New Dive Site naming trend :(

[sharky60]

I've noticed lately that dive ops are starting to call dive sites by different names than what are the "common" or "mapped" names of the sites.

... is this a marketing ploy to "personalize" these sites to the dive op's customers?

It's a little confusing to those who don't dive with that particular op. Let's try and keep with the program folks.


... and while I'm at it, learn your hand signals for crying out loud!

 

[NDL_Diver]

... and while I'm at it, learn your hand signals for crying out loud!

I never learned that hand signal.

 

[northernone]

Some thoughts towards the discussion. I'm interested!

Seems a common thing to do to tourists most tour guide situations from jungle hikes to walking tours.

I attribute it to:
1. Ignorance. Easier to make up incorrect information than to learn the commonly used ones.
2. Marketing. Being able to go to somewhere "no one else goes" And makes it difficult to price shop between products.
3. A lack of standardization or consensus.

Considering cozumel dive sites are all mainly one wall and didn't have dozens of names for each little section of it 50 years ago. (Ask the old timers still around) I suggest it might be #3 with a splash of #1 and #2.

Cameron

 

[flyboy08]

I never learned that hand signal.

Rapidly open and closing your fist with the palm facing out

 

[ggunn]

I never learned that hand signal.

My wife invented a hand signal the night we were diving Paradise Reef and a cattle boat dumped about 20 novice divers right on top of us. There was much flailing and kicking up sand as they all tried at once to get a look at the crab, or whatever, that their DM was pointing at. We withdrew and watched the melee from a distance. My wife made a circle with her thumb and index finger of her left hand and jammed all four fingers of her right hand into the circle.

I got it immediately.

 

[CajunDiva]

I got it immediately.

Does it start with cluster???

 

[ggunn]

Does it start with cluster???

Yes

 

[mcpowell]

My wife invented a hand signal the night we were diving Paradise Reef and a cattle boat dumped about 20 novice divers right on top of us. There was much flailing and kicking up sand as they all tried at once to get a look at the crab, or whatever, that their DM was pointing at. We withdrew and watched the melee from a distance. My wife made a circle with her thumb and index finger of her left hand and jammed all four fingers of her right hand into the circle.

I got it immediately.

I don’t think she invented that hand signal, but she did use it to really good purpose.

 

[ggunn]

I don’t think she invented that hand signal, but she did use it to really good purpose.

She did invent it, though she may not have been the first to do so.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Re-- Name changes'
In SoCal it has been common practice to change the names of diving locations.
In Orange county where recreational diving began there is a cove that in my life time has been called
Horse pastures ( there were horses pastured on the cliffs)
Scotsman's cove
Now Reef Point state park

At Catalina many locations have had the same names for generations
Farnsworth banks named after the discoverer George Farnsworth
Arnie's reef named after a dive boat captain Arnie Lancaster about 25 or 30 years ago- Arnie repeatedly returned to the same reef so divers and I would assume fisherman began calling it Arnie's

I discovered a reef off south Laguna - My private hunting grounds for 20 years - the location was discovered.and was published in the California Dive guide and is now known to divers as "Millers reef" - Who know what it will be identified as in another 25 years?

Re - UW Signaling
suggest reading www.portagequarry.com "Sea Sabres Signaling system"
You will discover that SoCal dive club developed the first UW signaling system for recreational divers in 1954 which was later adapted by USN several years later

It was the basis - now there has been many modifications Like @ggunn wife developed which are not in the main stream of diving-- and I suspect there will be many many more UW signals developed in the near abd distant future.

Sam Miller, 111
@flyboy08