Boat Diving Questions - impatient crew and new divers

[TexasKaren68]

Fwiw, there was no "faffing" around; the divers had less than 5 minutes before being hurried off the boat. As stated earlier, the gear had been set up and just needed to be put on.

Diver1 had been seasick on an earlier dive. This was Dive 3 of the day.

The divers were seated far from the platform. Only two divers were further and they got in the water before Diver1 and Diver2.

Even if Diver1 had been a bit quicker with clipping things off, there would still have been no time for a buddy check.

 

[Doubler]

I don't understand "the gear was set up" and "just needed to be clipped off". That we each set up our gear differently is a given. With regulator set up I attach the reg, turn on the air, check pressure, test breath primary and octopus, check inflator and then clip everything off. IMO if things are a dangling the gear is not set up and ready to go.

 

[fjpatrum]

My answer to anyone rushing me is/will always be "I'll let you know when I'm ready" and I continue to do what I'm doing. Anyone rushing me is trying to kill me, as far as I'm concerned, and that doesn't bode well come tipping time.

Especially when there are other people who can get in before me, I make no efforts to hurry up just for the sake of hurrying up. It's not like I'm going to spend an extra hour in the water because I use so little air as a newb.

 

[TexasKaren68]

Sorry, by saying the gear was set up I meant that the BC was attached to the tank as was the reg, and the air was on. Diver1 had just forgotten to clip off the hoses. That was all that was left to do

Also, in Diver2's case, the SPG is clipped to a D ring across the BC. In other words it cannot be clipped off prior to putting on the BC. Not relevant to this thread though because this had been done before getting in the water

 

[lowviz]

............ Diver1 had just forgotten to clip off the hoses. That was all that was left to do...............

That and one more thing. The issue that I have with this is that there was no final check (as far as I can tell from your posts).

No two trips will be the same and there is always something new going on topside. You alone have to force some sort of order out of boat mayhem or someday you will splash with something serious having been overlooked.

Final checks:
When my turn comes, I put my hands on my valve(s) to see if they are open. This stops everything as any decent crew will immediately key in on this action and watch. Mask on, reg in mouth. Next, I stand up and turn my back to the dive platform and start to shuffle. If I forgot my fins, it becomes immediately obvious at this point. Face the ocean on the platform and breathe three good breaths off of main secondary while watching the pressure gauge. The needle better not move. OK, I have gas and just got a confirmation that I turned the vales ON, not OFF. Next put the backup reg into my mouth and three good breaths off of that one also. Switch back to main reg. I'm probably diving dry so first I puff some air into my suit. If I don't feel the suit expand slightly then my back-zipper is open or the LP hose is not connected to my suit. Next, I puff my wing or BC. If I don't feel it pull then the LP hose is not connected to the inflator. Hand on mask, hand on reg in mouth. Giant stride. Giant stride does not mean extending one foot a bit and then falling off the boat. Put some body motion into it and get that foot WAY out there. The wider your legs are spread, the less deep you will go when you splash. Surface and do a really quick check that you can breathe and your mask is clear, two-arm big OK to the boat (just in case anybody is looking), deflate and go!

Find a routine that works for you, so that you don't have to think about it. I've never hit the water with a big issue, but I've stepped back off the dive platform a few times...

Stay safe.

 

[sabbath999]

On the one hand, the crew should not have made the divers feel pressured.

Having said that, when you put your rig on the tank (I am assuming this was done back at the dock, everything should be set up and ready to go IMHO. Everything should be clipped off and streamlined.

When I put my rig together, I have my long hose main and bungied secondary reg clipped to my right D-Ring, along with wrist computer on my open water single tank rig. I have my pressure gauge clipped to my left D Ring along with my wrist compass and wrist slate. When the boat stops and the briefing ends, all I have to do is put on my weight belt, sit down, grab my crotch strap, put my arms inside my harness straps, attach my weight belt, then everything else is right there, ready to go... bungie'd octo over the head, long hose tucked under my light canister (night) or pocket (day) and around the head, stick the gauges & slate on appropriate arms and poof, done. 2 minute gear up, and everything is streamlined and ready to go.

If I were doing a "standard" poodle jacket, this should be even less to put on. simply pre-attach the octo, clip on the console to the left side D ring, put the rig on, stand up and you are done. if everything is organized, there should be nothing to set up at this point especially if you have weight integration.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

The crew was dangerous and stupid.

Dangerous because they pressured a diver(s) to splash before they are ready - this could be considered gross negligence since they advocated skipping standard safety practice.

Stupid because novice divers who do take longer to prepare typically have poor SAC rates and shorter dives. In the end they probably would end up back on the boat before many of the more experienced divers, so in the end their delay in prep is not really going to affect the schedule.

 

[Tortuga68]

The bottom line is nobody likes being hustled into the water before they're ready... at best mildly annoying & at worst potentially dangerous

Since you can't control how other people will behave, the best way to avoid being rushed is to try & make sure you're ready ahead of schedule

 

[Frosty]

Diver1 had been seasick on an earlier dive. This was Dive 3 of the day.

Hey Karen look I don't know THIS situation because of course I like everyone else wasn't there. BUT in fairness to the dive op do you feel that the line I quoted was in fact a BIG factor in the op trying to hurry the diver into the water. That they were in fact being conciderate of the diver knowing that seasickness usually settles once the diver is in the water.

 

[TexasKaren68]

Hey Karen look I don't know THIS situation because of course I like everyone else wasn't there. BUT in fairness to the dive op do you feel that the line I quoted was in fact a BIG factor in the op trying to hurry the diver into the water. That they were in fact being conciderate of the diver knowing that seasickness usually settles once the diver is in the water.

It's entirely possible, and am trying to be fair and acknowledge that the divers had some responsibility to be ready, but Diver1 hadn't said that she felt sick on this dive (the first dive after a lunch break on land) and Diver2 specifically mentioned the unclipped hoses and expressed concern that Diver1 wasn't ready.

To be told "don't worry about it - just get in the water and then take care of it", in my opinion, was not proper and not what is taught by PADI (and I assume by the other agencies as well).