Dive boat etiquette - when to turn the dive on a charter?

[pickens_46929]

If you come up to check on my air let along try and grab my arm, you're getting a palm straight in your face. If you're not my buddy, leave me alone and let me do my dive. If I'm following the boat's protocol, which I always do by the way, nothing about my dive is any of your business. My air, my NDL, my ascent profile. Nothing.

Stranger Danger! Stranger Danger!

 

[MrChen]

Not exactly, he said he was alone and his buddy was way higher and watching him. So the whole group begins to ascend at the end of the dive and one guy decides to arrest his ascent and just drift alone at 50 feet looking for turtles and plankton? It is not unreasonable at all for someone to wonder what the hell the guy is doing and swim down and check him out. Maybe they were worried he did not realize everyone was way up higher and were ascending and he was looking for them on the bottom?

I just don't see the drama associated with a concerned customer checking up on the new guy when he does something strange or unusual and he is alone without a buddy. Grabbing him and stuff like that is a bit overkill, if that is what happened.

The word "they" isn't always a plural. I don't know if the OP is male or female and generalized. I stand by my high-level summary.

 

[johndiver999]

The word "they" isn't always a plural. I don't know if the OP is male or female and generalized. I stand by my high-level summary.

LOL. All the people, I mean they think that is silly as sh!t.

 

[MrChen]

LOL. All the people, I mean they think that is silly as sh!t.

Honestly, I don't care what you think.

 

[Redfoot]

When I was newly minted, I will admit to being so gung-ho, I would always want to ask everyone what their air level is, and flash the OK a little too often. I kind of thought that was a normal thing- like we all just swam around asking each other our air supply and occasionally looking at fish.

I think a DM told me, politely, to just worry about myself and buddy only- mentioning that DM's are in the water for a reason, and my focus should be on safely enjoying the dive with my buddy. If my buddy needed help and I was off checking someone else's air, that is not good. It was a valuable lesson to learn.

On the other hand, in Cozumel last year we had a couple with maybe 10 or so dives. They were doing great until the husband developed a pretty good primary hose leak right after the first stage. The wife freaked out, but they got into air sharing smoothly. The DM was way ahead, so I shot my SMB, and signaled for them to begin ascending. I made my way to the surface with them and the DM did come check on us. Once they got on the boat, I dropped back down and finished the dive. So, I think it is always good to keep an eye out!