The question is, when i "call a dive." Part 1. There are three areas of reason for which we will not begin a dive that was planned. #1, if conditions are not as anticipated and render the dive unsafe. That might be murky water where sharks live, high seas, strong current or dangerous surge or high surf. If conditions are as planned, even if challenging, we will do the dive. #2 We will also cancel a dive if I or Debbie's equipment has a condition or malfunction that renders diving unsafe. (This has only happened once, btw, because for most contingencies we can repair or replace the problem equipment). #3 We will not commence a dive if either of us has a general feeling, explainable or note, that we do not feel right about the dive. No explanation needed, no arguing. Part 2. If we have commenced a dive we will terminate it if either of us makes that call. We share the reason after the fact. This has happened only a few times. Once was when I could not clear when I tried to force a dive with sever sinus congestion because we paid a lot of money and traveled very far to dive. (big mistake) Another occasion was an early indication of a camera housing leak that was just beginning, and we actually saved the camera. Sometimes, on shallow dives, one of us will get tired or parched. We have a tacit understanding that once an hour is up, either of us can call it a dive. We have managed quite a few dives over 60 minutes though.
I will confess that on dive trips, especially liveaboards, I am less likely to pass on a dive than Debbie is. If we are with others, she will sometime take a dive or two off just because she chooses to, and doesn't object if I team up with another buddy for a dive or two. But after many years of diving together we have one very important understanding that I hope everyone shares: Neither of us has to do a dive we really don't feel like doing out of a sense of obligation to the other. That is, no pressure for either of us to the other to do the dive because we really want to and they are messing up our vacation. 31 years of marriage, 10 years and hundreds of dives together, and we still get along. Most of the time.
DivemasterDennis