Divemaster Responsibilities

[Web Monkey]

DAN's statistics for North America contradict the general notion that new divers are more likely to die while diving or that divers are dying at higher rates than in the past.

Diver deaths can be reduced by having safer divers or by having divers that don't dive anymore.

Given the number of "already certified" divers we've been seeing in OW class over the past few of years and the number of people I meet that start conversations with "I went diving on vacation once", I think there's quite a bit of the second one.

Terry

 

[rsldonk]

I'm sure DAN does the best they can with their stats, but they're not amazingly helpful. Saying there were "x" fatalities in any location doesn't mean much if you don't know how many dives there were.

I discussed this in my previous post. Assuming there are as few as 500 dives logged on Cayman in any given day, that would give 182,500 dives in a year. I believe that the actual number is at least double that, and it certainly has to be greater than a place like New York or Ontario where the vast majority of divers only dive during the summer months unlike Cayman where you can generally dive every day. Yes I'm making an assumption here, but I think it's on the low end of reasonable. Considering that much of the economy of places like Cayman and Cozumel is built around the dive industry, it's not much of a stretch to assume that there are more dives logged than in a place like Ontario.

Unless a lot of OW training is really a sham (which is entirely possible), the only "safety" the dive ops really need to provide is clean air and boats that don't sink. The "DM" should stay on the boat (or better yet back at the shop). This would make the new divers a lot more conservative and "right under the boat" would be a tremendously popular dive location.

Terry

Sham, no, incomplete, certainly. That's why there are classes beyond OW. Most places that I've dove with (and granted I have limited experience) do have at least one "DM" in the boat and at least 2 others in the water. I really don't want to go back to debating whether the DM in this case did the right thing in not leaving anyone in the boat, I don't think anyone even disputes that fact. I think we can all agree that a line of irresponsible practices from those who were supposed to be professionals in this case lead directly to this diver's death. I am arguing that this particular operation was the exception, especially on Grand Cayman than it was the rule. Operators who don't do things the right way end up getting eaten up in the marketplace, but as in any other industry, we as consumers need to make sure we are not getting ripped off. The auto industry for years did not have the safety of their customers in mind. Just think what sort of cars we would be driving now if Ralph Nader hadn't written his book. The diving industry is not even close to that level.

Also, just from what I've seen at my local shop, in any given class, 20% will drop before completion, and most because of the medical form. Of those that do certify and do fewer than 10 dives and never dive again, a lot (and I would argue a majority) that fit this group certified for a vacation, rented gear, had a decent time, but then got back home to a place (like my native Utah) that doesn't have very many good dive sites and especially not very many good winter dive sites and just never dive again because a nice tropical vacation is something they can only afford to do every few years at most. Also, the expense of gear deters a lot from looking for those local dives. I loved diving right from the start so I made the effort to even do the less-than-ideal local dives just because I enjoyed diving. I can certainly understand why many don't want to dive local when viz is less than 5 feet, the water's just above freezing and there isn't coral or much else that's fun to see, especially if they've been some place where there is 100' viz and all sorts of cool stuff to see. Besides, what brand new diver wants to dish out the money for a dry suit to make the cold water bearable? For that matter, a 7mm wetsuit isn't exactly cheap either.

So what happens? These people don't get another chance to dive in ideal locations for a lot of years and then what? They either never dive again, or many years down the road when they get another chance for a nice tropical vacation, they end up going through either another cert class or at least doing a refresher and repeating the cycle. That's my opinion on why retention is so low.

 

[diversteve]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

New thread split off from Diver Death in Cayman.

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[pilot fish]

A simple way to avoid any confusion for the new diver as to what the role of a DM & DG is: have a sign on the dive boat, and, or, dive shop, clearly stating what that role is of the person leading the dive. Also, just don't mention the role of DM in class, but stress it, hammer it home, highlight it and have it as a question on any OW test.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Already doing this and pushing for it to become a standard. I cannot speak for any agency but mine but we already address this and have done so since the beginning (and when I was looking at my NAUI material it is included as well). Our goal is to produce divers that know this along with alot of other BASIC stuff that you now need to take another class for. Welcome to the fruits of profit over quality and speed over content.

But the only way it will change is if enough people raise a loud enough voice for that to happen. So write to your agency, email them, call them and ask them why you are getting or not getting the training to dive as a competent, safe, and INFORMED diver. Why is it so imperative to rush people into the water knowing they really are not ready for it? I'd be interested in their answer as would alot of others I think.

 

[Web Monkey]

Terry
OW cards, who else certifies them?

Are you actually serious here?

I didn't bother to count, but there are somewhere around 100 different agencies that certify SCUBA divers and most have an entry level cert that's actually called "Open Water"

List of diver training organizations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Terry

 

[mikemath]

I recently began working towards my PAID DM certification. I can't speak for the PADI organization, learning philosophy, or the DM curriculum, but I can say in practical terms what I have actually been taught. I just took the exam for the portion of the course covering roles of the DiveMaster so it's all very fresh in my mind. Hopefully this will give some insight into the tone of training and what a current DM candidate is taking away from it.

The DiveMaster certification qualifies you to do several well-defined tasks. Most of these are beyond the scope of the immediate discussion, such as assisting a PADI Instructor during training sessions for any course (in a very tightly defined support role) and conducting DM-taught courses (Skin Diver, Discover Snorkeling, Discover Local Diving, Scuba Review). The role being discussed on this thread is a subset of the scope of the certification, covering the supervision of certified divers.

In this role, a DiveMaster is responsible for logistics, general dive planning, and assisting in case of an emergency. General dive planning includes conducting a dive briefing concerning the dive site, conditions, safety procedures, and the role the dive master will be playing in the dive. It was clearly emphasized multiple times in the literature and by my instructor that the execution of an individual diver's dive plan is the sole responsibility of that diver. However, parts of the role of a DiveMaster include being alert for any problems a diver has understanding or executing proper dive procedures, and encouraging the diver to correct them by being a good role model (following them yourself) and direct or indirect intervention (a reminder or actually assisting).

DiveMasters can supervise a dive in-water (often as a guide leading a group) or out-of-water (such as from a boat). Each has advantages and disadvantages that are laid out extensively during the certification process, but the most relevant here is that when supervising in-water, it is difficult to monitor several groups of divers. In practical application, if multiple groups split off to dive their own individual plans, the DiveMaster will not be able to directly observe all groups. It was mentioned that in such cases, the DiveMaster should often choose to accompany the least-experienced members, but there are many factors in such a decision and a DiveMaster must use his best judgment. Nowhere have I heard it mentioned that the DiveMaster is responsible for keeping the group together or monitoring all divers at all times. Keeping the group together may be a recommended procedure described in the dive briefing, but the execution of that plan is the responsibility of each diver.

So how does the DiveMaster improve the safety of a dive? By having any level of supervision compared to diving independently, there is the opportunity to identify and act to bring more resources to address a diver emergency. This does not mean that such risk mitigation is uniform or guaranteed to any specific level. Supervising from the surface, an underwater emergency may be impossible to identify until reported by another diver on the surface or during diver accounting (missing diver). Similarly, supporting from in-water, a diver who is outside the DiveMaster's visibility is at greater risk than one who is being directly guided. But when an emergency is identified, all DiveMasters are certified Rescue Divers who are more experienced than an average diver (for those who feel 60 dives is a low requirement, I think you will at least agree that this is more than the median). This does not mean they can solve every problem or guarantee safety--at every level of PADI's training, in the first chapter, I've seen a variant the following sentance: "The only way to completely eliminate risks of diving is not to dive." However, the presence of a DiveMaster does improve safety because there is a dedicated person on site who is looking for and responding to emergencies (as well as non-emergency problems).

I think all of us agree that a good diver and a good person will assist anyone in need to the best of their abilities, and DiveMasters are trained to be able to render assistance as Rescue Divers and as part of their supervising role. Reducing the likelihood of a problem can be done by recommending whether a diver should dive or not, and there are 4 pages in the Dive Master Manual about relieving peer pressure to help divers make those decisions rationally. But the ultimate decision is the individual diver's.

I have no doubt there are bad Dive Masters who ignore their training and encourage people to dive beyond their limits explicitly (reassuring divers that a dive beyond their training/comfort is fine) or implicitly (performing behavior that less experienced divers are not trained to handle). There are also cops who abuse their power, cooks with poor sanitary habits, and drivers who drive under the influence--all are acting counter to their training. Such individuals should be punished when their actions lead to damage to others, but should not invalidate the value of the group they represent. Knowing these individuals exist, it's prudent to teach individuals how to lower their exposure: don't antagonize a police officer, use bathroom sanitation as an indicator of food sanitation, stay away from a car that is swerving erratically. Similarly, in diving, we can reinforce the message that you, as a diver, can always decide not to dive for any reason, including a DiveMaster pushing you beyond your comfort level.

I don't think we should leave it solely to the certification agencies and dive charter operators to emphasize that divers make a good decision to dive. Each of us can make an impact by setting an example. For every time we hear someone beat their chests about how they pushed their own limits, we should tell someone about the time that we were responsible and proud to decide not to dive. A DiveMaster is a visible role model who should be doing this based on their training. But most people reading this board are experienced enough that with or without a Professional-level certification, we are role models to new divers.

 

[pilot fish]

I believe it is a common assumption that new divers do not know as much as an experienced diver, knowledge that can only come from doing a given task repeatedly. What divers have learned in class has not yet been tested in open water. Open water, being under water, is still a very new environment for them so mistakes can, and do, happen. It is because of that fact that a person leading a dive, a person presented to the new diver as a Dive Master, must be MORE vigilant with a brand new diver. None of that was done here, in this incident. The diver asked for a dive that was CLEARLY out of his skill range and that should have been an instant marker that this diver had to be spoken to and watched closely. This "DM" should never have agreed to let two brand new divers split up into two groups, both a different places on the dive and at different depths. It is obvious this "DM" failed as a final safety check for this new diver.

 

[Qnape]

I've read through this entire (pair of) threads (whew) and thought I would post my experience and observations from the point of view of a relatively recently certified diver. My concerns and expectations going into diving are, perhaps, different from most new divers; my diving buddy with whom I have gone through training is my 15 year old daughter. This may have caused me to look at things differently and more cautiously than some others.

We are certified through PADI, but intentionally chose NOT to take the weekend course. We went the longer route which took several weeks but allowed for more time with our instructor, in the water, and for the material to sink in. I challenged my daughter to beat my scores to provide some incentive, and our instructor said noone had ever scored 100% on his exams. Perhaps we lucked out, but I consider our instructor to be an extremely safety conscious and dedicated diver who has gone WAAAY out of his way to provide good training and advice to us. He certainly did make it very clear (on several different occasions) that in every way and at all times we, as certified OW divers, are responsible for our own safety. My daughter scored 100% on all exams; I got question #1 on the final wrong so she would "win". Our instructor smiled. Yeah, he talked about con-ed and buying our own equipment, but was very realistic about both when approached privately later.

It was our intent to get certified and acquire some experience before a "reward", a week diving in Cozumel. Our class consisted of the two of us and another family (a father and two children, 14 and 16), who also were planning to travel to the Cayman Islands after certification. One difference; their trip was planned for 3 weeks after our scheduled open water checkout dives locally, ours was planned for 6 months afterwards. I had determined that additional OW dives and training would be wise before taking my daughter to dive in Cozumel and left time for this.

Our fellow students did not make it through the course. Frankly, they should never have signed up. They had difficulty with the exams and had to retake several. They had even more difficulty with various skills in the pool. Our instructor had to gently, then more firmly suggest that perhaps they were not ready for this (he later told me he was tempted to tell them to take up chess instead). I have no idea why they signed up for the course, but thank goodness they did not sign up anywhere that would have pushed them through. My daughter and my comfort in the water and ease in learning the skills allowed him to leave some of our pool training to his DM assistant while he worked to try to get the others up to speed, to no avail. At the same time, we determined that certain of his standards were a bit tougher than required in the manual (in terms of repetition of skills, length of demonstration of certain skills, etc..). I am NOT complaining, and feel we are better divers for his diligence and strict approach.

After certification, we arranged to meet with another recently certified family we met during our checkout dives for a weekend of practice, locally. I mentioned this to our mutual instructor and he insisted on coming with us to "show us a few things" and help advance our training. He would only accept lunch in return. We all had a great time, and made some great practice dives.

I told him we wanted to take AOW before going to Cozumel, as I felt that we would be tempted while there to dive beyond our (then) current training. He felt that while our skills were good we should wait, but after we had made a few more local dives and spoke with him again, he agreed. We had a great time with AOW, and while we had a different instructor, our OW instructor contacted us afterwards and told us he had spoken with our AOW instructor to check and was very pleased with how things had gone.

We arranged for a smaller dive operator in Cozumel to avoid being part of a large group, and our operator insisted that we hire a private divemaster for the week because of our lack of ocean experience and my daughter's age. I was pleased to comply (this had been my intent anyway - my point here is that the operator was responsible, and insisted). Our dives were on a six-pack, with one DM for us and another for the other 4 divers. After a day of shallower dives, and despite our AOW certification, our DM on day 2 asked us if we wanted to go to 95' with the group or stay shallower, at 60'. We felt confident, and stayed with the group. After that day, we were told we no longer needed a private divemaster as our skills were very good. I said no - we will keep him / her for the week, and we did.

Why did I do this? While having a private guide to show us things is great, we were in a group of only 6 and sometimes 4 divers; one DM would have been fine as a guide. At that point I still wanted someone to watch out for us a bit, in case we forgot something or made an error of some kind. This did not mean I felt I was putting my (and my daugher's) life in anyone's hands, but that I wanted a back-up to our own best efforts to dive safely. I felt I could not count on such personal attention from a DM leading a group, and that if I wanted that level of service it could only be provided by a private DM.

Since our trip to Cozumel if February, we traveled to Utila in April. Our divemasters there were attentive and safety conscious, they did check on our air from time to time, and our ratio was excellent; two DM's in the water, captain on the boat, and a total of 10 to 12 divers. I depended on our DM's only as guides but felt they gave complete safety briefings and while one led, one stayed off to the side and observed us all. It would be easy for a new diver to mistakenly depend on such attentive DM's for much of their safety, and easy to see how this could lead to trouble in a future dive led by a less attentive DM.

Did either of us make any errors while diving? Certainly. I once jumped in without my weights in my integrated pockets, and had to quickly swim to the boat to retrieve and install them. My fault, and had I been slower I would have had to bag the dive because of the current. I apparently failed once to properly connect my inflator which disconnected upon entry; my buddy (daughter) had to assist me in finding the lp hose so I could plug it in and go. I had partially inflated before entry so while annoying, It was not an emergency. At the same time, I observed some interesting things among our fellow divers, all of whom were more experienced than I.

I found that we carried more safety equipment than anyone else. We were the only ones carrying strobes or signal mirrors in our pockets. I was the only one with shears. Several had no safety sausage or whistle. Ony our whistles were the louder storm whistles. We were the only ones with spare dive lights for our night dives. During one night dive, I happened to be near our DM At about 65' when a fellow diver approached, very unhappy, shaking a dead light. I pulled out my spare, turned it on and handed it to him. (what a huge grin he then sported!) I disobeyed my own training at that point - I was taught that when you have no spare dive light, the dive is over. I stayed with my buddy so we still had one spare and finished the dive. After all, noone else carried a spare at all - but I knew I was disobeying training.

The next day on the boat i noticed a fellow diver nursing an injured finger; I pulled out my dry box and provided bandages and antibiotic ointment. While treating her finger, the DM came by and rifled through my box, interested in what I carried (tools, spare storm whistle, parts, o-rings, silicon, etc..). She complemented our training, and said we must have had a great instructor - we were as prepared as the DM's. And we were the least experienced divers there.

In summary, I think that PADI Certification training is what you make of it, and that a lot depends on both the student and the instructor. The role of a DM on a warm water trip can be deceiving to a newer diver, even when it is made clear in breifings what their role is. It is apparent that divers often depend on DM's more than they should under such circumstances, and seems that in some cases the DM's very efforts to be responsible and watch out for the divers they are leading serve to foster this mistaken impression. I'm not sure how this should be addressed; DM's staying out of the water may help underline diver self-reliance, but then the guide function and advantages thereof are lost. I feel there IS a value to a DM backing up a group of diver's best efforts at safety, how not to lose this while not fostering dependancy by the divers I do not know. I do not depend on a DM for my safety, but do not have a problem with someone keeping an eye on a group of which I form a part.

Sorry for the long post; I thought that the opinions and observations of a newer diver might be of use. As to the original incident that generated this discussion; my heart goes out to all involved. From my point of view, the DM had a responsibility once advised of the inexperience of the diver at least to discourage his plan or decline to bring him to an inappropriate dive site. The diver had a responsibility to stay within his training and his dive plan. Neither lived up to their responsibilities. The rest still seems muddy, in terms of who was buddies with whom, etc..

 

[pilot fish]

Qnape, that was a very informative post. You guys were a lot more trained than I was as a new diver, I took the intense weekend course, and were a lot more vigilant that I was. Thank you for sharing that. Your daughter is very lucky to have such a cool dad.