differing dive computers in a group

[ballastbelly]

what usually happens in a boat group dive where divers are reaching their dive computer limits sooner than others due to differing brands or different settings?

does the DM beforehand ask everyone to run the plan feature on their dive computer to see whats the lowest common factor?
or do divers start ascending on their own, or do they just follow the DM and ignore their dive computer?

thx

 

[Dr. Lecter]

The answer will largely depend on where you're diving, because everything you mentioned happens with some regularity.

 

[ajduplessis]

Mostly you ascent on your own once you have reached your limit (gas or NDL), some divers stick with the DM.

 

[DuboisP]

what usually happens in a boat group dive where divers are reaching their dive computer limits sooner than others due to differing brands or different settings?

does the DM beforehand ask everyone to run the plan feature on their dive computer to see whats the lowest common factor?
or do divers start ascending on their own, or do they just follow the DM and ignore their dive computer?

thx

in France, we stay together and do the larger decompression stop, if they're needed.

 

[Skittl1321]

In Cozumel, with the op I dove with, we ascended on our own or in buddy pairs based on our own gas or computers. The boat would then pick us up, and continue to follow the bubbles until the next person or pair came up

I dove a more conservative computer than what was provided with the rental gear, and would generally stay 5-10 feet above the rest of the group when I noticed NDLs start to be a problem. Of course, I never dove deep enough or long enough, that just going up a bit wouldn't extend the time plenty.

Since various DMs do things differently, ask, don't assume before you book a trip.

 

[Tigerman]

The easy answer is... all of the above.
What I NORMALLY see (as long as the divesite allow) is that the buddy pair whos reaching their limit shallow up and stay above the rest..

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Also you should not be diving as a "group" but in buddy pairs or maybe three person teams where you go by the most conservative computer in the team. The group does what it wants to or is led to do by the person leading it. You and your team dive the plan you agreed to. Regardless of what the group does. Ideally your plan may go along the lines of the group's but it does not have to. Going in the same direction so the boat knows where to pick you up in a good idea. But you decide your depth and time within the parameters established in the predive briefing. I.e. you have 50 minutes for this dive. So you don't plan for 65. 45 ok. The site is 80 feet to the sand. As an OW diver your recommended max depth when new is 60 feet. So you and your buddy stay above that. It develops a sense of discipline and does not put you at the mercy of a DM who has no idea of your skills and abilities. He/she can go to 80 and burn up the others diver's air faster to get back for lunch. You and your buddy get your full dive in.

 

[NAM001]

Several times i have dove with a group of say 8. We pair up into 4 groups of 2. One way of dealing with this is when one calls the dive all (2) go up. When diving with instabuddies in the scenerio I presented,,,, one either goes up alone under observation, or waits for another that is short on ndl or air to go up in pairs. the ranaining regroup into new buddie pairs and finish the dive. This works on drift dives very well and allows surfaced divers to get out of the water with out having to sit and wait. It also allows the retrieved divers to clear the deck for the next pair coming up. A lot of things dictate how it is done. (right or wrong) sea state, up line availability, visibiity, comfort in water, experience ect. Just so everyone knows what is going on from the start. The next dive we start off witht he buddies we came up with. This keeps the buddie profiles pretty well matched as well as the pair will have compatable SAC's ect. There will be the cases when one pair will be a husband and wife ( ect) that will not change buddies, and that is OK you just have a 3 pair variable group with another pair with you. This kinda goes against the grain of training but it is done quite often, preticularly when goin out single on a boat dive. Those who tend to go out in pairs stay as a pair for diving. NOrmally I go out in a group of 4 and the first 2 with a reason to go up, do so and the other 2 of us stay till we need to go up. NO one likes to have a buddy that is near out of air at the botton of the decent line and you still have 2500# on a 100$ 2 tank dive. One thing that still stays constant is the no one stays down alone. normally we all enter the ark 2 by 2's

 

[Tigerman]

My last 6 dives average over 67 minutes. Why?
Because me and my 2 buddies had the following plan - get in the water as the very first divers of the group, split off and be the last back on the boat.
Yes, on dive boats you're generally part of one or several groups, but you are also certified divers who can choose not to follow in the exact same path as the guide - which is what the inwater DM/Instructor/whatever really is.
The important part when going off on your own is of course to let the guide KNOW what your plan is. Getting lost is embarassing, getting picked up by S&R cause you didnt let anyone know your plan - thats gotta be priceless

 

[KeithG]

This may be dependent upon where you dive, but I have never been on a group dive where you could get anywhere near NDLs. The dive guides in the places I have been tend to keeep it shallow and short.

But this really depends upon where you dive. Some places require deeper dives. NDLs may become an issue in those places.

A recent Bonaire example was an afternoon boat dive (could be the third boat dive of the day). The boat rules were maximum depth of 50 feet with a maximum dive duration of 60 minutes, with the second half of the dive done above 25 feet. The guide would turn the group after 20 minutes at 50 feet and return to the boat in 20 feet by the 40 minute mark. A fairly conservative profile.

BUT: we always dive as a buddy team and plan our own dive and dive our plan. If the dive guide wants to go deeper for longer than we plan, we let them know before we splash that our profile will be different than theirs. No mid dive surprises for anyone.

P.S. we no longer dive anywhere were a dive guide is mandatory. Group dives are not our thing.