Wth?

[bowlofpetunias]

That may be their rationale but I do not accept it as justification for interfering with a diver's gear in a non emergency situation. There is too much potential for creating an emergency. Some divers as stated here earlier react very negatively to someone touching their gear. An inexperienced diver may get stressed out thinking they are not managing their own dive adequately. When they feel themselves starting to sink due to the DM venting the air... they may over react and over inflate, flounder or do any number of unpredictable things.

IMHO nothing justifies interfering with a diver's equipment unless they are in a rescue situation or as part of a training course. I would certainly have spoken respectfully to the DM on the boat about what happened and why it happened. I would explain that I strongly disagree with interfering with a diver's gear in a non emergency situation.

 

[Neilwood]

Personally I would hate anyone touching my stuff while under water unless I am clearly in danger/panicked. If you are happily managing your own equipment and position in the water why should that require a DM to interfere?

As Bowlofpetunias states, this could cause any number of responses from a diver (in my mind whether experienced or not). Even an seemingly experienced diver with a number of dives done could be put into a stressful situation when their gear suddenly doesn't behave the way it should (they might never have had to deal with an "emergency" situation).

What happens if the diver is currently adequately managing a problem such as a malfunctioning BCD (ie faulty power inflater - not a situation which in itself is a huge issue as oral inflation would happily manage the situation) which the DM suddenly empties, putting the diver into an overweighted situation? By the time the diver gets the buoyancy back under control, he could be considerably deeper in the water (SS at 3m with a sudden, unexpected and therefore uncontrolled drop to ?? depth), possibly very low on gas (he was already doing a safety stop so that suggests 50bar approx) and the diver under considerable stress. The DM has just turned a minor issue into an emergency situation.

Now if a diver is clearly shooting up too quickly, look like I will miss my safety stop, am having other problems and look like they are not managing the situation, then I might expect a DM to assist.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

I find a lot of the time that if you have better trim than the DM, they will likely leave you alone

 

[Freewillow]

It is rather funny to see so many people over reacting. I do not like anybody to touch may equipment like, most of you, but to think that to deflate a bit a BCD at the safety stop and to belive that the diver is going to immediately "plunge" to great depth is hilarious.

A diver that is properly weighted DO NOT REQUIRE air in his BCD at the end of a dive. This is THE DEFINITION OF A RIGHT WEIGHTING.

For the numerous diver that have too much weight, I understand the risk. But then it is a good thing that the DM is baysitting them.

As said by Cooltech, have a great trim and nobody will mind your business. Nobody around me ever touched my gear underwater............just maybe only because they can see that I know what I am doing .

 

[Storker]

OK, so today on the same boat, a different DM mentioned that at least one person rockets to the surface due to failing to release air, *every trip*. That would explain the preventative measures taken by the DM.

What kind of exposure protection was that person using? I've been sloppy on ascents from my SS a few times, both in a membrane DS with heavy undergarments, and in a 5 mil WS. I have a hard time understanding how it's at all physically possible to do a credible Polaris impersonation from neutral @5m unless you start inflating your BCD significantly. Fast enough for my Suunto to nag me afterwards, sure, but "rocketing"?

 

[AdivingBel]

What kind of exposure protection was that person using? I've been sloppy on ascents from my SS a few times, both in a membrane DS with heavy undergarments, and in a 5 mil WS. I have a hard time understanding how it's at all physically possible to do a credible Polaris impersonation from neutral @5m unless you start inflating your BCD significantly. Fast enough for my Suunto to nag me afterwards, sure, but "rocketing"?

Even in warm water w/o much exposure protection, new diver (not saying OP is, evidently just what the DM was used to on this boat), way over weighted, lots of air in BC to hold SS, forgets to dump and starts swimming to the surface after SS, last 20 ft. with all that air in the BC, liftoff...seen it happen many times vacation diving. I've seen their feet almost come out of the water (slight exaggeration...but only slight). As long as no one holds their breath, it's a good dive. :shocked2:

To the OP: In this situation, on this type of boat, if you needed assistance topside then the DM had his eye on you in the water. He was just covering his a** and yours. Not necessarily the best beside manner on his part, but none the less...IMHO

 

[erisch]

A diver that is properly weighted DO NOT REQUIRE air in his BCD at the end of a dive. This is THE DEFINITION OF A RIGHT WEIGHTING.

How does the weight of your tank know that you are at the end of your dive? Am I supposed to drain my tank underwater until I'm at 500 psi just so I don't need air in my BC?

 

[EFX]

On a DM led boat dive recently I was hovering about 15 feet above the group of 5 divers on the bottom exploring the reef. I was by myself and wanted to enjoy a "birds-eye" view before joining the group. All of a sudden I saw the DM coming up to me and before I could react he dumped some air out of my wing. I thought to myself OK I guess I'll join the group now. When I got back on the boat the DM said that I had too much air in the wing and that can be a problem with wings in general. Before I could say anything he immediately appologized if my intention was to stay higher than the group. In retrospect I understood why he thought I had trouble but I wished he could have asked me first or signed that I should join the group. But, that brings up another issue: underwater communication or the lack thereof.

 

[dmaziuk]

How does the weight of your tank know that you are at the end of your dive? Am I supposed to drain my tank underwater until I'm at 500 psi just so I don't need air in my BC?

Well if you're diving al80 you're maybe 4 lbs heavy at the start of the dive. I'm fairly certain I don't have to have any air in the cell to hold that. Or swim up. YMMV but I really don't see you plunging into the murky depths because you didn't tell your tank you wanted to go up. Take 2 clip-on bullets, jump into a pool and see how fast thye're gonna drag you down.

 

[archer1960]

On a DM led boat dive recently I was hovering about 15 feet above the group of 5 divers on the bottom exploring the reef. I was by myself and wanted to enjoy a "birds-eye" view before joining the group. All of a sudden I saw the DM coming up to me and before I could react he dumped some air out of my wing. I thought to myself OK I guess I'll join the group now. When I got back on the boat the DM said that I had too much air in the wing and that can be a problem with wings in general. Before I could say anything he immediately appologized if my intention was to stay higher than the group. In retrospect I understood why he thought I had trouble but I wished he could have asked me first or signed that I should join the group. But, that brings up another issue: underwater communication or the lack thereof.

When I was in Coz last year and was hanging out above the group at times, the DM didn't come up to me, but he pointed at me holding up his inflator, making it clear that he wanted me to dump some air and come down to the group. Sometimes I dumped some air, and other times I just swam down, but I always came down when he told me to. No point in stressing out the DM.