WHERE'S THE FIRE???

[Coztick]

Can someone please help me to better understand the DIVE TRIP environment?

I've just completed my 25th dive. I will admit that the things I've seen, while diving, have been unbelievably beautiful, mysterious, bizarre, etc...HOWEVER, every one of my experiences have been soured by this one component, that I have found on EVERY SINGLE DIVE TRIP I've undertaken, which have been about 12.

WHAT THE H*** IS EVERYONE RUSHING FOR???

1. Meeting time 8:30a
2. Boart departs 9:00am
3. Everyione RACES to put on their wetsuits and gear.
4. The DMs are frantically attaching everyone's regulators to the various tanks.
5. The DMs race through the dive briefing
6. We arrive at the dive site.
7. Everyone is frantically putting on their floppy flippers.
8. There's now a RACE to slip into your BC and get in the water.
9. NO SAFETY CHECKS - NO SURFACE WEIGHT CHECKS
10. Everyone gives the "OK" sign, and down we go.
11. Dive ends
12. DMs frantically switch out everyone's regulators with new tanks - YES, ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION, I HAVE BEEN GIVEN AN EMPTY TANK!
13. Fruit, sandwhiches, and water bottles are passed out as the boat RACES to the next dive site.
14. We arrive - SEE #3-#10
15. 2nd dive ends as we RACE back to the shop.

Am I totally missing something? It wouldn't be the first time... I undertstand I'm entering an environment as a total newbie, but here's my conclusion: THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THE TRIP WAS TO GET TO THE DIVE SITE - GET THE DIVERS IN THE WATER - GET THROUGH THE DIVES - END THE DIVES - GET BACK TO THE SHOP - ALL IN WORLD RECORD TIME!!! It's like the boat and all divers will suddenly turn into LAND CRABS if the whole process doesn't get completed in 3 hours!!!

Listen, I realize, underwater, ya can't stop at every little fish and hold a seminar...LOL...And that you have to keep going, because of nitrogen buildup and air consumption...

But, this has been my experience on EVERY SINGLE TRIP...All different operators. At the end of the day, the most prominent memory is the harried and hectic dive trip I undertook...

My goodness, as divers we enter such an alien world, with signts and experiences that are so magnificent and bizarre they can only been seen while doing what we do, wearing the gear we wear, headfing to the sites we visit...BUT, NONE OF THAT MATTERS...What matters is only that we get out and back in 3 hours...and that everyone gets some fruit.

I don't know! Maybe I'm complaining about NOTHING, and it's ME that needs to "catch up." It's just the race into water that seems so off-putting....Sorry for long posting...

Now you know!
Hint, the divers not rushing are the ones expecting the tight schedule and are highly organized.
If you waste no steps and pack your gear effectively, you can relax too!

Cheers

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Every charter boat has a schedule. Be it scuba, fishing, whale watching, etc. Just something you have to get used to and adjust your cadence to. They are running a service oriented business after all. If you don't like that either (1) charter the entire boat yourself and you set the schedule (2) buy your own boat or (3) stick to shore diving.

 

[scubadada]

Developing effective habits also helps. I pack my bag the same way every time, it keeps me from forgetting anything. I set up my gear the same way and do my checks the same way every time. I repack my bag at the end of the day the same way it was when I came, it keeps me from forgetting anything. There are small variations in the gear I bring or use but nothing significant. The organization takes a lot of stress out of the activity and helps ensure that everything will go smoothly and efficiently.

 

[tridacna]

I like long boat rides. Plenty of time to set up, talk, get in your gear and relax. Try Scuba Club Cozumel some time.

 

[arew+4]

Like everyone else has said, in no time at all you'll be cursing the pokey noobs blocking the platform. If the schedule, and being on someone else's time is really what bothers you, focus on shore diving. If you don't have a dedicated buddy (Spouse, Partner, Parent, Child) find one or get solo certified. Then you dive when where and how long you want. If you want to spend 75 minutes grokking over a single coral head, go for it. Want to get up with the sun and dive before breakfast, no problem.

 

[lairdb]

The rush is generally about the boat wanting to get back and take out the next group of divers so they can make their expected income. If they let group1 spend an extra hour in the water, group2 is going to be pretty pissed when the boat is an hour late.[...]
When you get on the boat, immediately set up your gear. Don't sit around while riding to the dive site, use the time wisely. Then when everyone else is frantically getting ready, you're good to go. You can get more time in the water by being the first diver in if your SAC allows for it.

This, and @scubadada , and others, including particularly:

Is this really a big enough of a deal to warrant all caps?
I've never done one outside of classes, everyone checks their own gear and we'll do a bubble check before descending.
[...]
Come to think of it, I the times I've seen divers outside of classes here do a safety check can be counted on one hand easily.
Never seen a surface weight check outside of a class either, do you not know how much weight you need for certain dives?
If you rent gear then yeah, I can see the point of a weight check, but you should still have gotten a rough idea of what you need when you did your OW class.[...]

@scubadada has it right regarding time management. As you get in more dives you will see that some folks struggle to get organized whereas others - because of experience and discipline - are methodical in setting up and breaking down their gear.

That said, it's possible for the op to be efficient without making things seem rushed. More challenging, but possible.

I will agree about the stressing people are doing during dive trips though, it's not a good way to prepare for a dive and too often it leads to people forgetting stuff like hooking up inflator hoses, checking if their tank is on, forgetting their fins before jumping in etc etc...

And that's the payoff. "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast" applies here just as well as in a gunfight.

 

[lowwall]

Like any complex activity, it will feel like things slow down as you get more practice. You can accelerate this process by following some of the tips above about organizing your gear and your time on the boat.

But also understand that different ops have different schedules. Many of us are willing to pay a premium, which is often just a few bucks per dive, to dive with an op that takes out fewer divers and allows longer dive times and thus longer surface intervals.

One hint. Unlike some of the hardcore here, I'm happy to have a DM put my gear on a tank or switch tanks for me. But as soon as they make enough space, I thoroughly check what they've done. Check straps, turn the gas all the way on, check tank pressure, both second stages and inflator, and make sure my weights are where and what they are supposed to be. Then turn the gas off, purge the excess pressure and clip everything off. It's a lot easier to correct any problems now than while divers are already splashing.

 

[Degenerate]

This, and @scubadada , and others, including particularly:

I don't necessarily think the skipping of things like a safety check/weight check is due to stress.
In my case (and most of the people I dive with) it comes down to us just wanting to check our own gear, we have routines we go through and that's that, a dive op that is stressed/short on time has nothing to do with it.
Safety checks are something that are very strongly enforced during your OW/AOW class because at that point, they serve a purpose (and in many cases, they still do after the class).
I don't see the point in having my buddy do a PADI or similar type of safety check on my gear before a dive, I have my own check list that I go through before descending and that is enough.
The same can be said for all the people I dive with.
My original point was that "skipping" a safety check does not have to be a big deal, or even a small deal.
To each their own though.

 

[Wibble]

Main thing when new to diving is to learn to be self-sufficient. You should develop the skills and mental/written checklists so that you never get things pointed out as wrong in a buddy check. Only you are responsible for your equipment and assembly; the buddy check is for the buddy ;-)

Diving in touristy areas will always be more to a price than to a quality. Shop around as it were.

Ultimately you develop your own routines. Diving starts the night before when you assemble your kit in the car; check your gasses; collect all your stuff. It's nice to have things all ready to carry from the car to the boat (obviously depends on the type of diving you do). Being one of the first on the boat gives you the choice of seat (close to the lift, or close to the cabin). Getting everything properly tied on and ready to go, check you've got everything and that the kit's correctly assembled and works. Getting closer to the dropoff; kitting up, then on to checking the kit (for the second time). Check the gas; untie; climb into your kit. Check it works, etc. I do the "laser line"; imagining a line going from head to foot and check all my kit as it goes down... Buddy check should be you looking at their kit. If they find you've got something wrong, then you're a bad boy for missing it!!! Before jumping, check your gas and pressures again.

You'll find it'll become less fraught with more experience.

But enjoy it.

 

[Doc]

Listen, I realize, underwater, ya can't stop at every little fish and hold a seminar...LOL...And that you have to keep going, because of nitrogen buildup and air consumption...

You really are diving with the wrong crowd.
And....is that why I have to keep going? Who told you that?