Dive Operator Best Practices

[Thalassamania]

Number one for me (by far) as a client : small groups of divers with homogeneous level and experience, with a small total number of divers on the boat, hence the maximum of flexibility for choosing/optimizing the dives.

For example, much better in Indonesia (Bunaken, Lembeh ...) to be 2 divers per guide and 2 guides per boat (4 guests total per boat) than 6 divers per guide and 3 guides per boat (18 guests total per boat).

Other example, on a Red Sea live-aboard, much better to be 6 to 8 divers maximum (same level, otherwise it may be a PITA) on a 18 meters boat with one guide and one Zodiac, than 24 divers on a 35+ meters boat with 2 guides and 2 Zodiacs.

Real (and worthwhile) luxury/service in diving is not plasma screens, or marble in the bathroom ; it is to have something akin a private boat/dive center.

PS: apart from this, having good, safe air (or gas) fills, and having oxygen readily available, is of paramount importance. But safety stuff like this isn't part of the "value of use" of a Dive Center. I mean it should be guaranteed to the client anywhere and not be part of a "Best Service". In other words, safe fills is a constraint for the dive center, not an incentive for the client.

Or better yet ... no guides, I've never seen the use for them.

I have only seen this at one outfit (when I DM'd at Club Med) but having a safety stop bar with both multiple regs and spare weights hanging down is a huge plus in diver comfort. Such an easy concept to implement yet out of around 15 different dive ops I've been to, CM was the only one with this setup.

Also, I've never seen this (and always wanted to do it), but a simple basket pulley system for camera gear would be great, esp. when diving in a strong current or rough seas.

Safety stop bar (with seabelts) can make life much easier.

require a Surface Marker Buoy for each person ( I think this sounds like a good idea, are there any reasons it's not?)

Can't see any reason for them in warm clear water with no current. 'bout as useful there as a guide.

 

[vladimir]

Or better yet ... no guides, I've never seen the use for them.

I agree, and have found that with a good dive briefing you can find the mating mandarinfish on your own. (Successfully photographing them is another story.)

I am happy to dive off outrigger canoes with no oxygen and no radio, for example, if that is the local standard. If that deters other divers, all the better. To me the ultimate luxury is not just a boat to myself, but a reef to myself. It's rare, but it can be managed sometimes.

I like Aggressors too, though, and there are several things they do right: individual equpment lockers on the dive deck, good swim platforms with logically-placed handholds and 2 ladders, ample camera tables and camera rinse tanks on the dive deck, showers on the swim platforms, and lots of shade come to mind, in addition to the epirbs, O2, etc., that you would expect.

I have never needed equipment from a liveaboard, but I do rely somewhat on it being available just in case, so good quality rental gear is nice. I did forget my toothbrush once (not on any checklist!), and it would have been a long week (for everybody) if the Aggressor didn't have a spare.

 

[Redzepp1011]

I must say, I enjoy the amenities of fresh fruit on the boat after the dive, good dry space, and the like, as much as the next diver, and I would be extremely suspicious of an operation that didn't go over basic procedures (O2 kits, getting on and off, etc.) in their briefings. However, my one pet peeve is when the crew on the boat touches my gear without asking. I understand that some people like having everything taken care of for them, but I like to be responsible for my own life support system, thanks very much.

 

[bs63366]

I have to say that I really enjoyed when I was in Australia when we got back on the boat after the first dive we went to a cove and they brought out a feast, if I remember right it was about a 2 hour surface interval, but it was great food and an awesome spot for off gassing. I like haveing the safety stop bar hung to 15ft with a bottle as well. Dry gear storage that really does stay dry. I recently had an op that assembled my gear for me after I did it the first time, it was nice, but at the same time it was odd and I still went over everything when I got to it. I think just let the diver do his/her own gear everyone has that jsut right way to have it. Free shore diving if its a dive resort and there is a place to dive. I have not had to many problems with instant buddies, but I bet that its more noticable when you get more experienced. A secure way to hold tanks/rigs and also non-skid to kepp from sliding everywhere.

 

[HenrikBP]

Many good "to do" suggestions. Here are a few "do not" suggestions:

- do not allow your dive staff to smoke weed ... before dive boat heads out ... behind the fill shed ...

- do not let your fill station get to a point where the inlet filter in a freshly serviced 1st stage turns brown'ish after a week of diving your tanks.

- do not allow dive guides - even temps - to drop divers in the "gravel" far from the actual dive site.

- do not rinse regulators without the dust cap in place.

- when problems are brought to your attention, do not promise to rectify and then continue to do nothing.

- do not tell "stories" about previous patrons to your current guests ... it makes you, not them, look bad.

Henrik

 

[Mike Boswell]

A place in the room to hang your wet stuff. The last place we stayed was really nice: They had small outdoor clotheslines, just big enough for booties, swimsuits and a towel or two.

 

[JohnsIsland]

Safety, best practices...

Dive ops using one size fits all tanks. Thinking about a dive on Molokini wall, DM said descend to 100' and will slowly ascend as we drift. Everybody was using 80 cu ft al. Doesn't make sense. Was a 80 the best choice for me, 203# and 6', or for most divers? Was the 80 a safe choice?

I am planning a trip to Kona, guess I will ship a couple of tanks ahead of time. What a pain. Yes, I tend to use a bit more gas than others (OK, perhaps I am a hoover), am I the only one?

Jeff

 

[hg frogman]

To me the ultimate luxury is not just a boat to myself, but a reef to myself. It's rare, but it can be managed sometimes.

A boat to yourself (plus some brains) helps a lot to get a reef to yourself .

About the guides ? There are quite many places that I know, where guides are mandatory by local law. Anyway, a "Best Service" dive center will make sure the guide is flexible enough, depending upon the client's abilities and wishes. It's also up to the client to make sure that the guide fits the client's expectations. On a Sinai liveaboard, for example, I do choose the guide I want, and for sure he behaves like a nice, helpful fellow/buddy, not like an authoritarian PITA; and decisions are taken together. Plus good guides are a link between your diving and the local culture; that you care or not about it is up to your taste.

Thalassamania, since when the best diving is done in waters with no current ? And even in calm waters, what about having boats propellers around ? I find my DSMB more often worth carrying than not, and I care much more about it than about my snorkel.

 

[Thalassamania]

...

Thalassamania, since when the best diving is done in waters with no current ? And even in calm waters, what about having boats propellers around ? I find my DSMB more often worth carrying than not, and I care much more about it than about my snorkel.

Please don't put words in my mouth, I neither said nor implied that the best diving is done in waters with no current, jus that there are times that SMBs make sense and other times when they are just something to carry that you'll never use.

 

[Mike Boswell]

Regarding dive guides, I have had some experiences, almost all good. One or two have been bored and burned out, but the majority have worked hard to keep everybody safe and interested. Even under the best conditions, an experienced guide shows you lots of stuff, like that shy little Peacock Nudibranch, that you would probably never see on your own.

IMO dive guides really have a difficult challenge trying to meet the needs of the groups they are assigned to. These seem always to include the newly-minted OW diver with rented gear on his first Ocean dive, the photographer who wants to sit in one place looking at a worm for an hour, and the grumpy old scuba veteran who wants to be left alone.

If you are unlucky, your group will include the diver who doesn't listen or follow the dive briefing, the diver who can't clear their ears, the one who is underweighted and can't stay down, the one who crashes through the coral leaving a wake of destruction, or the one who runs out of air after 10 minutes. This is why travelling with a like-minded group of experienced divers can be nice.