What sets off your alarm bells?

[thedizzydiver]

Nothing really sets off alarm bells. I am a working diving instructor so am used to diving with all levels. As the instructor it is my responsibility to make sure the students learn how to do things correctly, take safety seriously and not become a danger to others who may dive with them in the future. However, what REALLY p****s me off is when I go on a diving holiday alone and the dive centre allocates me a buddy who only just qualified a day or so before as Open Water or even Scuba Diver!!! I realise it makes life easy for the dive centre but they still expect me to pay just like all the other guests and having such a buddy really prevents me from making the sort of dives I want to make when I'm on holiday and diving for fun (deep, wreck penetration, cavern diving and the like). After all, I get to look after new divers all the time. Holidays are for being able to do what I want for a change.

 

[TMHeimer]

Nothing really sets off alarm bells. I am a working diving instructor so am used to diving with all levels. As the instructor it is my responsibility to make sure the students learn how to do things correctly, take safety seriously and not become a danger to others who may dive with them in the future. However, what REALLY p****s me off is when I go on a diving holiday alone and the dive centre allocates me a buddy who only just qualified a day or so before as Open Water or even Scuba Diver!!! I realise it makes life easy for the dive centre but they still expect me to pay just like all the other guests and having such a buddy really prevents me from making the sort of dives I want to make when I'm on holiday and diving for fun (deep, wreck penetration, cavern diving and the like). After all, I get to look after new divers all the time. Holidays are for being able to do what I want for a change.

Of course, there are a few threads on this. Some have said the logical thing-- just tell them you will do it if your charter fee is refunded and you will be paid. That seems like a good simple solution, but not really. First, an instructor may just happen to be instabuddied with a brand new diver anyway and not be even asked to "look out for him". Second, an experienced non pro may wind up in the same situation, which is equally unfair to him--he paid for the trip as well. I guess you could draw the line at being asked to baby sit someone and to take full responsibility as a pro should anything happen. Such a request probably never takes place anyway. Then you get into the legalities of anyone at all being reasonably responsible for any buddy (though being a pro means you have the higher level of responsibility). Tough situations for sure. I guess one solution would be to tell the dive op beforehand you don't want any newbies for buddies or you won't go. I don't take many charters, but at the time of year I'm in N. FL just getting a boat to go out in winter can be a struggle--so I don't even think of what buddy I may have. I have had good and not so good ones but that's the way it goes. No one has yet asked me specifically to baby sit.

 

[xyrandomyx]

Of course, there are a few threads on this. Some have said the logical thing-- just tell them you will do it if your charter fee is refunded and you will be paid. That seems like a good simple solution, but not really. First, an instructor may just happen to be instabuddied with a brand new diver anyway and not be even asked to "look out for him". Second, an experienced non pro may wind up in the same situation, which is equally unfair to him--he paid for the trip as well. I guess you could draw the line at being asked to baby sit someone and to take full responsibility as a pro should anything happen. Such a request probably never takes place anyway. Then you get into the legalities of anyone at all being reasonably responsible for any buddy (though being a pro means you have the higher level of responsibility). Tough situations for sure. I guess one solution would be to tell the dive op beforehand you don't want any newbies for buddies or you won't go. I don't take many charters, but at the time of year I'm in N. FL just getting a boat to go out in winter can be a struggle--so I don't even think of what buddy I may have. I have had good and not so good ones but that's the way it goes. No one has yet asked me specifically to baby sit.

Can't you just not tell them that you're an instructor? I guess it's a little dishonest, but most of the ops I've used pretty much only want to know if you have an AOW card and if you've been diving recently (as in the last six months).

 

[Donnah]

I am so glad that my husband and I always buddies, and that we travel with good diver friends! The people that set off my alarm bells are the ones who don't have their equipment organized and don't immediately begin to set up their gear and check their tanks. They are usually the ones who left something on the dock or turn up with a tank low on air that they never checked. If they are bragging about how experienced they are, the bell rings louder!

 

[Dr. Lecter]

When I'm DMing a class I usually have my stuff set up & ready to go well beforehand. When I dive solo there is nobody to talk. But when I dive with a buddy (once in a while), I tend to forget things (even after 9 years) when I'm listening to him and responding. I like to get the business done first then converse. Or, get the dive planning & buddy stuff done before we start to gear up.

Are you talking about running through a CCR checklist "well beforehand"? For OC, it's much less of an issue, but you can't really do a prejump and then get out of the unit to do other stuff before suiting back up and splashing. And it's hard to focus on mushroom valve sound/feel and how the prebreathe is making you feel when someone's yakking at you. Doing planning well in advance and mentioning why you need to be left alone right before splash usually works. Usually.

 

[TMHeimer]

Are you talking about running through a CCR checklist "well beforehand"? For OC, it's much less of an issue, but you can't really do a prejump and then get out of the unit to do other stuff before suiting back up and splashing. And it's hard to focus on mushroom valve sound/feel and how the prebreathe is making you feel when someone's yakking at you. Doing planning well in advance and mentioning why you need to be left alone right before splash usually works. Usually.

No just OC, but I still can get distracted. You can discuss the dive plan, signals, etc. beforehand, get geared up, then do a buddy check and jump in.

 

[ange2014]

New AOW-level divers with only 15-20 dives bragging about diving in 40+m depths and how much more air they have left compared to the others at the end of the dive.

 

[tigercowboy]

I am a relatively new diver (AOW, around 50 dives); and I dive with a BFG (approx. 4" blade). My reasoning is several...
1. I have big hands! Combine that with the gloves I wear, I have a difficult time feeling like a have a secure (see safe) grip with smaller knives.

2. I work with knives a lot (professional wildlife biologist and former hunting guide), and during that time I have developed a very particular taste. My dive knife fits this taste very well. The blade holds its edge well, and is decently easy to sharpen. It has a serrated edge for cutting through things quickly, where the cut doesn't need to be pretty. It also has a line/kelp/small rope cutter incorporated into the blade.

3. Full tang and fixed blade. Stronger, easier to clean and keep from rusting out. Seriously, life expectancy for a folding dive knife can't be more than a few dives without perfect maintenance...

I wouldn't advocate having a machete or sword down there, but there is a lot to be said for having enough knife for the job.

It kind of bothers me when I hear folks saying that a big knife rings alarm bells. No knife rings alarm bells, and having a crappy knife rings alarm bells, but I could care less about the size. If it suits you, I am all for it. Why all the hate?

As to what really matters to me, I am paying attention to gear and to you. Partially this goes back to my hunting guide days. A guy could be an experienced hunter/diver, but if he was inattentive to his gear, and how it was maintained I am wary. If you have a bad, overconfident, pushy, or rude attitude, I am wary again. Usually these things are pretty easy to size up quickly... and I am pretty comfortable going with whoever after I see those things.

Dive safe.

 

[TN-Steve]

As a freshly minted diver I've found this thread very useful, in terms of the behaviors that I DON'T want to exhibit when diving with folks I don't know. I tend to be quiet to start with, and when I'm setting up my gear, I don't want to talk to you, I want / need to focus on the task at hand. That's a carry over from my hang-gliding days, where if you made a mistake there, you found out about 10 seconds after you went off the ramp, and now had 1000 feet of air under you.

I've already learned that different DMs/ Divers / Instructors have different ways to signal things. I was originally taught the 1 hand method for numbers, the instructor I dived with last preferred 2 hands with students. Not a problem. He also taught me how to do a good pre-dive brief, it's a lot like the old 5 paragraph op-order format I knew from the Army. (since he was ex-mil, made sense).

I don't want to be patronized, and I don't want to dive with somebody who will resent my presence. I don't want to ruin someone else's experience, but by the same token I also paid my money, and as far as I can perform safely (and I think with the training I've received, and continue to receive), I will do my utmost to be a good buddy.

Just my .02.

Steve

 

[AfterDark]

I am a relatively new diver (AOW, around 50 dives); and I dive with a BFG (approx. 4" blade). My reasoning is several...
1. I have big hands! Combine that with the gloves I wear, I have a difficult time feeling like a have a secure (see safe) grip with smaller knives.

2. I work with knives a lot (professional wildlife biologist and former hunting guide), and during that time I have developed a very particular taste. My dive knife fits this taste very well. The blade holds its edge well, and is decently easy to sharpen. It has a serrated edge for cutting through things quickly, where the cut doesn't need to be pretty. It also has a line/kelp/small rope cutter incorporated into the blade.

3. Full tang and fixed blade. Stronger, easier to clean and keep from rusting out. Seriously, life expectancy for a folding dive knife can't be more than a few dives without perfect maintenance...

I wouldn't advocate having a machete or sword down there, but there is a lot to be said for having enough knife for the job.

It kind of bothers me when I hear folks saying that a big knife rings alarm bells. No knife rings alarm bells, and having a crappy knife rings alarm bells, but I could care less about the size. If it suits you, I am all for it. Why all the hate?

As to what really matters to me, I am paying attention to gear and to you. Partially this goes back to my hunting guide days. A guy could be an experienced hunter/diver, but if he was inattentive to his gear, and how it was maintained I am wary. If you have a bad, overconfident, pushy, or rude attitude, I am wary again. Usually these things are pretty easy to size up quickly... and I am pretty comfortable going with whoever after I see those things.

Dive safe.

A 4" blade? That isn't a BFK. I carry a USD Sea Hawk. The overall length is 11" blade is 7" with a hammer head on the handle. That's a BFK. I also have a small knife with a 4" blade for cutting on my shoulder strap. The BFK is for prying and hammering, it has a serrated back for sawing. I use it to dig Quahogs too. It is NOT for cutting. I don't care who thinks or says anything about it; it has worked for me for decades and I suspect will continue to work.