Boat operators-differences between good & bad divers?

[DiveDiva_Ashley]

Number two, watch your shoe: The explodo-matic gear bag. As if he yanked a string and a life raft packed with accessories and save-a-dive kits spewed outward. Roughly taking up space allotted to accomodate 1.97 divers. No matter what effort, impossible to put 3# of poop back into a 2# bag.

Six- a veritable bag of tricks: Multitudionous accessories including but not limited to dual Spare Air, Sea Gold Drops Platinum (made from the sweat of the inner thighs of Virgin Swedish DiveMistresses)

8...Oh, was I late? The self centered clown that shows up at push off time, not at the be-at-the-dock-to-load time.

I've never been a captain either, nor worked on a boat but I have been on several boats and had conversations with a few different captains in the Keys about this very subject.
Though there are several warning flags, I personally think the worst are the ones who 1) come late 2) haven't dove recently 3) travel alone and can't speak English (hard to make a dive plan if your buddy can't speak your language) and 4) need help setting up their gear. Not saying that all who fit into one of these categories are bad buddies, just that several of those things combined together add up to one big problem for me. Maybe I'm too picky, but I know I'll enjoy myself much more underwater if I'm with someone who knows what they're getting themselves into and I won't have to constantly be worrying about. Those carefree dives are the most enjoyable and relaxing for me.
My husband isn't a diver (I know, I know ) and thus, I often find myself looking for a buddy. I arrive early and watch the others showing up. I look for people who are organized but don't have a ton of things. They know what they need to get the job done. I also look for people who look nervous. If someone is having problems setting up their gear, this also worries me. If they set it up wrong and have to be corrected by the DM or deck hand, this is a red flag. English language skills are also now a pre-req for me as I do not know any other languages myself and had a bad experience with this in the past. You cannot discuss dive plans with someone who does not speak your language, and I don't feel prepared or comfortable jumping in without a little direction. I would much rather be the 3rd person to a group than be buddied up with someone who I do not trust. It's a hard thing to establish trust so quickly, but oftentimes you can sense problems and it's much better to go with your gut and play it safe rather than be sorry later.
Good post, RoatanMan! :14:

 

[plot]

Darn, while trying to prevent a disaster (vomit in the wind), I grab a young Lady by the only available handle, her thong, not a good move.

Stan

lol... great show for the rest of the boat though.



people that completely match worry me.

 

[serambin]

lol... great show for the rest of the boat though.



people that completely match worry me.

Not if you're down wind. It realy takes the . . . romance out the equation.

Stan

 

[RoyN]

The boat operators on the boat I dive from are probably want you would call careful crew because they make sure everybody is on the same dive level regardless of having an advance open water certs or not. The boat I dive from is either Beach hopper 2 or the Monterey Express and both captains and crew are over the top experiences divers especially Tim Dorreck from the Monterey Express.

 

[Diver Dennis]

I'm not a captain but from a resort diving point of view, I worry about the ones who are too vocal. We were on a boat in Mexico with a family of six, with the Dad a supposed Instructor. On the way out he was strutting around the boat, taking to all the other divers about his dive credentials. After the DM, a young Mexican female with over a thousand dives, gave the dive brief the Dad started giving his own stern dive brief to the family. He then insisted on standing beside the whole family and basically pushing them off the boat as they did their backroll.

I'm usually the first or the last in the water but happened to be the last this time as I was helping another young diver do an equipment check. The family including the Dad are in the water, on the surface waiting and he is yelling at them to stay close etc. when his wife starts choking. What does he do? Just starts pointing at her! So the DM and I dive in and get her back on the boat, where she stays for the rest of the trip. He did not even try to go to help her.

When we finally got down, he spent most of the dive finning up the bottom.:shakehead

Yeah, the vocal ones are the divers I worry about.

 

[shurite7]

When I worked in the islands we alway's asked when was their last dive. If there were any that hadn't made a dive in a while we would discuss this between ourselves (boat captain and crew member). One of us would talk to the person(s) to try and get a feel for them. From then on out we would observe them a little more often

I agree with an earlier post, there were far more people who gave no problems compared to those who did.

Simple observation and listening was another way of getting a feel. Was a person willing to seek help or try and hide their ignorance.

I would say the inconsiderate person was the worst problem. If people are looking sea sick don't over extend the last dive while everyone else is onboard ready to go.

Excess, frivolous gear was another thing to look out for. Is there really a need for it?

Salaam

Chris

 

[crpntr133]

I did a FL boat dive once and was the outcast due to the fact that I was diving lp-85's...we supplied our own tanks. When we loaded the boat the cap made some comment about them being steel. I was the only one using steels. Also had the video housing with me so that didn't help. After we got to the dive spot things changed real fast. The guy with the shiney new BP/W and diving nitrox was the problem.
This wasn't a space issue since my video fits in a milk crate.

 

[Goose75]

I'd like to add that lack of experience isn't necessarily a red flag. I think honesty about the level of experience and a desire to take advice matter most. I recently dove off a boat where I helped a diver figure out his wetsuit was backwards. He volunteered his lack of experience and asked for advice and help from the guide. I found he was attentive and a pleasure to dive with. He had some problems but they were expected and he learned very quickly.

 

[jd950]

Never mind

 

[friscuba]

I'd like to add that lack of experience isn't necessarily a red flag. I think honesty about the level of experience and a desire to take advice matter most. I recently dove off a boat where I helped a diver figure out his wetsuit was backwards. He volunteered his lack of experience and asked for advice and help from the guide. I found he was attentive and a pleasure to dive with. He had some problems but they were expected and he learned very quickly.

I'll agree with that. The easiest divers to work with are the ones who are brand new, and the ones who've worked in the industry for a while. Most of the people I've ever met with 1000+ dives just want to dive and are very undemanding. The toughest usually have somewhere between 15 and 100 dives and think they know enough that they don't need to listen to briefings or play by the rules everyone else does.