Basking Ridge Diver
Contributor
Actions speak louder than words, don't tip in these situations.
The issue to me is the service provider has no idea why they got stiffed. Have a problem? Speak up.
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Actions speak louder than words, don't tip in these situations.
but I still cannot figure out how he shut both of our left posts off without us knowing in a matter of seconds.
i get that all the time... i didn't expect to get it in cayman islands but i did... not because they haven't seen a bp/w before... but they haven't seen a red/black wing with red bp and webbing heheDuring the rest of the trip, pretty much every member of the crew dropped by during the surface intervals to look at my crazy gear configuration. They had obviously never seen or heard of anything like it.
We had another newly minted DM tell us on the boat ride... "I am a DM now so that makes me the dive leader and so you have to do what I say!" Since the DM was not on the boat in an official capacity one of our group grinned and said in our private dive brief "We'll start with the starburst pattern then form up and......" When we got to the bottom we all headed in opposite directions but stayed in visual range of each other. When the DM got the point we reformed and the DM followed meekly along.
This was indeed in qld, day boats on the gbr. And I agree it is very overegulated there - you must carry a snorkel (but don't have to wear it- mine was in bc weight pocket), must come up with at least 50 bar (no problem, my air use is lower than most), must have certain points included in dive briefing, etc. But on the other hand it is apparently ok to have 8 introductory divers per instructor!Would be interesting to know where in Australia. My experience has been that in NSW and Victoria you are less likely to get the over the top controlling DM.
So many people go to tick diving the GBR off their bucket list that the dive industry there is over regulated. They get a huge number of backpackers working their way around the country on the "backpack trail" to fund their "gap year" adventure. They have limited funds to pay for the cheapest course possible and get out to do day trips and still be able to party in the evenings. Then there are the tourists who come to OZ and "just have to dive the reef" as the cheapest add on they can get. These groups tend to be low experience, high risk divers.
Next throw in a young DM who has bought into the romance of "make diving your career" and is working for virtually nothing Too many incidents so many tourist dollars at risk so the government has stepped in and started over regulating. You must surface with 50bar in your tank, you must carry a snorkel, you must have a DM leading, must record pre and post dive gas pressures, sign in and out etc... All this creates the situations the OP and boulderjohn describe.
Liveaboards, Lady Elliott, The Solitaries, Stradbrook draw the more serious divers. Regulations are still followed but DM's tend to be more experienced and less inclined to interfere with competent divers. We have even managed to convince a DM not to notice our group of 4 lag behind until we separated completely to do our own dive
I have heard the DM's joking about the idiotic antics, questions and so on they deal with on a regular basis. I understand the frustration that creates BUT if the DM's aren't able to recognize who does and who does not need help IMHO they need to get another job before they turn a benign situation into an emergency in stead of the reverse!
We don't tip in Australia as a rule and there was no mechanism for tipping on the boat. Apart from this incident the DM did a fairly decent job, considering he had to deal with 8 inexperienced divers. (I think I was the most experienced in the group, which sets a very low bar!)Actions speak louder than words, don't tip in these situations.
This particular DM had never experienced anyone diving with doubles and had no clue that the left post is reversed.
..., if i were a DM and i saw somebody diving doubles, i'd assume just a little that they know what they were doing... and instead of turning on air just kindly ask them to ensure their air is on
I don't have any idea how the DM in this case was trained, but the PADI DM training manual specifically says not to touch technical diving gear without clear permission from its owner.
We had another newly minted DM tell us on the boat ride... "I am a DM now so that makes me the dive leader and so you have to do what I say!" Since the DM was not on the boat in an official capacity.
I would agree with that with one proviso -if I am in life threatening danger, I would hope for assistance without specific permissionI believe they should not be touching anyone's gear without clear permission.
Bob
I believe they should not be touching anyone's gear without clear permission.
Bob