Being left to dive solo

[victor]

What do you do?
On vacation. Boat dive, led by divemaster finding cool stuff.
You have informed the staff that you have a camera and are going to be slow,
Dves are relativly simple, 12 to 24 meters, low current,
You allow others to go first, after first find you look up and all you see is bubbles in the distance. catch up and next time nothing. They have disapeared into the distance.
What do you do on this dive?
What do you do on future dives with this ?

 

[Pudsky]

Make sure to specifically arrange with someone (not just the staff) before the dive who will agree to stay back with the diver wanting to take pictures.

 

[VooDooGasMan]

Get a reading which way last seen, go to surface, and compass navigate toward their bubbles on a slant towards the divers. In the conditions your talking.



Happy Diving

 

[DevonDiver]

1) Abort the dive. Ascend solo. Wait on the boat for the group to return.

2) Inform the divemaster that I want a refund because they were not supervising me or guiding me - as I paid them to do.

3) Complain to the dive centre manager/owner that I had been abandoned by my dive master/guide, which is what I paid them for.

3) Find another scuba operation to dive with, that can cater for the needs of photographers.

4) At future dive centres, ensure that you clearly communicate your expectations to the dive staff.

5) Confirm that your desired dive plan is suitable for inclusion within the larger group (if non-photographers) and safe for the dive site/s concerned.

6) Agree with them an adequate procedure so that your diveguide can ensure your safety and supervision throughout the dive.

 

[TSandM]

Get a good briefing on the dive site, and dive with a buddy. Then, if everybody else disappears, the two of you do the dive you planned. (My husband is a photographer, and we have definitely had problems with this in the past.)

In the setting you describe, if you had not planned to execute the dive solo, and were not equipped for it or mentally prepared for it, I agree with DD; abort the dive, and complain quite firmly that you were left behind by the guide you hired.

 

[fredaroony]

I dive solo all the time so it wouldnt worry me personally. I always take a compass reading etc and check landmarks as soon as I get in too.

Not that I'm recommending it to anyone but if it were me I would just keep going. If I'm on a boat without anyone I know I always ask to be with another experienced diver to try to avoid any dramas.

I've been on dives with so-called experience divers that didnt think they needed any weights with a 5mm suit. I'd rather dive alone than with someone like that!

 

[bleeb]

I doesn't sound like you went with your own buddy. Did you specifically agree to buddy with someone (not the person leading the dive) or separately hire someone from the outfit to buddy with you? One common down side of group diving in warm water vacation spots without buddy pairs being explicitly assigned and behaving as good buddy pairs is that it's easier to loose someone. How big was the group underwater?

Similarly, a common issue with UW photographers is that many make poor buddies because they're spending too much time concentrating on their photo subjects and not enough maintaining situational awareness, including what's going on with the people they're suppose to be diving with. As other posters have suggested, one way to deal with the issue is to hire a dive professional of some form to accompany you. That way someone is specifically looking after you and there is somewhat less of an issue about you looking after someone else.

 

[hypertech]

It sounds like you got on the boat and informed them that you have a different plan for how the dive should go than all the rest of the divers. So, it seems to me that you should find a buddy to go slow with you or you should expect to dive solo. Why should the whole group slow down so you can do something different than the plan everyone else has?

I'm not saying it is wrong to be slow and take your time - if that's what you are looking for in the dive, plan for it. The plan should include a buddy or DM with the same plan as you, or be a planned solo dive. But, don't be upset if you want to do something different and the rest of the group does the planned dive.

 

[DennisS]

It sounds like you were with the wrong operator, did you tell them that you wanted the group to stop every time you wanted to take a picture. Buddying up with another photographer would work a lot better than going with a group.

 

[peterbj7]

No operator is going to run the dive specifically for you unless that's pre-arranged and probably paid for. Best to learn to dive solo and get on with it - it'll happen again.

Diving solo involves, inter alia, knowing where/how the boat will pick you up (boat moored or a drift dive), knowing how the boat will see you (they won't be able to follow two sets of bubbles, so get and use a DSMB), and how long the dive is expected to be. Also find whether they have a standard recall signal. You'll need to know what quirks the site may have, such as currents. Basically you need to be a good and thoughtful diver.