Local Dive Customs

[Ken abucs]

In another thread I discovered that New Jersey dive boats require divers to have a pony tanks, but up here in New England where conditions are just as bad, if not worse there is no such requirement. So it got me thinking about what unique customs or requirements are observed in different parts of the diving world.

What are the unique dive customs where you normally dive, or in places you've visited?

 

[String]

Dive boats in the UK are simple and that's how i like it. The skipper is a taxi driver. He'll take you to the site and get you back from it.
Everything else is down to you - turn up solo or with 12 buddies, turn up with 1 tank or 15 - it doesn't matter. The diving is entirely down to the diver and nobody else.

Pretty much 100% of dives are "live boat" where it will never anchor or tie off and all dives are ended by a diver sending up a delayed surface marker buoy (unless its Dover or a deco trapeze). Chances are you won't be allowed on any boat unless you own an orange dsmb.

 

[Ken abucs]

Pretty much the same thing here in New England. If you have a c-card and money you can pretty much do what you want.

My only other area of significant experience is Aruba. I've gone with three different dive ops in Aruba, and in every case it was a follow-me dive. No matter what your experience or cert level is, you had to do the follow the leader.

You'd think they wanted you to dive with a DM for improved safety, but that was definitely not the result. On one dive the dive leader was oblivious to an OOA diver doing an air sharing ascent with his buddy. In another case, the leader sent a LOA diver to do a solo ascent. My buddy and I didn't think that was a good idea, and went up with him for an uneventful ascent and safety stop.

 

[String]

Pretty much the same thing here in New England. If you have a c-card and money you can pretty much do what you want.

You don't need a card here either. Deciding if you're capable to do the dive is also the divers responsibility

As for "follow the leader" sheep herding dives. I have them. Fortunately dive boats here never have an in-water divemaster (and very few have any crew except a skipper and non diving coffee-maker person onboard)

 

[diversteve]

In SoCal, I've never been on a boat where the DM goes in the water.

In Maui, that's always the case. I think I've read it's a regulation there. Sometimes there's 2.

In South Carolina (Myrtle Beach area), the DM dove the mooring down to the wreck, tied it off and stayed on the boat until it was time to unhook it. So buddies only on the dive - and it was murky. They also let a solo hunter go by himself but they knew him.

On Roatan all the dives we did with Coconut Tree, Anthony's Key and another op were DM led. One of the DM's told me it's due to the suddenness at which the reef rolls over the wall and gets deep and that they've seen divers get vertigo looking out into the blue. All our dives were on the North side (West End)

All the boat dives we did on Bonaire were DM led. Most of the time ours looked bored.

On Curacao (next island over) we did a drift and the Captain/DM stayed on the boat. But it was a private charter on a busy day for them. And we're all pretty experienced.

On Grand Cayman, our first dives (deep) were DM led, the second shallow dive we were on our own.

On the Nekton LOB, they gave us a cheap SMB to keep/use. Never did need it though. I guess I caused some consternation on the part of the watcher on the boat as I occasionally popped-up to spot the boat, (good ears and no compass skills...LOL) supposed to give the OK sign when you did. By about the last day I had that down....

 

[Wet Zen]

In the Lower Keys the crew asks the divers to hand up their fins, cameras etc. before climbing the boat ladder. It's a safety thing; we want them climbing the steep ladder hands free so they don't fall. I've had a few divers from places like New Jersey refuse to pass up their fins. They loop them around their wrists. They explained that in NJ where the seas and currents are big, being in the water without fins is seriously dangerous, even right beside the boat. It makes sense given those conditions. What works in our area where the water is warm, clear and calm as a pool could be a hazard elsewhere. Local customs are usually developed for a good reason. If I go to an unfamiliar dive site I watch the locals carefully. There is probably good reasoning behind their customs.

 

[diver 85]

On the Fling ~ 125 miles out @ the Flower Gardens , a crew memeber(usually one of the captains) goes around ~ 10 to 15 minutes post every dive and asks & records your answer to the question "So Joe Blow, how are you doing?".....---the 1st day you're making 5 deep dives & they want to cover all bases I guess.......


EDIT:......also(sort of from below ie robint's post)), no DM in the water, you're on your own way out there......

 

[scubadobadoo]

but up here in New England where conditions are just as bad, if not worse

I don't think they are worse, maybe a little colder in the summer months but not the winter. Having done both, I can tell you that when I go up to your area it's like a vacation as most of the sites I dive in your area have way better viz, have way less current, and are mostly way shallower with some exceptions of course.

In this specific case however, I believe the pony bottle may come from the fact that a lot of the early Wreck Valley divers (especially those hardcore tech divers) didn't adhere or believe in the buddy system, rather choosing to rely on themselves. SO in effect, a pony bottle is a personal redundancy system and that mind set continues today as the real exploration of Wreck Valley by SCUBA is still fairly new. Some of those same old boat captains/charters/divers are still going strong even if in memory. This is of course just my stab at one possible explanation.

 

[robint]

Here's our experiences:
Cozumel (5x)- all dives DM led, everyone goes up together, boat picks up
Nekton liveaboard (2x)- dive on your own, no DM in water, do your own thing, must navigate back to boat
Palau Eco liveaboard - all dives done from skiff, DM led - sometimes 4 DMs in water with 15 divers, boat picks up. Never swim out into blue water as current can and will take you out to sea. All divers must have signaling device and need them!
Bonaire - all boat dives DM led out and back to boat, shore dives on your own
Hawaii - all dives DM led out and back to boat
Keys - dive on your own, no DM in water, do your own thing, must navigate back to boat
SE Fla - drift dives carrying flag, boat picks up; on wreck dives the boat is moored and you must navigate back, no DM in water either way.
Calif (4x)- boat is moored, all dives on your own, no DM in water, must navigate back to boat, through kelp! If you have air left, never surface away from boat - it is dangerous to try to swim on top of kelp (special briefing given on how to do the "kelp crawl"). Always approach the boat underwater if possible.
Local fresh-water diving (200+ dives) - all shore diving, have fun!

Personally, I have started to dislike the "follow the DM" type of diving. California (our first trip there was in 2004) was such a liberating experience! Bonaire was fabulous for the same reason. I like being treated like a self-sufficient adult. In Palau it was necessary to hang with the DMs, because of current and many dives done from reef hooks. Other than that, I think we are now planning trips with that in mind - if diving allows you to dive on your own without DM leading, yeah!

 

[OldNSalty]

In the Lower Keys the crew asks the divers to hand up their fins, cameras etc. before climbing the boat ladder. It's a safety thing; we want them climbing the steep ladder hands free so they don't fall. I've had a few divers from places like New Jersey refuse to pass up their fins.

I've seen these folks, they are usually the ones in full wet suits in the warm tropical waters. I always kind of chuckle to myself but at least they are doing what they were taught. I do have to hand it to them, they probably dive in weather that the local charters wouldn't consider going out in.

Regardless, I tend to go with the 'When in Rome' attitude when traveling because I am sure there are things I don't understand.