Spin Off: Do you refuse to dive with a DM/quide in a new location?

[aascubagirl]

Even shore diving, depending on the site, I would seek an experienced guide for the first dive or so. Some dives do not require a first time guide, some do (if you want to see the good stuff). I know for a fact that many arrogant experienced divers who come to Hawaii and only do non-guided shore dives have left Hawaii without having as good a dive as many non-certified resort intro divers.[/quote]

So true, Halemano!!! Nothing frustrates me more than watching certified divers dive at my most favorite site and exit the water complaining about the mediocre dive and lack of aquatic life. Especially when I know that at that moment, there are frogfish, dragon morays, spotted eagle rays, octopus, turtles and more just waiting to be seen. If only they'd done a guided tour (or obtained a thorough orientation to the site, at least)...the outcome would have been completely different! They would be happily bragging about all that they got to see. Instead, they will knock the dive site forever more and the diving will continue to be underrated.

Although I personally don't recommend it, I do respect divers who want to do their own thing. In that case, I make sure that when experienced divers come into our shop and explicitly let me know that they don't want a guided tour and just want to do their own thing, I give them a map of the dive site and approximate location of some of the cool critters so they won't be one of those divers complaining about the crappy dive.

 

[vladimir]

I dove in Antarctica without guide under the coldest and most unknown conditions of the world. I think it is useless to be accompanied by a DM.

Certainly divemasters lose whatever utility they might have if they don't know the conditions either.

 

[Teamcasa]

Thanks for that Leah (aascubagirl).
I certainly would not have found all the cool stuff, tunnels and tubes had we not used your guides, Jordon and Mercedes, when we dived the reefs at Tunnels Beach on Kauai. While they did not hand hold or race furiously around, we saw a significant amount of the reef and lava tubes.

What I really liked was while Jordon lead my wife and brother in and out of the tunnels, Mercedes stayed closely behind me while I scouted and videotaped at my leisure. Youtube Video When we would end up out of sight of Jordon and my family, I would glance at Mercedes and she would indicate the best direction to take to catch up. Sometimes I would pick a different direction (so I could tape something) and after the taping, a quick glance at Mercedes and a new heading was established. Mercedes was the perfect guide and dive buddy.

 

[sporket]

I generally follow the rules. Sometimes I do stray tough. But never out of site out of mind.

 

[redrover]

This is the second time in this thread that you include Hawaii in this "I dive my way" speak. How many charter dives have you made in Hawaii and with which charters?

I assure you, 99.9% of vacation boat divers are led by a guide here in Hawaii. Only those with connections get to dive on their own here. It is most certainly not common practice here!

Maybe it’s semantics…my LDS that I do most boat dives with has always announced buddies may pair and do their own thing.

Actually last club dive we had no DM/guide nor did we charter the boat. Had a general briefing by the captain that included the recall, cautions, topography, hints along the lines of if you go that way and look there you can find X.
A qualified DM dove at the same time but his only contribution to the briefing was that he was not in a professional capacity, was not guiding anyone, and in fact not going any where he would have if guiding the site.
For at least 90% of my dive I think I was the only one that even saw him until getting back to the boat.

 

[tracy_from_oz]

I normally travel alone with diving so I ask for guide. I know I will be diving with someone who has a certain skill level, hopefully, good air time balance, doesnt mind me taking pictures and knows where the good spots are.

The reason I ask now days is also I would get stuck with the new guys and ive nothing against new divers, we all have to learn as it is a part of the sport and I do not mind helping anyone out, but they would go thru their air quickly etc or not want to go far from the boat and when your paying for livaboards on the GBR it can be frustrating coming back to the boat with over 125 bar in air.
I guess that is the part that got me. Paying so much money etc and not getting the full dive in. This happened to me on a couple of liveaboards where I was by myself so now if I am travelling alone I ask for a guide. Costs a little more but when I weigh it out, it balances.

 

[parrothead725]

when i dive new (to me) sites, i like diving with a DM because they know where all the cool stuff is. why not dive with the resident expert that knows all the neat little in's and out's of the site?

agreed that sometimes it can be annoying with larger groups, because theyre typically mixed with very novice divers, but in the long run the best sites ive dove were because of following DM's that knew where to go, where the 6ft resident red moray lives, where the biggest cathedrals are, etc.

 

[Teamcasa]

...I assure you, 99.9% of vacation boat divers are led by a guide here in Hawaii. Only those with connections get to dive on their own here. It is most certainly not common practice here!

Maybe it is Island dependant.

On Kauai, when we went to Ni’ihau, we had guides. Some people followed them closely, some followed us but basically we stayed as group. When we dived the coast sites, we had guides but again, it was loose and no hard follow me’s. See post above for the Tunnels dive. I planed on diving Koloa Landing the last day before returning and Leah make a detailed map that sadly I never got to use. (My wife said no more diving, she wanted to spend at least on day alone with the grandkids!) But I certainly could have done that dive without a guide.

On the Big Island, Diving with two different operations, eight dives, only two of the dives were guided and one was the night manta dive. All other dives, we were on our own. I’ve have not been diving on Oahu or Maui.

For me, I’ll use a guide to show me the good stuff when I think it will improve the dive or if the operation requires it and I really want to dive that site. (Like Ni’ihau)

 

[Walter]

why not dive with the resident expert that knows all the neat little in's and out's of the site?

I have no objection to that. I object to forcing people to follow the guide.

 

[ScubaSteve]

I will never refuse to follow a DM however they will always be told that I have no interest in racing around down there. I enjoy the DM's that dive and "look at what is in front of them" rather than racing around the corner to see what might be there. That is not how I dive. I dive slowly and watch what is before me. Racing takes away from it. But I know that most DM's that are racing around are likely trying to give the people as much as possible for their money. I speak my mind and if I still have to race around, the tip gets gradually smaller. I still tip but it is smaller if they take away from the dive for me.

Now in a place like Bonaire where it is straight out to the reef, got left or right and then back in reverse (usually no current etc.) I will not accept a DM (or at least will not pay for one) as long as I can get answers about the sites first.