How to tell the DM you're not a disaster underwater?

[swimlikethefish]

If you are diving as a solo individual you are more likely to get insta buddied. Why not try to vet the other divers on the boat and choose your own buddy. One that has a similar set of skills. Then a DM won't give you an insta buddy you are disappointed with. Buddies also do not have to be pairs. They could be triplets too. Although if there is an odd man out I usually pair them with myself.

Communication and check out dives are really your best bet. The sooner you start the conversation the more likely the outcome will be in your favor.

 

[Steve_C]

Can you imagine how often dive masters in vacation spots hear divers talk about how good they are?

I have heard a number of stories from NC DM or instructors about divers greatly exagerating their skill and training to the point that you wonder if some of them are suicidal. Also being comfortable in the water is not the same as experienced.

Had an instabuddy at 90+ ft that went into deco. She was very comfortable in the water and good on trim etc. Turned out she had always dived with divers who gulped air and just came up when they were low on air and mostly on shallow dives. She had a dive computer but just used it as a depth gauge and did not know what the numbers meant. After 50 dives she had forgot about NDL etc since it had never mattered. I and other buddy brought her up slowly so that she cleared the deco she had. Then she got a lesson in NDL and how to read her computer during the SI.

 

[Laurie S.]

My first time diving after being certified was at Costa Maya, while on a cruise. The guide, an instructor, asked the five of us how many dives we had. One couple said 200, another said 40, and I meekly said 7. The two couples looked at me like, oh boy, a newbie. Well, guess who were the lousy divers? They couldn't hold a safety stop and the guide had to haul them back down. Guess who had no problems at all? Yeah, the newbie. LOL

 

[Vicko]

The diver who came closest to killing me told me the same thing you just did. That's not me saying that you or any other "new" diver is a bad diver. That's just me saying that as a guide I have to worry about a lot of factors and sometimes that means "new" divers stay in the shallower/easier group.

The good news is that in 3 months you can say that you have been diving for a couple of years and have a lot of experience in cold water. Most DM-s will let you go wherever you feel like going after those magic words

 

[Steelyeyes]

My experience the guide usually figures it out pretty quick once you're under water. Also when you book trips look for operators with smaller boats or if they offer "advanced trips" they will usually have less people on them. I go to Hawaii to dive a fair amount and several of the operators will run advanced trips or they call them extended range trips they cost a little bit more but you have less people to deal with and they sites with less used.

My wife and I had good experiences with Jack's Diving Locker's extended range trips.

 

[MichaelMc]

When my buddies traveled, a dive op was doing very detailed checks of peoples' gear as part of check in. When berries from Monastery beach (an advanced and some times deadly beach) popped out of their pockets, they were waved on. Not an argument for not washing gear, but explaining your experience should do it, maybe mentioning vis, beach entry, and surge.

An alternative is what gear you bring. Not in itself a reason for BP/W, long hose, necklace, and a trim but competent collection of gear. But showing up that way likely produces a different look by the dive op. Doing that and looking like a brand new Christmas tree does as well....

 

[kablooey]

Lots of good advice above. I'll add one thing I learned along the way...
Stay off the high volume cattle boats.
Instead, pay a little more for the smaller 6-pack style ops when available.
You'll pay a little more, but they tend to cater to more experienced and competent divers.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

My first time diving after being certified was at Costa Maya, while on a cruise. The guide, an instructor, asked the five of us how many dives we had. One couple said 200, another said 40, and I meekly said 7. The two couples looked at me like, oh boy, a newbie. Well, guess who were the lousy divers? They couldn't hold a safety stop and the guide had to haul them back down. Guess who had no problems at all? Yeah, the newbie. LOL

One of my students went on to fundies and then went to Hawaii. He was intimidated at first by all the vacation divers with "hundreds" of dives. He was amazed that he had better control in the water column than all of them.

 

[runsongas]

just buddy up with whoever else on the boat has a shearwater/bpw/long hose

/s

 

[swimlikethefish]

just buddy up with whoever else on the boat has a shearwater/bpw/long hose

/s

Not necessarily. I have seen students show up to an OW class with that. They must have done some reading online before taking the class. Or they had a really strong glass of kool-aid for breakfast...

Edit: to add: fake it, till you make it