Rude Divers on the Boat

[Nemrod]

I think the best thing to do is to remain calm, understand that people with a mask on may not be aware of you or may have tunnel vision due to stress or concentrating on some task. On the boat understand you cannot maintain your normal personal space and as to the nudity, well, uh, frankly I care not. But, thing is, in most of North America including Mexico, Canada and the USA and most of the Caribbean Basin exposing oneself in public is frowned upon and can result in some unpleasant outcomes. In other words, I think it is normally illegal in public spaces unless designated otherwise and I would think that to include a commercial dive boat.

You maintain the high road, keep your decorum and realize that getting into a spat with some dufus is only going to ruin your day and theirs too. Generally, with some exceptions, it is simply not worth misbehaving. Having said dufus knock my $5,000 dollars of camera and strobes off on the deck from the CAMERA TABLE with her so very important ditty bag and that was clearly stated in the briefing was off limits for anything but camera gear was close, but I sucked it up and managed a faint, if insincere smile.

N

 

[dmoore19]

There is occasionally someone who you may need to just ignore. You could let it ruin your day or you could just be aware and stay out of their way.

Getting physical underwater is totally unwarranted and unacceptable, too much of a chance for somebody to get hurt.

 

[Kharon]

After some thought I had to mention - even if it's not malice and is simply stupidity, it's just as offensive and difficult to put up with.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I've had pretty good luck on liveaboards ... I've enjoyed the company of most everyone I've ever been on board with. About the closest I've come to having to deal with rude was a guy who, for some reason, decided I was his "competition", and spent the entire trip critiquing my equipment, the way I dive, and pretty much anything else he could find to compare himself favorably to me. Had I not been on a liveaboard I might have not been quite so tolerant with the guy ... but given the circumstances I decided to just let him have his ego trip. In hindsight, it probably was the best possible way to deal with it ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[UserNameBella]

I've had pretty good luck on liveaboards ... I've enjoyed the company of most everyone I've ever been on board with. About the closest I've come to having to deal with rude was a guy who, for some reason, decided I was his "competition", and spent the entire trip critiquing my equipment, the way I dive, and pretty much anything else he could find to compare himself favorably to me. Had I not been on a liveaboard I might have not been quite so tolerant with the guy ... but given the circumstances I decided to just let him have his ego trip. In hindsight, it probably was the best possible way to deal with it ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

You guys are making me not want to ever do a live aboard for sure. If not for my sake but for my husband's. I can ignore someone for a day, but for a whole week? I might say something...and it would be decidedly un-Canadian. We are the land of hockey fights after all.

 

[Drin]

In 2005 we did a week aboard the Truk Aggressor. There were 15 people diving that week, and two of them were a couple from New Jersey who fought CONSTANTLY. And by "constantly" I mean at one point on the Heian Maru I found the two of them kneeling on the wreck screaming at one another through their regulators!

We chose to smile and not spend much time with them. After all, if that's what made them happy who were we to judge them?

Now, if they'd started screaming at other passengers that would have been a different issue....

-Adrian

 

[mikeycanuk]

. Sometimes karma works like that.

---------- Post added April 6th, 2015 at 11:20 PM ----------

I Love InstaKarma!!!!

Going on our first LOB in exactly 3 months. Fortunately I have my wife who has an amazing way of dealing with rude people without them knowing they are being told off. However if the woman in heat several pages back would have sauntered up to me she would have gone over side wrapped in 50lbs of lead sans tank and reg...!:amazed:

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

You guys are making me not want to ever do a live aboard for sure. If not for my sake but for my husband's. I can ignore someone for a day, but for a whole week? I might say something...and it would be decidedly un-Canadian. We are the land of hockey fights after all.

I'd have to say that 99% of my liveaboard experience has been really positive ... including that one time I brought up. I learned a long time ago that how much you enjoy something like that has more to do with you than it does with the people around you. Sure, you want to be sociable ... but there are always way more people you'll enjoy than those you don't, and if you let the one or two people who you don't get along with ruin your good time, that's more on you than on them.

Never let the turkeys get you down ... I made that mistake once on a trip to Roatan, and I won't make it again ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[KevinG58]

.... also had the ones that will happily empty their boots IN the damn boat or better: in your tub.

Ohhhhh boot water! And if not in the boat, upwind of all occupants?

 

[Texasguy]

You guys are making me not want to ever do a live aboard for sure. If not for my sake but for my husband's. I can ignore someone for a day, but for a whole week?

First, there are different liveaboards and they attract different people.

Example: There are cheap liveaboards and there are expensive ones. It is an "iffy" but in my mind, more expensive ones will attract more socially adjusted people since they will come from a higher social class. Not a rule, more of a strategy. Also, there are liveaboards that "hold your hand" and are catered to newer or less experienced divers (usually these are the ones where DM goes in the water with the group). Such liveaboards are for divers who don't dive that well or often and are more likely succumb to pressures of an unfamiliar activity, giving rise to the worst parts of their character. Then, there are liveaboards that throw you in and how you dive is totally up to you, no supervision what so ever, everyone is an "adult" and is treated as such. On these liveaboards you have more seasonal divers for whom diving is something they do frequently and it is not an activity that spikes their adrenaline, everyone is calmer because of this, friendlier.