As some of you know, I just purchased a new regulator and got the chance to try it out this last weekend. Things were great at first, though I thought to myself that the dive master we were with could have been more attentive than we was with our group of five. On the first dive, a medium current drift dive, he let my girlfriend and I drift off quite a ways ahead of him while he was showing the others something in the coral. I didn’t worry too much about that, as I noticed they were up current pretty quickly and was able to usher my girlfriend to a spot behind some rocks where the current let up. They caught up in time after that. It did bother me that he didn’t have up a floatation signal on this dive. I thought to myself that I was glad to have mine with me, just in case. I thought at the safety stop that I should put up my orange floatation signal when the DM didn’t, but I didn’t follow through with this in the end.
Later on the next dive, my girlfriend had a bit of difficulty descending at first. I stayed with her until she got down, then I realized the group had left us totally behind. We moved to the mooring line and waited at 6 meters. I was at about thirty seconds of my minute count to ascend when the DM came flying back over the coral to get us. He seemed irritated with us for having fallen behind. In his dive briefing he said that we would descend to the mooring line and then move together. I was not pleased with this, but held my tongue all the same.
Finally on the last dive yesterday when it was only the DM, my girlfriend and I, the DM took us on a shallow reef dive at about 15 meters. This lead us to 4 meters at about 40 minutes bottom time. We were hanging around at that depth for a spell checking things out, and I thought to myself that we really should have a floatation device up so that any boats that might come by would know we were there. I looked to see if the DM had his up and saw that he didn’t. I figured he has local knowledge and that I shouldn’t worry. Shortly thereafter a banka (a Filipino boat with skis) came flying right over our location. I heard it first and caught its location moving at us. Then I saw the blade from the motor miss my girlfriend’s head narrowly. She didn’t see it. I thought it was all over for a flashing moment. I quickly pulled out my orange floatation sausage and inflated it with my octo. I then swam to my girlfriend and started moving her to our boat. After we got closer to our boat, we surfaced, with me in about as irate a condition as I have been in for some time.
I was shaking and quite upset when we got back in our boat. I started asking questions about floatation devices and why we didn’t have one up. The DM started saying that our boat guys called out them and that the location we are at is too shallow for dive boats, and that it was a fishing boat, blah, blah, blah…
The burning reality that I don't want to face is that I am responsible in the end because I had the instinct and the ability to give the surface boats a signal when I felt it needed to be done. It was some kind of second guessing that kept me from doing that because the DM hadn’t done it. And I am but a measly Advanced diver with 50 some dives. And I am still second guessing a lot, like noticing his lack of attention earlier and not stepping up more when we got to the last dive. Should I have trusted my instincts more? How do I get that image of that propeller out of my head? What is the common practice in water that shallow for those who dive regularly? Shouldn’t we have actually been hanging out closer to our own moored boat?
Thanks for the vent…
Cheers!
Later on the next dive, my girlfriend had a bit of difficulty descending at first. I stayed with her until she got down, then I realized the group had left us totally behind. We moved to the mooring line and waited at 6 meters. I was at about thirty seconds of my minute count to ascend when the DM came flying back over the coral to get us. He seemed irritated with us for having fallen behind. In his dive briefing he said that we would descend to the mooring line and then move together. I was not pleased with this, but held my tongue all the same.
Finally on the last dive yesterday when it was only the DM, my girlfriend and I, the DM took us on a shallow reef dive at about 15 meters. This lead us to 4 meters at about 40 minutes bottom time. We were hanging around at that depth for a spell checking things out, and I thought to myself that we really should have a floatation device up so that any boats that might come by would know we were there. I looked to see if the DM had his up and saw that he didn’t. I figured he has local knowledge and that I shouldn’t worry. Shortly thereafter a banka (a Filipino boat with skis) came flying right over our location. I heard it first and caught its location moving at us. Then I saw the blade from the motor miss my girlfriend’s head narrowly. She didn’t see it. I thought it was all over for a flashing moment. I quickly pulled out my orange floatation sausage and inflated it with my octo. I then swam to my girlfriend and started moving her to our boat. After we got closer to our boat, we surfaced, with me in about as irate a condition as I have been in for some time.
I was shaking and quite upset when we got back in our boat. I started asking questions about floatation devices and why we didn’t have one up. The DM started saying that our boat guys called out them and that the location we are at is too shallow for dive boats, and that it was a fishing boat, blah, blah, blah…
The burning reality that I don't want to face is that I am responsible in the end because I had the instinct and the ability to give the surface boats a signal when I felt it needed to be done. It was some kind of second guessing that kept me from doing that because the DM hadn’t done it. And I am but a measly Advanced diver with 50 some dives. And I am still second guessing a lot, like noticing his lack of attention earlier and not stepping up more when we got to the last dive. Should I have trusted my instincts more? How do I get that image of that propeller out of my head? What is the common practice in water that shallow for those who dive regularly? Shouldn’t we have actually been hanging out closer to our own moored boat?
Thanks for the vent…
Cheers!
