Loco4Coz
Registered
Sorry this is a little long but - I have been diving with DWM for about 10 years, and continued to do after Martin passed for several reasons. The memory of Martin, the people that work there that I have gotten to know over the years, and the fact that they happen to provide the type of service that I prefer which is smaller fast boats, little or no-frills, and low prices. However, an event occurred on October 25, 2008 that has changed my mind about all of the above.
DWM had picked me up at the Fiesta Americana for a 2-tank morning dive. Myself and about 6 other divers did our first dive with no problems. Prior to our second dive which was Paso de Cedral, the guy across the boat from me told the Divemaster that his tank did not have a good fill and that it was a few hundred pounds light. The Divemaster did not seem too concerned, so we all jumped into the water and descended. I could see the guy trailing bubbles from his tank and it had a pretty good leak from around the tank valve seat. After about 30 minutes I saw the guy signal our DM that he was low on air already and he headed for the surface. After the rest of us finished our dives I was again sitting across from him on the boat when he said, "Well that was a first for me." I asked him what he meant, and he said, "I ran out of air during my safety stop." He then went on to repeat to me what I have already written here, and said that the last time he had looked at his pressure gauge during his safety stop it indicated 300 pounds. Luckily he was only at 15 feet when he got his last breath. Later that day I found out that the original Divemaster scheduled to take our trip had been fired that morning because he had told the manager of the business that he had a tank with an unacceptable leak and needed another. He was told not to concern himself about it. When he continued to try to get a different tank the current manager (Martin's brother Julio) fired him on the spot. The guy had been a Divemaster for DWM for ten years. I know there have been some family squabbles over management of the company since Martin died, but if this is the attitude of the new management then I am finished diving with DWM. I had already booked for the following day so I did my 2 dives, paid my bill, and went elsewhere for the remainder of my trip.
I do not like to come on a chat board and trash someone or their business, but this lack of regard for safety could cause a drowning, and I feel I would be remiss if I did not report it. I know leaking O-rings occur sometimes, and smaller leaks just happen too, but here we had a case of a guy just trying to protect the divers he is ultimately responsible for and also his own employer, and ends up being fired for doing so. The Divemaster that got fired was Juan Pablo. I'm sure many of you know him. Signing off...
Michael
DWM had picked me up at the Fiesta Americana for a 2-tank morning dive. Myself and about 6 other divers did our first dive with no problems. Prior to our second dive which was Paso de Cedral, the guy across the boat from me told the Divemaster that his tank did not have a good fill and that it was a few hundred pounds light. The Divemaster did not seem too concerned, so we all jumped into the water and descended. I could see the guy trailing bubbles from his tank and it had a pretty good leak from around the tank valve seat. After about 30 minutes I saw the guy signal our DM that he was low on air already and he headed for the surface. After the rest of us finished our dives I was again sitting across from him on the boat when he said, "Well that was a first for me." I asked him what he meant, and he said, "I ran out of air during my safety stop." He then went on to repeat to me what I have already written here, and said that the last time he had looked at his pressure gauge during his safety stop it indicated 300 pounds. Luckily he was only at 15 feet when he got his last breath. Later that day I found out that the original Divemaster scheduled to take our trip had been fired that morning because he had told the manager of the business that he had a tank with an unacceptable leak and needed another. He was told not to concern himself about it. When he continued to try to get a different tank the current manager (Martin's brother Julio) fired him on the spot. The guy had been a Divemaster for DWM for ten years. I know there have been some family squabbles over management of the company since Martin died, but if this is the attitude of the new management then I am finished diving with DWM. I had already booked for the following day so I did my 2 dives, paid my bill, and went elsewhere for the remainder of my trip.
I do not like to come on a chat board and trash someone or their business, but this lack of regard for safety could cause a drowning, and I feel I would be remiss if I did not report it. I know leaking O-rings occur sometimes, and smaller leaks just happen too, but here we had a case of a guy just trying to protect the divers he is ultimately responsible for and also his own employer, and ends up being fired for doing so. The Divemaster that got fired was Juan Pablo. I'm sure many of you know him. Signing off...
Michael