to a max of 60 -80 feet, and therefore would be a maximum 30 minute dive (RDP shows 30 minutes to be the NDL for 80 feet), one of these "experts" asked him, in front of the whole group:"We are two very experienced divers with many dives under our belts; they (pointing to me and mine)are inexperienced divers. Will we be required to ascend when they run out of air because they are inexperienced, or will they be allowed to return to the surface while we finish the dive we have paid for?"

Before we had a chance to be embarrassed, the captain calmly replied:"This is a dive to a maximum of 80 feet. If you go to 85 feet, that's a 90 foot dive, and then you only have 20 minutes. Either way, we leave for our second site in 35 minutes."

We then watched these two "very experienced divers" from our vantage point at 60 feet (my girls are junior open water and restricted to 60 or above) bumping into and kicking coral with their fins. At one point, experienced diver #2 was seen stirring up the sand, meaning he was clearly below the rest of the group at 80 feet. My daughters were aghast.

My question, I guess, is: was there anything we should have done or said to the DMs or captain regarding their disregard for the coral, etc. It was very disturbing to us to see such poor control and the damage caused ( he kicked a whole fan coral right off without even apparently noticing). Our LDS owner/instructor had told our class early on that the one thing he emphasizes is bouyancy control and position awareness among his students and instructors; we felt like we had more control than the "experienced" divers in our small group.

On a positive note, we did get to dive the Doc Poulson, a neat wreck at 57feet. All-in-all, we're already looking at destinations for our next vacation!!!

 

[The Chairman]

was probably the best thing to do... so kudos to you!!!

Make sure you and your daughters learn from the mistakes of others. In case of damage to the reef, I would discuss this with one of the dive masters, the boat captain, or the offending party PRIVATELY. We need to protect our reefs, but we don't need to be jerks about it. Counsel with your daughters (as I do with my son) about how some act and how you want them to react in those situations. Check the thread on braggers for some additional tips on this.

 

[JustAddWater]

Though it must have been EXTREMELY difficult not saying anything to the divers, I think you turned it into a learning experience for your daughters on how not to behave or dive. In agreement with NetDoc, a word to the captain would have been appropriate.

 

[DuckDive]

Glad you enjoyed your trip!

If you witness somebody causing damage to a reef, due to a general lack of awareness/bouyancy, you must take action. As the others have said, mostly, a quiet word to the captain/dm is in order.

Personally, if I see somebody with a general lack of control actually break something off and it looks like they are unaware of it, I will make a point of picking it up and giving it to them underwater, if possible. This generally leads to a discussion back on the boat/shore in which we don't become friends. I don't care! How they feel about me is not as important as getting the message across.

Mark.

 

[Scubamedicjoe]

personally you wear right , they wear hum jerks i prombly would of picked it up handed it to them and reported it to the divemaster
people seems to forget the sea's wont be hear forever if we dont take care of it and it seems they had a lack of respect for same

 

[redseal]

Have talked with a couple of friends since returning from the Caribbean. All agree that these "experts" were experts in their minds only. We all agree that putting them on the defensive might have led to an ugly confrontation in front of impressionable kids. Suffice it to say I was very proud of my childrens' recognition of how important it was to watch our own performance and protect the local marine environment. THAT doesn't make up for the damage but it does hearten me to know that they will try very hard not to be an ignorant diver.

 

[Ranz]

Tell your daughters that is how NOT to dive

 

[DiveTub]

I would have thumped the guy as soon as he got out of the water

 

[astrofunk]

Redseal, your story struck a chord. I had a similar experience on a dive boat in Kona, and to this day I regret not doing something about it.

Still, though I agree that a word or two with the offenders might have served some purpose, I think in the end our best bet is to lead by quiet example. Unfortunately, the clueless idiots in your dive group were probably too oblivious to watch and learn from the conscientious habits of others. However, your daughters will notice the difference between you and them, and at the end of the day, the world will have two capable divers to (hopefully) balance two boneheads. Let's consider it our responsibility to ensure that the good guys ultimately out-number the bad.

Keep it up! Your daughters are lucky kids!

 

[Welshman]

They sound as expert as the diver who knocked the reg out of my mouth once with his thrashing hands, once with his fins, had to be sent up early by the DM because his buoyancy control was so poor he used air at an alarming rate, and when back on board said he was going for DM and then Instructor!!!