Boat Crew Setting Up Gear?

[Firefyter]

I enjoy setting up my gear. I don't enjoy someone trying to put my fins on me. They earn a tip from me by staying out of my way. I don't mind an offer to help. I do mind when they start to insist. That is not fun and relaxing. If you enjoy it, by all means let them treat you like a mindless incompetent. I'll pass.

I've never let anyone put my fins on me or treat me like a mindless incompetent. Walter, I admire your experience and usually agree with your opinions, but this one is way off the mark. I know how to drive a car, too, but I'm not gonna make the taxi driver let me drive. I'm paying for a service, and they're providing it, pure and simple. If that's the way you want to do it, that's fine, but it doesn't mean everybody else is a mindless incompetent.

 

[Walter]

Thomas,

I never said anyone was a mindless incompetent. I said some people treat divers as if they are.

I like your taxi analogy.

When I get in a taxi, I'm paying the driver to transport me (and often my luggage) from one place to another. That's the service for which I pay and that's what I expect. I don't expect the driver or an assistant to try to help me prepare for any tasks I'm planning at my destination. I'm paying for transportation and that's all I want.

When I get on a boat, I'm paying the driver to transport me (and often my dive gear) from one place to another. That's the service for which I pay and that's what I expect. I don't expect the driver or an assistant to try to help me prepare for any tasks I'm planning at my destination. I'm paying for transportation and that's all I want.

OTOH, if you, or anyone else, wants assistance, I certainly won't try to stop you from receiving it (as long as you are not currently in my class). I don't see why you want to tell others to accept "services" they don't want.

 

[Wijbrandus]

Walter,

When you get in a taxi, do you tell the driver to keep his hands off of your luggage?

I see setting up gear in the same way. If I had as much experience as other people here, maybe I'd feel differently though. I've yet to have something broken or go wrong by allowing someone else to set up my gear.

I have had an instance or two where if I hadn't been thorough in my check, I could have been hurting, however. I do think I can see where you are coming from on it.

 

[Walter]

No, and I don't tell the DM not to assist with putting my bag on board either. The taxi driver has no business dealing with anything inside my luggage. The boat crew has no business dealing with anything inside my gear bag.

 

[Uncle Pug]

Sorry... I'm late to this thread and perhaps these items were already mentioned... but having only recently been exposed to the idea of someone else setting up my gear while in Fiji I have a couple of observations:

1) It takes less time to just go over your rig and make adjustments as necessary rather than trying to explain to the staff that you don't want them to set it up for you... and it can be less offensive as well.

2) The dive crew often need to organize the boat ahead of time and if everyone is doing their own set-ups it can take extra time at the dock and/or be unsafe in a seaway.

 

[Wijbrandus]

Welcome back, UP.

Looking forward to reading your trip report.

I am surprised that you allowed them to touch your gear? Or did you do otherwise?

 

[Uncle Pug]

Thank you for the welcome back... my blog has started here along with the continuing discussion thread.

As for letting them touch my gear... yes, no problem. I would invariably need to adjust the tank height and redo my wing inflator hose but that wasn't a problem at all... and I was discreet enough not to cause offense.

I did not however have a problem with anyone wanting to spit in my mask for me or put my fins on either. At the end of the dive the crew would always be there to help anyone who needed assisstance but they never *took* my fins from me as I prefer to keep them in my possession until on board.

 

[TheRedHead]

This is good to know (in fact not the first time I've heard it).

But is not diving a DM's plan, still valid? I have little experience, but so far my PLAN's are limited to, swim out, decend to X depth, look around for a while, return to the surface, exit. Not much different than you DM plan although I guess his was jump in, decend, drift, go up.

I hear too many stories like yours about the out of control sinking diver. I would hope however that a DM was also keeping an eye on that.... but maybe not.

I was hoping to dive with my Cuz, who has been diving for a few decades. But with the disaster that was Multiple hurricanes that hit Harbor Branch in Ft. Pierce, she not only will not take time off when we are there in Dec, but she will be working weekends!!

Go figure.
Ron

Diving the DM's plan is a very good idea when he has the float the boat uses to follow and pick us up. The DM knows where the good fishies and coral are to be found. I think following the DM's plan in a place where you've never dived and he dives every day is the way to go, unless the plan is way beyond your experience and you're not confident about diving that plan.

On the dive where the sinking diver grabbed my arm, the DM was facing the other way and pointing toward something. The sinking diver did not have a buddy and was supposed to have been staying close to the DM.

I hope you get some good diving in Florida; I have never dived in the Ft. Pierce area. The shallow reefs in the Keys are pretty easy to dive as long as the seas are not high. Before going on this cruise, I had done the same kind of diving as you. Your plan consisted of basically not going beyond a certain depth, turning at a certain time, and not running out of air where you would have to surface swim a long way. I also tried to do some basic compass navigation on each dive.

 

[TheRedHead]

You may. I won't. I dive my plan.

For cryin' out loud, Walter, it was a drift dive. You gotta follow the DM or you won't get picked up by the boat. Just tell me how to plan a dive the way you learn in OW class when you are drift diving with a group? Either you will dive a the DM's plan or you shouldn't get off the boat.

I couldn't imagine that you would be on a cruise ship dive boat anyway. I couldn't imagine you on a cruise ship. Shuffleboard or bingo in the afternoon? If you want to get out of the sun, you can always attend the fruit carving class or make paper carnations in the afternoon. <ROFL>

 

[TheRedHead]

Thank you for the welcome back... my blog has started here along with the continuing discussion thread.

I did not however have a problem with anyone wanting to spit in my mask for me or put my fins on either. At the end of the dive the crew would always be there to help anyone who needed assisstance but they never *took* my fins from me as I prefer to keep them in my possession until on board.

You're too purdy to have anybody take your fins, Uncle Pug. I hope you had a great time and I loved the photo of your sandals.

The guy who put my fins on was a Rastafarian. He gave my BC a squirt of air and I looked him in the eye, grabbed my inflator hose and gave it two more squirts. The then smiled devlishly and crossed by fins and gave me some "help" off the boat.