PSA for those doing vacation Guided Boat Dives

[divermike1011]

Devon: This was a case of this dive shop owner calling me and saying "If you want to work tomorrow meet me at the shop at 0630, you'll meet your divers on the boat." Less then ideal, but fairly typical out here. When I work for shops as opposed to independently this is often the case. It isn't ideal, but it is the current reality of diving out here.

Michael

 

[Pauly854]

I recently had my first experience with group diving, and found that I do not like it either, but for a different reason as most. We did not have a DM guided dive, but were a group with one flag on a drift dive. The reason that I did not care for it is cutting BT for all because of air suckers. In this instance, my son and I were the air suckers. I would surface with approx 500psi more than my son, and everyone else with about 500 more than me. In a perfect world, my son and I could have surfaced, and everyone else continue the dive. There were no issues with anyone else on the dives, they all surfaced and there was not a single complaint. But this did not change the fact that I felt bad about us cutting their dive short.

 

[flots am]

Here's the deal guys: If you're paying me to take you diving and I determine the conditions warrant a group dive the fact you have more air, or you needing to get one more picture does not give you the right to blow off a signal to end the dive. It's for your safety.

I guess I'm going to have to be the odd man out here. If I pay for a dive, I'll be back on the surface before I run out of gas or no deco time. Not when the DM gets tired of being underwater.

The first time the DM thumbs the dive early, I'd probably come up, assuming something was wrong. The second time, I'd ignore him, finish my dive and come up when I need/want to.

Here's the deal guys: If you're paying me to take you diving and I determine the conditions warrant a group dive . . .

I have a pretty good imagination, but can't come up with even a single condition that would warrant a group dive. A group dive is inherently less safe and always more stressful than the same dive with a qualified buddy.

Additionally, although you're probably a good diver, as a tourist, I have no way of knowing that you're any more proficient or responsible than some random stranger. Certifications and number of dives are irrelevant. Some of the dumbest actions I've seen under water were performed by guys with thousands of dives. I trust my buddy because I've been diving with him for more than a decade. Everybody else is a "question mark"

flots.

 

[gcarter]

Although I would personally not dive with Ana - being far from solo diver capability - I don't see what the issue with her position is. If the boat insists that on paper she be buddied up but is ok if in reality she is not, and if her paper buddy is ok with going solo, where is she doing something wrong?

So long as if I were put forward as her buddy and I declined the opportunity to go solo, if the boat would instead pair her with someone who is comfortable with that, Where is the problem?

I think people are (hopefully inadvertantly) seeing what they expect to see rather than what she actually wrote.

*Edit*

For clarity, I do not see anywhere where she has indicated that she is blowing off any rules that she has agreed to. She has negotiated a set of rules for her dive that is different from the boat norm, that is all.

 

[divermike1011]

I'm bailing as well. Thank you all who posted, even those whose opinions I don't agree with -- it provided thought-provoking debate. As this is rapidly devolving I think this might be a good place for us all to sign off.

Michael

 

[TSandM]

I've only once in my diving life had the experience of looking for an instabuddy. Two very nice people agreed to let me dive with them, knowing virtually nothing about me. I thought that was very generous. I didn't know that their habit was to dive completely without regard to one another (or anyone else) and the whole experience was horrible.

Ana, I think getting on a boat where the operator has told you he requires that people dive in buddy pairs (and therefore, anyone ELSE booking the boat expects to dive as a buddy) and then informing your instabuddy that you intend to execute what amounts to a solo dive, is very inconsiderate. I would be completely nonplussed by having someone tell me that, and I would politely excuse myself and go to the representative of the dive op and pitch a fit. Not every diver has the backbone I have; less experienced people may well blink and agree, on the assumption that this is common behavior, which it is NOT. (Now, whether your agreed-upon buddy, once in the water, behaves in any way differently from what you do, is another question.)

If I were to be on a boat by myself, and get paired up with someone with very different experience and skill (not to mention gas consumption), I'd be disappointed, but I would abide by the implied contract to behave as a dive buddy. Anything else is a form of default on a contract, in my opinion.

 

[DevonDiver]

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[Frosty]

DSivermike-sucks to be in your shoes some days I guess. On one hand you knew the divers were knuckleheads on the other they paid to dive. One one hand two divers had specifically requested guidance on the other the LDS and captain requested you keep the other two in check. You really were on a hiding to nothing weren't ya?
I could see so many ways that coulda turned pearshaped bigtime.
What would I have done in your shoes-wheew I dunno -the only possible safeish senario was you doing 4 dives-2 teams of three --not safe for you though.

 

[DevonDiver]

Devon: This was a case of this dive shop owner calling me and saying "If you want to work tomorrow meet me at the shop at 0630, you'll meet your divers on the boat." Less then ideal, but fairly typical out here. When I work for shops as opposed to independently this is often the case. It isn't ideal, but it is the current reality of diving out here.

Yes, I can see the problem. Would those dive shops prevent you from insisting that your/their clients adhered to Safe Diving Practices (or whatever equivalent document was issued by the Agency they provide courses for)?

I'd suggest getting your customers to sign that document. If the dive centre objected to you doing that, then ask them for that objection/prohibition in writing.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/391521-safe-diving-practices-yes-no.html

 

[vladimir]

I'd suggest getting your customers to sign that document. If the dive centre objected to you doing that, then ask them for that objection/prohibition in writing.

Whereupon they'll find another freelance divemaster.