freewillie
Contributor
I've been reading about different divers and their different experiences with dive trips and dive boats. Some people complain about certain requirements made during the trip. Others don't mind.
In California the usual custom on a dive boat is that unless you are in a class the boat simply takes you to the dive spot, gives you a briefing, then you are on your own. This would probably terrify the newer divers with minimal experience. But several of our more experienced divers would love the freedom.
When on vacation I always go with a dive boat. While the number of divers may vary per group I am always required on those dives to be with a guide. The newer diver would welcome the guide but I've seen some rants from the experienced divers about having to be hand held in this manner. Dive ops on vacation also are more hands on and I've had one outfit actually take my bag as soon as I got on board and set up my whole BC and reg on a tank for me. I've seen a few posts about divers aghast that I would let someone else touch my set up.
Personally as long as I'm underwater I'm happy. To me it doesn't matter if I am diving without a guide such as the dive boats in CA or if I have to be in a group such as when I'm on vacation. I'm a very easy going person in general. My memories are always what was interesting underwater. On a Maui dive our guide pointed to a rock, wasn't sure what it was until I was closer and was a Titan scorpion fish. Never would have seen it without a guide. That was a good dive. I got separated from a guide in the Bahamas. Fortunately I knew where we were on the reef and got back to the boat just fine. I pointed out some fan tube worms to my daughter who spent the rest of the dive giggling and brushing over the fans. That also was a good dive.
So, we can't be all things to all people, but I was just curious as to what people expected on a dive and what makes a good dive.
In California the usual custom on a dive boat is that unless you are in a class the boat simply takes you to the dive spot, gives you a briefing, then you are on your own. This would probably terrify the newer divers with minimal experience. But several of our more experienced divers would love the freedom.
When on vacation I always go with a dive boat. While the number of divers may vary per group I am always required on those dives to be with a guide. The newer diver would welcome the guide but I've seen some rants from the experienced divers about having to be hand held in this manner. Dive ops on vacation also are more hands on and I've had one outfit actually take my bag as soon as I got on board and set up my whole BC and reg on a tank for me. I've seen a few posts about divers aghast that I would let someone else touch my set up.
Personally as long as I'm underwater I'm happy. To me it doesn't matter if I am diving without a guide such as the dive boats in CA or if I have to be in a group such as when I'm on vacation. I'm a very easy going person in general. My memories are always what was interesting underwater. On a Maui dive our guide pointed to a rock, wasn't sure what it was until I was closer and was a Titan scorpion fish. Never would have seen it without a guide. That was a good dive. I got separated from a guide in the Bahamas. Fortunately I knew where we were on the reef and got back to the boat just fine. I pointed out some fan tube worms to my daughter who spent the rest of the dive giggling and brushing over the fans. That also was a good dive.
So, we can't be all things to all people, but I was just curious as to what people expected on a dive and what makes a good dive.