Cabo Capers

[crispix]

Was in Cabo on one of those cheapie cruises a couple weeks ago. Did a couple dives as part of a "shore excursion". This was a set of guided boat dives, where the DM herds everyone around a planned dive site. The poor DM had his hands full on this one.

I'm almost done with my DiveCon cert, so I was particulary interested in how he handled the divers.

I was insta-buddied up with nice guy, decent diver, and I did a full pre-dive check and conversation with him. Since I'm in DiveCon classes, I was probably a bit too formal about it, but he humored me. I was using rental equipment (ick!), which was a tough decision.

What happened:

First dive: one guy ran out of air. Just flat-out breathed his tank dry. I didn't see it happen, but he managed to get an octo from the DM and didn't panic. He was embarassed back on the boat, but there's no excuse for not watching your gagues and not checking your pressure pre-dive. I will assume he had a short fill or a faulty SPG, because there were no leaks and he ran out too fast for even the worst air hog. Or maybe he just sucked it down without watching his SPG?

The DM rigged all the rental gear, I wonder if he checked the fill after turning on the air? In his defense, he seemed very meticulous about checking everyone's air during the dive. I can only guess as to what happened.

First dive: I had trouble clearning my ears (this is before the OOO incident.) I felt like such a n00b, but in my defense I had just gotten over a cold. No big deal for me, I signaled to the DM and my buddy, ascended a bit, got my ear to clear (ahhh! relief!), and continued. It took me over a minute, though, and the DM watched me like a hawk. Like I said, he seemed to be good, which makes me wonder if the OOO diver really had a short fill or not.

First dive: one woman should not have been diving. She was swimming with her hands the whole time, looked uncomfortable, and really was having trouble. She was simply a bad diver in need of another OW course. Afterwards, on the boat, she was talking about how she was close to panic. She still did the second dive. I didn't say anything.

I think, if I were the DM, I would have had a serious conversation with her about sitting out the second dive. Any thoughts on this one? (The DM didn't talk to her, but did tell her he was her new buddy for the next dive, so he obviously saw she needed attention.)

Second dive: I talked to my buddy about descending first in the group, slowly, and letting me take my time with my ears. He was great. I had trouble clearing again but eventually got it. (Stupid cold.)

Second dive: the bad diver somehow got confused and she swam off with another group of divers. The DM had to bolt after her and get her back to our group. Even buddied up with her, she still managed to slip away.

So I think the DM did a good job. I tipped well. (Side note: the dives were fantasic -- so many fish!)

I'm torn on this one . . . I really, really wish I had my own gear on the dive, and I always bring my gear on trips where I will dive multiple days. For just one day of diving, I've resigned to using rental gear. It's nice not to have to clean everything afterwards and I avoid the hassle of hauling so much stuff around for very little diving. What are your thoughts? If you were going on a vacation and will only dive once, will you rent gear or bring your own?

Anyway, a few things to learn or analyze from both a diver's perspective and from a DM point-of-view.

Let the flaming begin . . . what did I do wrong?

 

[dpbishop]

What did you do wrong? Nada. You dove within your limits, kept an eye on other divers in case the DM needed back up, communicated with the insta-buddy and had a good dive.

I don't like to rent either, but I have been diving long enough to know that no matter how bad their equipment might seem, I have probably dove with worse at some point, so I just check it out and adjust my diving to fit. That's better than missing the chance to dive some place new and tropical.

 

[openmindOW]

First dive: one guy ran out of air. Just flat-out breathed his tank dry. I didn't see it happen, but he managed to get an octo from the DM and didn't panic.

The DM rigged all the rental gear, I wonder if he checked the fill after turning on the air?

First dive: one woman should not have been diving. She was swimming with her hands the whole time, looked uncomfortable, and really was having trouble. She was simply a bad diver in need of another OW course. Afterwards, on the boat, she was talking
She still did the second dive.

Let the flaming begin . . . what did I do wrong?

I absolutely oppose flaming People who post on this Forum. How can we expect people to write in and tell us about their experiences/mistakes if they know they'll get flamed?

The lesson I take away from your post is further confirmamtion of my belief that OW training is too easy today and that c-cards should have expiration dates.

It sounds like you might have been asking for a critique. Okay, then I'll provide an opinion. But this is just my view.

When I am paired-up with someone I don't know on a dive, I carry-on a relaxed conversation with my new dive buddy. This is stylistic.

He's my buddy. It doesn't matter that I'm a dive professional. I ask casual questions that may bring out something truthful about his experience. Something like, "So, Bob, do you dive a lot around here?"


But that's just me.

Thank you for posting.

 

[steve70638]

You did great...it seemed like you and your buddy were "tight" and this is your first priority. Regarding dive travel, in situations where I am traveling and are are just likely to get a few dives, I bring my reg, computer and mask and leave the rest of my kit at home. I consider these three to be the most "personal" and critical to safety and comfort (familiarity). They are not too heavy and not too bulky!

 

[crispix]

Thanks for the feedback. I should have been more specific and added -- did the DM do anything wrong? (I'm in DM training, so this is of interest to me.)

I can't say I think he did anything wrong -- there was that one lady who should not have been diving, but rather than keep her out of the water he just kept her close on the second dive. If I were the DM, I probably would have talked to her a bit more, helped her decide what to do, and if she chose to do the second dive keep her close. I don't think I would have kept her out of the water -- it must be hard to say "no" to a paying customer.