Checkout Dive Etiquette/Protocol

[abnfrog]

not a check out ow dive but when we showed up to bikini atoll to dive the day we arrived we told be at the dock in 1 hour we are going to do a 120 foot "check out dive " all though fast i thought it was prudent because of the deep air we were going to dive all week (thats another story )

 

[Jafo19D]

They always just ask me when was my last dive and how many. I also sense that they look at you while you set up your gear. I have seen some cases where they make someone do a quick refresher or take them aside to go over stuff.

 

[NorCalDM]

You probably been on a check out dive but didn't know it. The first dive of the trip is usually an easy dive and they are watching you whether they call it a check out dive or not. The BS and boastful talking go's away once somebodies head goes below the surface and it's pretty easy to tell who is going to have issues. I don't mind check out dives as it lets me get my brain sorted out after a long travel day.

 

[Craig McCoy]

Thank you all for the responses. I guess I never really thought about it until it was mentioned to me on my most recent trip. In retrospect, I definitely know that we have been on "checkout dives" or at the minimum, have had the DM closer on the first dive until we showed that we are actually skilled. Makes a lot more sense! I definitely understand the need for them, and that is why we make sure to do a dive or two in Colorado (even though it is cold and painful ) just to practice skills on our own. Thank you all!

 

[ChuckP]

A great dive shop just thru asking questions can get a judgement of where you are at, where you have been - it's an easy process but all to often I don't see it communicated to the boat or the DM's....

If you were diving in Playa or Cancun and had never dove in currents, hadn't dove in awhile etc... - that stuff should all raise flags - it's for everyone's safety - now getting you on the right boat and someone making notes of it is a whole other story. A guy that is nitrox certified with 20 dives elsewhere maybe shouldn't be on the crazy boat first day, but I see it happen.

If someone's edgy, new, or not experienced in those conditions, we push hiring a private DM and it works out great.

 

[dmaziuk]

You probably been on a check out dive but didn't know it. The first dive of the trip is usually an easy dive and they are watching you whether they call it a check out dive or not.

+1. That has been my experience on Roatan: the DM will watch everyone on the first dive and quickly figure out who they need to watch the rest of the week.

First time ever on both Bonaire and Curacao we had someone from the shop walk out to the water with us and watch us put our kit together and go in. As repeat customers we get some slack, e.g. at GoWest on Curacao they may tell us to please do a shore dive before we show up for the boat ride to Watamula, and take our word for it.

 

[ChuckP]

+1. That has been my experience on Roatan: the DM will watch everyone on the first dive and quickly figure out who they need to watch the rest of the week.

First time ever on both Bonaire and Curacao we had someone from the shop walk out to the water with us and watch us put our kit together and go in. As repeat customers we get some slack, e.g. at GoWest on Curacao they may tell us to please do a shore dive before we show up for the boat ride to Watamula, and take our word for it.

I miss the Go West people............

 

[boulderjohn]

Liveaboards require them frequently. Here is a story that may help explain why.

The Mike Ball liveaboard operation runs liveaboards in Australia. In 2003 they had an advertised policy of requiring checkout dives, but they made an exception when a man named Gabe Watson said that his NASDS Rescue Diver certification indicated he did not need one, and he would be able to take care of his newly certified wife, Tina, as well. It turned out later that Gabe had about as little experience as you could have with that level of certification, and the thoroughness of his courses were very suspect. (His 4-day Rescue Diver class was completed in 2 days.) On their first dive, Tina was quite incompetent, and Gabe's attempts to rescue her was so very incompetent that some people believed he intentionally killed her, leading to years of legal issues and court cases. In the long run, experts determined that he was simply an incompetent, inexperienced diver, and neither he nor his wife should not have been allowed to do that dive unsupervised.

Mike Ball was heavily fined for not performing the checkout dive. There was no law requiring it--they were fined for failing to enforce their own policy.

I did a checkout dive when I did a liveaboard in Australia, and you can bet they made me do it, even though they knew I was an instructor. No problem. In fact, I'm glad we did it. All the customers were grouped by their perceived abilities on the checkout dive, with each group assigned a specific guide. My two diving companions and I had no required guide, and we could do whatever we wanted.

 

[tursiops]

Liveaboards require them frequently. Here is a story that may help explain why.

The Mike Ball liveaboard operation runs liveaboards in Australia. In 2003 they had an advertised policy of requiring checkout dives, but they made an exception when a man named Gabe Watson said that his NASDS Rescue Diver certification indicated he did not need one, and he would be able to take care of his newly certified wife, Tina, as well. It turned out later that Gabe had about as little experience as you could have with that level of certification, and the thoroughness of his courses were very suspect. (His 4-day Rescue Diver class was completed in 2 days.) On their first dive, Tina was quite incompetent, and Gabe's attempts to rescue her was so very incompetent that some people believed he intentionally killed her, leading to years of legal issues and court cases. In the long run, experts determined that he was simply an incompetent, inexperienced diver, and neither he nor his wife should not have been allowed to do that dive unsupervised.

Mike Ball was heavily fined for not performing the checkout dive. There was no law requiring it--they were fined for failing to enforce their own policy.

I did a checkout dive when I did a liveaboard in Australia, and you can bet they made me do it, even though they knew I was an instructor. No problem. In fact, I'm glad we did it. All the customers were grouped by their perceived abilities on the checkout dive, with each group assigned a specific guide. My two diving companions and I had no required guide, and we could do whatever we wanted.

I had a new (2001) SDI solo card when I went on a Mike Ball liveaboard in 2002. I asked about diving solo. They said sure, but we'll check you out first. We were anchored near some rocks with waves crashing on them. He pointed over toward one of the distant rocks, said take a compass bearing, swim at 30 ft to that rock, surface, give me an OK sign, submerge, and swim back to the boat. How much gas will you have used when you get back, and when will you be back? I did a quick calculation, told him, and jumped in. He looked at my watch and SPG when I got back. Best part is I didn't do any more solo dives on that trip, just that one.

 

[rick00001967]

i am with you. i always insist my wife and i always do at least a pool session to check out the gear and review basic skills. more divers should do this.

as was already stated above i am sure, many shops will try to avoid taking divers they are not familiar with on more challenging dives until they see you in the water. this is a good thing imho.

if there is an easy shore dive at the shop, it may just be a short simple way for them to "test" you. i would never agree to pay for this. i personally have never been asked to do this though.

more commonly, i find that some shops will prefer you do an easier shallow dive site with them before doing a deeper dive with strong current for example. and yes this would be an actual dive that you pay for. sometimes the shallower sites are better anyway.

i do remember a shop in st marrten required every diver to have done at least one dive with them before allowing you on the shark feeding dive. they wanted to be sure each divers buoyancy control (or lack of) was not going to cause any problems.