About diving with strangers-version 2

[Monilite]

Just want to add a little PS to my first post.
I read your IP to mean your first dive after getting certified. If this was a resort intro dive with 3 uncertified divers then what everyone else said above far overshadows what I said initially. I recently asked to tag along on a beach dive with an OW class and the instructor shooed me away; I found another group of certified divers willing to take me as an insta-buddy. That's the way it should have been with you.

 

[Sue J]

You've all given me some things to thinks about for next time.

To fill in some info.,
-The manager of the resort accompanied us on the trip and helped divers gear up and get back into the boat. The kids were under his supervision in the boat and were calm and comfortable when we returned. Conditions were good. Calm seas, no current, good visibility.
-When son had to return to the boat, hubby motioned to me to stay put and went up with son. I hovered below him at about 10 ft. while he watched son swim to the boat. We did a few visual check-ins and I used the time to clear my ears. The instructor was within sight but was concentrating on daughter.
-As soon as we got to the reef we found New Guy and continued from there as a group of four.
-Instructor was interviewing for a position as the resort's full-time DM. It's very possible he did not feel in full control of the situation and didn't feel he had the latitude to limit the group, especially as New Guy had been okayed by the manager.
-Instructor was out with son and hubby the day before so he'd had a chance to see how they performed in the water. He had complimented them on how they worked as a team and on son's skills in general.
-New guy was well aware he was going out with a DS group. He'd seen us in the pool earlier in the day and I commented to him about this being my first real OW dive as we were getting on the boat.
-I think one of the reasons we agreed to have son buddy with new guy was that we didn't want him to have to stick to a DS group. I was comfortable with the idea of son (certified, 20 boat dives), diving within sight if buddied with another competent diver. As some of you pointed out, he should have been buddied with husband, I should have been the responsibility of the instructor. Our mistake. I think I was hoping Instructor would be able to concentrate more on daughter if he knew hubby was with us and helping me to keep track of the simpler stuff.
-I'm not convinced New Guy was the diving stud he presented himself as. He either didn't watch his air or ignored the instructor's instruction to come up at 500 psi, as he was well below that when hubby indicated it was time for him to go up, and when we returned to the boat he tried to take off his BCD before removing his weight belt.

Some of the things I can see to be wary of in the future:
Last minute changes to a plan made in advance. The original plan made sense. As things got more complicated the chances of a problem increased.
Bending the rules. Son should have been with father. DS dive shouldn't have been mixed with general recreational dive.
Diving with an unknown buddy without spelling things out in advance. While I did talk to the New Guy and got a conversation going between him and son we made a lot of assumptions, both about his skills and his willingness to act as an appropriate buddy to a teenager.

Daughter and I are planning to do the full course this spring. Hopefully we'll have many more opportunities for successful dives!

 

[wreckchick]

A lot of things were done outside of standards with this dive. You and your daughter should have been under the direct supervision of the instructor, period. Hubby, son and new guy are a buddy team of three 'tagging along' with the DSD group. You were also limited to a maximum depth of 40' which was violated, not by much, but you went deeper than you were supposed to.

Having done a bunch of very similar dives to the one described in the first paragraph, I'm very clear on the boat as to where my attention is. I will not abandon the uncertified divers to chase the certified divers. Once you get that magic card it means you are able to conduct independent dives and make decisions about how to conduct a dive without the supervision of a professional and if anyone is tagging along I tell them that. This isn't to say that if a MAJOR emergency popped up I wouldn't do my best to control it but to lose control of the uncertified divers puts them at HUGE risk since they don't know what they're doing and are relying on me to make diving decisions for them.

As far as diving juniors, I love it! Kids are usually so great in the water and just thrilled by everything they see it makes me smile to see their enthusiasm. They also stick like glue to me. I have done more than one dive with a kid attached to either arm as I swim them around the reef. I like them better there than in my fins which is where they tend to end up if I let them just swim around on their own.

If you are all going to be certified and dive together, I highly recommend that you and hubby get through rescue as soon as possible and never forget that a young buddy might not be a great buddy to a parent if everything goes pear-shaped so you should consider that you and hubby are buddies to the kids and each other but the kids aren't really buddies to you. It wouldn't be a bad idea to hire an exclusive divemaster for the four of you for your first few dives to make sure you have an extra set of eyes and some experience dedicated to your family when you're first starting out.

Congrats on keeping a cool head and I'm glad it all turned out well for you!

Rachel

 

[Nerea]

One thing that worries me (as a newbie) a bit is how the instructor handled the situation (or was unable to, more like it).
In the few dives that I have made, I have put quite a lot of trust into the DM in terms of being able to manage the dive, handle emergencies, helping out with minor difficulties, etc. Mostly because of my own inexperience, but also because a lot of things to do with diving seem "complicated" or "strange" or simply "unfamiliar" to a newbie - even the things that are perfectly normal. So in the time it takes for me to build up some experience and get a feel for things, I trust the DM to judge whether a situation needs to be treated seriously (aborting the dive, emergency procedures underwater) or if the divers just need to be "okayed" and the dive can proceed.
So if the DM is not in control of things - then who is? Me? Yikes... :11:
I suppose a general sense of skepticism is healthy in most walks of life - but sometimes it's a fine line between being suspicious and panicking...

 

[ahava]

I think you learned an important lesson, never trust anyone that you dont know or has not been properly trained with the lives of you or your family. Thank goodness that everyone came back safe. As an instructor I dive all the time with students on planned out dives, but when I am diving for myself I will not dive with someone I dont know or cant verify thier ability. I usually will not acccept someones word or their friends word of how good the are.