Jersey
Contributor
Hope she learned it's OK to call any dive at any time - on the deck, at splash, on the way down. Sounds like he may never learn much.
Recipe for Trouble: Pressuring a Diver to Make a Dive
- Thread starter Mark Ingrassia
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Is that taught in OW classes today? If not, it should be. I didn't learn about it until I started looking into tech diving. As I understand it, it has its origins in tech diving. But it clearly should be emphasized in every OW class. I also recall my Rescue course discussing peer pressure, but I don't recall that being discussed in my OW course, either.
The story of the girl who called her own OW checkout dive is one I'm going to remember.
My instructors made sure to talk about peer pressure as well as telling us you can thumb a dive at any time.
frndrfoe
Contributor
Hoag
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When I was on my AOW Course, we got out to the spot where we were going to do the night dive (Black Bart near Panama City FL) and the boat was being tossed around fairly violently. The dive master jumped in the water to tie the boat off on the wreck that we were diving on and when he got back to the surface he yelled that at depth there was an "insane ripping current". I looked at my instructor and called off the dive right then. I thought he'd be annoyed that the boat went all the way out there. Instead, he said that he was proud that I made the call and that I probably learned more that night than I would have if we continued with the dive. We did the night dive the next week in Vortex Springs.
A few years later, I was doing a trip to dive in the Cenotes in Mexico. The dive guide stated as one of the "rules" of Cenote diving that they insist on was that we stay together as a group, and that "anybody can call off any dive at any time for any reason" and the only question that will be asked is "Are you OK?"
A few years later, I was doing a trip to dive in the Cenotes in Mexico. The dive guide stated as one of the "rules" of Cenote diving that they insist on was that we stay together as a group, and that "anybody can call off any dive at any time for any reason" and the only question that will be asked is "Are you OK?"
Damselfish
Contributor
I was on a boat once with a teenage girl, her 2 brothers, and the DM/captain. The girl didn't want to dive for whatever reason, and her brothers were nagging her to go and just wouldn't stop. Captain wasn't speaking up, so I said to them it's really not cool or safe to nag someone to dive when they obviously don't want to go. She seemed instantly relieved and the guys shut up. The captain was nodding and clearly happy I had said something, though I wish he'd seen fit to do it himself.
She did decide to do the second dive and was fine.
She did decide to do the second dive and was fine.
[QUOTE="A few years later, I was doing a trip to dive in the Cenotes in Mexico. The dive guide stated as one of the "rules" of Cenote diving that they insist on was that we stay together as a group, and that "anybody can call off any dive at any time for any reason" and the only question that will be asked is "Are you OK?"[/QUOTE]
First I have no issue with people thumbing a dive when they don't feel comfortable with it for any reason. Safety is the most important factor in this. However I think about this quote. If I were a paying customer, and went down with 10 divers and a DM, and one of the divers got claustrophobic and thumbed it after 5 minutes and all other 9 divers had to cut the dive short I would not be happy. I am sure they dive operator didn't specify this at the time of booking and only during the brief. I think in that case the dive operation should place 2 DMs in the water so that one could handle the situation.
First I have no issue with people thumbing a dive when they don't feel comfortable with it for any reason. Safety is the most important factor in this. However I think about this quote. If I were a paying customer, and went down with 10 divers and a DM, and one of the divers got claustrophobic and thumbed it after 5 minutes and all other 9 divers had to cut the dive short I would not be happy. I am sure they dive operator didn't specify this at the time of booking and only during the brief. I think in that case the dive operation should place 2 DMs in the water so that one could handle the situation.
gfaith
Contributor
@luscioman The Cenote dives in Mexico require a full cave diver as the guide, and only 4 divers on each dive. While they are not exactly cave diving they are very close. We dove one that was a very sawtooth dive and one of the divers had ear issues so we called the dive as soon as possible.. I was not mad at all..
On that last point, keep in mind that it is often possible to hire a private DM/guide. If you are concerned about not getting your money's worth should another diver invoke his right to call the dive, then hire a private DM. If you are trying to be frugal, you have to take your chances.
Also, it could be YOU calling the dive. You may feel healthy and have no claustrophobia issues, but who knows what might happen. Even a healthy diver can suddenly feel sick or whatever. The knowledge that I could call the dive should I suddenly feel sick or something, and not upset my fellow divers, would give me peace of mind. Heck, a dive op should charge EXTRA for that peace of mind.
Conversely, consider a hypothetical dive op that gives a discount under the provision that nobody is allowed to call the dive early! Would you want to dive with such a dive op?
Also, it could be YOU calling the dive. You may feel healthy and have no claustrophobia issues, but who knows what might happen. Even a healthy diver can suddenly feel sick or whatever. The knowledge that I could call the dive should I suddenly feel sick or something, and not upset my fellow divers, would give me peace of mind. Heck, a dive op should charge EXTRA for that peace of mind.
Conversely, consider a hypothetical dive op that gives a discount under the provision that nobody is allowed to call the dive early! Would you want to dive with such a dive op?On that last point, keep in mind that it is often possible to hire a private DM/guide. If you are concerned about not getting your money's worth should another diver invoke his right to call the dive, then hire a private DM. If you are trying to be frugal, you have to take your chances.
Also, it could be YOU calling the dive. You may feel healthy and have no claustrophobia issues, but who knows what might happen. Even a healthy diver can suddenly feel sick or whatever. The knowledge that I could call the dive should I suddenly feel sick or something, and not upset my fellow divers, would give me peace of mind. Heck, a dive op should charge EXTRA for that peace of mind.
As usual you are missing the point of what I am saying. Also since I am a DM, I usually pay myself as a guide on dives and trust me I tip myself really well so I am not frugal( I don't report it on my taxes though since its to myself
). I have been on so many night dives where someone jumps in the water, gets scared and thumbs the dive shortly after the start. It would be sad if this impacted the entire boat. Why should I cancel my dive with my own buddy for that? However since Gfaif clarified the situation that it was a group of only 4 divers with the DM I would not have an issue in this. Anyways I am not trying to drag this out to 50 pages like some other topics.Similar threads
