Was it the Right thing to do?

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My one comment is that I cannot believe that dive computers are not standard equipment with rental gear in the US and Caribbean. From what I see, in Australia and South Pacific, you get a computer with your rental gear.
It sounds like he did get a computer as part of his console.
I'm just arranging a dive trip to GC in May and a dive computer is listed as part of the package. If it's something running ZHL I'll probably take carry it as a spare, if I don't get my Deep6 by then.
 
It sounds like he did get a computer as part of his console.
I'm just arranging a dive trip to GC in May and a dive computer is listed as part of the package. If it's something running ZHL I'll probably take carry it as a spare, if I don't get my Deep6 by then.

Yes, it was in the console but was blank as I got to depth. The equipment other than that was great. BCD and Reg were really good.

I don't fault the Dive Op at all ( don't really want to even mention them by name as I like them) and if It comes up again will probably just discuss it more during the SI with the insta buddy about what they want to do. I was fine following the DM around and would probably just see if I could do that and not even dive under the pre-tense of buddied with the insta buddy. Just tell him my plan is to follow him around and stay close and see what he says.
 
This is right in line with my experiences.

You meet your new dive buddy for a few minutes before the first dive together.
You're both standing on deck, in full daylight, concentrating on signals and making a dive plan.

Moments later you're both underwater with the whole group of divers.
At depth colorful wetsuit panels turn dull.
Face and hair are obscured by mask and hood.
Body size and shape are hidden under BCD and weight systems.
Now you see them horizontally, with fins on, making recognizing height and other physical characteristics difficult.

And you're supposed to pick your buddy out by memory from a group of six to twelve other divers?

Sometimes it's simply impossible.

K.
This is a really good point. I've gotten into the habit of putting my face in the water (with mask on) while we're at the surface before descending to get a look at my buddy/buddies underwater and try to note their distinguishing features. Sometimes my buddy is the only one in the group with white fins; sometimes there's another diver with white fins and I have to look at the different shapes of the fins or at some other part of their ensemble. I also help my buddy out by pointing out how they can pick me out of the crowd; I paid extra for custom wing colors, which makes me unique and easy to spot if you know to look at that instead of my black wetsuit, black hood, black fins...
 
Following what @Esprise Me said, you could spend a few bucks on a tank beacon that activates when you enter the water. That way your buddy can distinguish you from other divers by the little blinking light on your tank. Extremely essential for night diving and to my knowledge still required kit for an AOW class, but they work very well during the day, too. I use one myself, although mine has to be manually activated. But anything you can do to distinguish yourself from other divers is a plus. I'm pretty easy to find in the water. 98% of the time, I'm the one guy diving a full face mask. But I also dive Hollis F1 fins that have bright yellow tips for that reason.
 
I dove with another outfit the first day I was there, did the Kittiwake shipwreck and it was with a smaller outfit. Just followed the DM on that dive as well but had an instabuddy that stuck with me.

Remember you wrote this a few pages back and thought I'd give you another side of this particular dive and that you can be made to feel uncomfortable in different situations. In 2015, my buddy and I dove the Kittiwake with a dive op and like you, it was simply follow the DM. My buddy wears fins with yellow markings making him easy to spot and I wear (in warm water) all yellow Twin Jet full foot fins. There were several ops diving the wreck and I was the last man following my buddy in our group. We went into a section where another dive group had entered before we were out - although I was about a body length from my buddy, I turned away for a second and with all the divers in the small area and the bubbles cutting down on viz, when I looked back to my buddy, I couldn't see any yellow marked fins. My dive group was gone. I wasn't too worried as there were lots of places to exit and I knew our dive boat was near the wreck if I had to surface.

What I did and should have done:

Having done a bunch of dives since, (so I can't remember if what I'm about to write is true of this particular dive) it's possible in the dive briefing, that we were told if you get lost, stay where you are as the DM would backtrack when they noticed you were gone. Whether this was in this briefing or not, I didn't stay where I was.

I joined the group that had come into the section while we were there. Once the DM of that group realized I was new to the group, he stopped his group and waved me forward. He was going to hook me back up with my group. Maybe there was a lost and found area he was going to take me to. Within a few moments the DM of my group had returned to pick me up. All was good.

The DM's I've been with in GC have all been really good. Good briefing for the wreck, if this was the one where they said to stay where you were until they came back to pick you up. A DM from another op noticed I wasn't in his group and acted accordingly. My DM noticed I was gone and acted accordingly.
 
Preface: just my 2PSI here, and as a relatively new diver myself so take it with a large chunk 'o salt :D

I must be much more of a conservative diver than both the OP and most of those giving responses so far in the thread. Reason I say that is there are soo many parts of the situation that made my eyes bug out as I read the first post. Be it having a lackluster or missing dive briefing (which was where you'd have learned it was going to be a negative entry dive), to diving for all intent solo, to not having a computer that works and/or you're familiar with, to going deep without the advanced training (a big assumption of course based on the overall number of dives)...all are deal breakers for me.

With all that said, it's great to have come here and ask for people's feedback on your situation. This is an extraordinary community and has so much knowledge that can be tapped into. Keep diving for sure, and keep looking at each dive as an opportunity to learn something new or improve on a skill you'd like to be better at. That's my philosophy at least. :)
 
Following what @Esprise Me said, you could spend a few bucks on a tank beacon that activates when you enter the water. That way your buddy can distinguish you from other divers by the little blinking light on your tank. Extremely essential for night diving and to my knowledge still required kit for an AOW class, but they work very well during the day, too. I use one myself, although mine has to be manually activated. But anything you can do to distinguish yourself from other divers is a plus. I'm pretty easy to find in the water. 98% of the time, I'm the one guy diving a full face mask. But I also dive Hollis F1 fins that have bright yellow tips for that reason.

I'm easy to spot as well, I'm the diver that has chrome plated regulators older than most divers in the water. :wink:
 
As a new diver you should have thumbed the dive. People have died relying on a DM to keep them safe. That is not their job unless you hire one yourself for that purpose. I don't know who your instructor was, but they didn't do a very good job of getting the message to you that this activity can and does kill. Complacency is one of the top reasons for divers getting into trouble.
 
As a new diver you should have thumbed the dive. People have died relying on a DM to keep them safe. That is not their job unless you hire one yourself for that purpose. I don't know who your instructor was, but they didn't do a very good job of getting the message to you that this activity can and does kill. Complacency is one of the top reasons for divers getting into trouble.

thanks Jim. Should I have gotten right back on the boat when my buddy and the DM descended before I noticed? Not disagreeing just looking for more info. I could have also ascended on my own when I noticed the depth gauge wasn't working I guess. Would you have done the second dive if you thumbed the first dive?

I never felt unsafe as I was surrounded by people the entire time and could have reached out and grabbed someone and asked for their octo at any point. I did rely on the DM for no deco time and that's why I probably should have ascended on my own once I found out the computer wasn't working. However, he did give me one from his arm that was working that had no deco time on it. I didn't rely on it much but it was there.

Thanks again.
 
As a newly minted diver you did very well for yourself, plus I think you learned a couple of valuable lessons:

1) Rental gear is just than, not your own. You can't trust it like your personal gear, you have no idea when it was last serviced, if it has been abused, flooded, etc. Buy your own gear, get to know it and have it serviced regularly at a shop you trust or learn to service it yourself. Oddly, most gear failures occur just after a service, and are due to the tech either forgetting to replace a part, or misplacing it, which causes the gear to fail. If you have something serviced in anticipation of a trip, test it in a pool or by another means before leaving on the trip, Standing on the dive deck, or 80' down on your first dive is not the time or place to realize something wasn't properly serviced.

2) Insta-buddies, where to begin? Some are great, knowledgable divers...and some are not. As a certified diver you know that your personal safety is dependent on you, and you alone. A good buddy can help you learn much during a dive, or provide some guidance around to boat / dive operation; a bad buddy, can ruin your dive and maybe even place you in danger. Your safety is job one! You are the person who is in the best position to know how you feel vis a vis your safety. You did right in monitoring your air consumption, heading back to the boat with enough air to complete your safety stop and surface. I more observant buddy would have talked to you prior to the dive, ascertained that you were new, and been nearer to you from splash to the end of your dive.

Having competent buddies, who are willing to not only dive with you as you learn the ropes, but who are willing to help you progress and learn many of the secrets of diving are a real boon. That said, they are not everywhere at all times. Join a local dive club, or hook up with a specific operation [LDS or maybe a resort or live aboard you can frequent] and get to know the folks there, in almost all cases you will find a mentor who will gladly help you progress from newbie to mossback.
 
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