Dive Operations enforcing rules

[ktomlinson]

Personally, I respect the rules of the op I'm diving with. If I have an issue with their rules I am free to dive somewhere else. Respecting the rules doesn't mean that certain rules don't irk me though. The rule that gets under my skin the most is insisting that I have a guide...planning a trip to the keys for next week one of my traveling companions was told that to dive with their operation we would need to pay $30 per person for a guide (all 6 of us) we chose to use someone else.

Someone asked another poster earlier if they had ever heard a stupid rule...not being allowed to dive doubles is a stupid rule. If a diver can't obey set time or no deco limits, don't let them dive again, but telling me I can't have redundancy is pretty lame.

I never knew that any govt checked dive computers for depth violations (Maldives), that is pretty interesting. What other kind of weird laws do y'all have?

 

[Doc Harry]

Someone needs to re-size a photo on this thread.

.....


I had a discussion on this topic with the owner of a dive charter.

The particular trip in question was a live-aboard in Asia.

The diving was in a protected area and national park, so there were rules above and beyond the rules of the dive charter.

There was a large group on the trip (about 15 people or 2/3 of the guests) who either ignored the rules or generally were not skilled enough to follow the rules.

For instance, one of the rules was "Don't touch the reef."

Their buoyancy skills were so bad that they were always grabbing coral or kicking fans.

The dive master kept encouraging them to stay further away from the reef, and kept waving his finger "No-No!" underwater.

Everyone else on the boat was also getting rather fed-up with this group's lack of concern, or lack of skill, or both.

None of them had octos, either, only a single 2nd stage regulator.

This group complained about the dive master to the owner of the dive charter.
The dive master was threatened with termination because he was "irritating" the guests.

Fortunately, though a mutual friend, I ended up having dinner with one night with the owner of the dive charter, not long after the trip.

I stressed that he, as the owner, should be supporting his crew when they are trying to enforce safety and conservation.

He should not be threatening to fire his dive master because the DM is trying to protect the reef from such a consistent assault.

The owner should make it clear during the registration process that safety and conservation measures will be strictly enforced.

Money talks.

If we all tell the owners of dive charters that we are unhappy with the laxidasical manner in which conservation is enforced, and that we will be taking our cash elsewhere next time, then maybe we can make a difference.

 

[boulderjohn]

Everyone else on the boat was also getting rather fed-up with this group's lack of concern, or lack of skill, or both.

...

This group complained about the dive master to the owner of the dive charter.
The dive master was threatened with termination because he was "irritating" the guests.

Fortunately, though a mutual friend, I ended up having dinner with one night with the owner of the dive charter, not long after the trip.

I stressed that he, as the owner, should be supporting his crew when they are trying to enforce safety and conservation.

He should not be threatening to fire his dive master because the DM is trying to protect the reef from such a consistent assault.

I have had a couple of examples in my past in which I tried to emphasize to a dive operator that by doing things to appease a small group of offending guests, he was alienating the rest of the guests. That is a point they seem to forget, and reminding them helps. In one case, I was the group leader of an organized trip, and I made it clear that if we saw a DM harassing wildlife for the benefit of the divers again, our entire group was leaving.

 

[Tigerman]

If they set a "rule", they should follow it. If I find those rules to be too strict, I can always look for another boat.
If a op expect me to be on the surface after 60 minutes, they have every right to and a responsibility to be worried when Im not there till 70 minutes has passed. Being on the boat they CAN NOT know wether Im ok or not when I deviate from the plan agreed to..

 

[alchemist117]

The Maldives is a great place to dive. The "regulations" have never got in the way of me enjoying over 200 dives there in 7 years staying on 5 different islands and liveaboards.

 

[RJP]

The only time I can remember making a conscious effort to follow the Dive Ops rules was on the Truk Odyssey. The Captain made clear that the only rule was that everyone must come back to the boat alive, or they would be left behind.

Otherwise I tend to treat them as guidelines.

They actually had one other rule when I was on the Odyssey: You may dive pretty much any time the boat is not moving.

I like their approach of "We will treat you like you are adults until you prove otherwise."

 

[Nishan]

Nishan, Those are some interesting ones. Did the Capt. say why you should keep the reg. in and not the snorkel? Can't figure that out--perhaps your BC was empty (how are you floating?) and you may fall off the ladder and sink?

This was in the FL Keys back in 1999 so cant remember the reason he gave. Might have had something to do with the choppy surface conditions, although my BC was inflated and I was quite comfortable. Either way I just kept the reg in my mouth for the second dive. Was easier to do that than have a debate with the captain since it was not a major issue.

 

[RJP]

A boat that made a fuss about me coming up 5 minutes after the scheduled time.

On our boat we are very rigorous about run-time schedule. If you say you are going to be back on the boat in 50min... you need to be back on the boat - or at least on the hang-line - in 50min. If you are back in 55min, we are going to ask you why you were late. If you call that "making a fuss" so be it. If you are not back for 60min, we are going to send someone to look for you. 15min late? We may well call the Coast Guard. Then you'll really see "a fuss" made.

Now, I'm supposing you are talking about being 5min beyond a boat-imposed run-time. However, this is no different. If the boat says be back on board in 60min, and you agree to this (and by making the dive, you are agreeing to this) you need to be back on board in 60min. If you're late, you're late. Where does the boat draw the line in terms of "how late is late enough to make a fuss? 5min? 7min? 10min? 15min?

Plan your dive. Dive your plan.

 

[TMHeimer]

On our boat we are very rigorous about run-time schedule. If you say you are going to be back on the boat in 50min... you need to be back on the boat - or at least on the hang-line - in 50min. If you are back in 55min, we are going to ask you why you were late. If you call that "making a fuss" so be it. If you are not back for 60min, we are going to send someone to look for you. 15min late? We may well call the Coast Guard. Then you'll really see "a fuss" made.

Now, I'm supposing you are talking about being 5min beyond a boat-imposed run-time. However, this is no different. If the boat says be back on board in 60min, and you agree to this (and by making the dive, you are agreeing to this) you need to be back on board in 60min. If you're late, you're late. Where does the boat draw the line in terms of "how late is late enough to make a fuss? 5min? 7min? 10min? 15min?

Plan your dive. Dive your plan.

Absolutely. It's like kids on a school Band trip. "You had to be back from lunch at the bus at 1:00; why are you 10 minutes late holding up 67 other people?"

 

[RJP]

Absolutely. It's like kids on a school Band trip.

Except for the fact that the likelihood of you being DEAD is much more of a concern being late on a dive boat.

I'm just sayin...