OP, the fact that you admit you were a danger to yourself translates that you were a danger to everyone around you in the water. That you do not realize this but are quick to and feel justified in criticizing another diver is more the real problem/danger.
OK. But, you never asked what the mistakes were. I will provide one of them. On my last dive trip, I asked for 16 lbs. The DM thought I only needed 14, but I used 16. If I was over-weighted, it only slightly. Since then, I have been working out. While I haven’t lost a ton of weight, I have lost inches around the waist. To me, that translated into more muscle mass and less fat (denser, less weight needed – thank you, Globo Gym!). I also thought I was renting steel 100’s. So, I went with 14 lbs this time. I didn’t check the tank. It was an aluminum 100. When I was descending, I thought I was a little light, but I didn’t go back up for more weight (which could have gone in my tank trim pocket. By the time I reached 700 PSI, I couldn’t maintain my safety stop, and was bobbing like a cork. So, really, there were about three mistakes in what I am counting as one mistake. But…, I don’t see how any part of this put anyone else at danger.
Moving your arms while diving may not be an example of good techinique but it is hardly unsafe....the ocean (lake, pond, etang, etc) is a big place with lots of space for quite a number of divers, If you can't space yourself safely from another diver who's techinique is a bit erratic then you should stop focusing on the erratic diver and focus more on your own positioning in the water. Also, if visibility is more than a few meters then there is little excuse for divers, especially with experience, to be bumping into each other and kicking each other...in a low vis environment or a night dive where it may be more imperative to stay shoulder to shoulder I can see this, but during a dive with 2-3 meters or more of visibility being arms length apart is close enough for communication and safety.
Except for the fact that this diver wouldn’t maintain distance. As much as you want it, I could not control him from trying to swim closer to us. I would have loved to stay eight to ten feet away, but that would have meant monitoring him for the entire dive, and not enjoying any part of the dive.
Also, you remarked that this diver in question would be a danger in a swim through....it sounds from everything you describe that there were other divers that lacked experience in general among the divers in your group...particularly the 13yo you reference....perhaps your excursion group should not have been anywhere near a swim through....and if the decision was beyond your control, you could have elected to pass through before the erratic diver or after them negating the so called safety issues you talk of.
The young lady has perfect buoyancy. She easily proved this by drifting along for a hundred feet or more with her legs crossed and holding her fins. Had her dad or I witnessed anything that would have been a red flag, then we would have stopped her. Her dad is a very safe diver and a very protective father.
A regulator being inadvertently pulled/knocked from someones mouth is not necessarily an emergency, it is something that is trained for during basic open water cert courses. In the scenario you describe the unlikely event would be the diver using their arms would snag a hose and yank the regulator out of someoneelse's mouth...this is unlikely to cause injury, the diver affected should have enough spatial awareness to keep clear of the guy, and if it was to unfold where the reg got yanked out it is as simple as grabbing the octo/safe second and plopping that in the mouth and then recover the primary second stage.
Granted, but is it something you want to happen? It may not be an emergency, but it can create one. Accidents happen, but seeing bad behavior that creates bad situations… well, I commend you for having more patience for it than me.
Having a mask knocked off, again is not an emergency, and is a skill specifically trained in every basic open water course. It could be problematic if the mask is lost, but again all that means is some discomfort and an aborted dive, rarely does it involve injury, and in the case where one is better off ascending the anchor or other line for safety, then the diver with the lost mask can be escorted back to the line by their buddy where they will then abort the dive...again no danger, just some discomfort...and great learning experience.
Agreed. And it’s probably a good reason to carry a second mask on every dive. I carry enough luggage, and don’t carry a spare mask. If someone doesn’t see it go off and it isn’t returned, then there goes the dive. This is not my main concern, but it would upset me to lose a dive because of someone’s unnecessary, erratic behavior.
Among your mistakes, was you interpreting the other divers experience based on the fact that they had well worn/vintage gear. People buy and sell old gear all the time, it means nothing with regard to experience. It could very well have been this guy's 1st post certification dive(s)...nothing wrong with that, nothing wrong with rapid air consumption in this scenario, and nothing wrong with excessive arm movement and kicking either. It is not only not dangerous but to be expected of a beginner diver....All those things only get better with time/experience under the water.
To me, a CO2 cartridge as part of the BCD is dangerous gear. Do you stop to think why they discontinued the BCD and no one else picked up on the idea? I have no problem with old gear. My fins were bought on eBay. I would much rather see a diver with older, maintained gear, than new gear. All new gear suggests a brand new diver. But that’s just me being judgmental. And, this guy was not new. He had been to CZM diving ten years ago and his previous dive was a week before this one.
The story you posted seems to reflect more about you than the other diver.
Now this really cracks me up. You’re judging me for judging another diver’s skills and asking how to handle it. What does that say about you? I mean, other than not being able to recognize irony.
You think my asking for advice is a veiled attempt to just vent. Maybe. I hope not. I have had another situation in T&C with a diver that was acting in a similar manner. The difference was that he was not trying to be my shadow, or the shadow of anyone. I told the DM that he was dangerous on the way back to the hotel. I got the impression that the dive shops are more interested in keeping the TripAdvisor ratings than correcting bad behavior - especially when the advice is not solicited. I get the impression it is up to fellow divers to speak up. Hence, my request for advice.