Divemaster Responsibilities

[TSandM]

What was the briefing at the beginning of the dive? If the briefing was that the whole group needed to stay together, then it was incumbent upon you and your two friends to pay enough attention to notice the rest of the group moving off, and to stop photographing and go with them. (BTW, having to do that annoys the dickens out of me.) If the briefing was that you and your two companions were a team which could move independently, that's a different story (and I don't think Cozumel permits that).

I don't see the DM as having the responsibility to keep the group together, especially if that's the way the dive was briefed. On the other hand, I did have an experience in Cozumel where we had five divers as a group, a single diver added to our boat for the day, and a new DM. The new DM said he understood that we were all experienced divers, and his one request was that we stay where he could see us, which seemed reasonable . . . right up until the moment said DM and additional diver took off like scalded cats, leaving the rest of us in the dust, and causing one of our number to swim up to the rest of us with wetnotes saying, "*&^% the DM", with which we all agreed. (He did finally figure out that we had no desire to move at that speed, and he and extra diver eventually waited for us to catch up.)

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I would think you would be happy that the DM trusted the three of you to dive together and come up as a group. I don't know about the "laws" there, but if you are carrying an SMB and you ascend at the agreed upon dive time and you are just delayed (i.e., behind) the main group, it should not be much of a problem for anybody. You should not be THAT far behind the main group and if you were worried about the separation and are reasonably competent, the three of you could actively swim during the ascent and close the gap even further.

 

[DogDiver]

You as a certified diver are responsible for your own profile and actions.


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[Edward3c]

Hi Dave,

Just the one observation, "Plan the dive, Dive the plan". If I want to spend all the dive around one coral head I pay for a staff member to be my buddy. That way I'm not disrupting others enjoyment.

 

[Oldbear]

Some really good points here...

I can relate to the OP's post. I had about 75 dives, all with a DM or guide, before I did my first non-guided dive. I joined a BSAC club in Kuwait and we went out diving. Everyone buddied-up and all went their separate directions. We were diving a flat-sandy site and I was completely lost It wasn't until we surfaced did we see the boat and had a good swim to it. 75+ logged dives and was not comfortable diving without a nurse maid (DM).

Now I do not enter the water without my compass. I really like PADI's 2013 Open Water update which has Dive Planning incorporated into it. I stress this a lot to every student.

Like a proud parent I just had one of my students I certified last October complete his 100th dive...which ironically was his first time with a DM guiding at Chuuk-Truk lagoon. Start them off right and then see how far they go.

 

[Freewillow]

Only problem that I see is that the DM did not make sure that each of you had an assigned buddy.

In this vaccuum, I would have asked the DM who would be my buddy and I would have a had a little chat with him before the dive ( and a buddy check at the same occasio, buy the way .

Now, my guess is that you thought that the DM was your personnal buddy. Then it was up to YOU to keep an eye on you and to follow him.

 

[sheeper]

with most of the dive ops in our area, the DM serves as the guide. As our dives are drift dives, the DM totes the ball so the boat can follow. That is the DM's #1 job. On top of that, the DM "watches" divers in the water. However, not all divers stay with the DM. Each diver is really responsible for themselves. Many times a diver will come to me as DM and tell me they are "new", "have not been diving in a while", "never done a drift dive", etc. They may ask if it s okay to "stay with me". In that case, I put a more watchful eye on a diver. I also encourage people to buddy up and dive with someone.

 

[KathyV]

...when you dive for years with an operator and they set certain expectations, I suppose it becomes natural to make assumptions based on past behaviour...

That's not exactly accurate, in the past your wife was keeping track of you and making sure you stayed in contact with the group and the divemaster. This time it was different and it seems that she had good reason to be a little worried about you.

My husband and I are only OW cert but we do have more dives than you (accrued slowly over many years, mostly just warm-water vacation dives) but we do not always like to "follow the leader"; sometimes we decide to stay with the group and sometimes we go off and do our own thing, in compliance with the pre-dive briefing expectations of course. A lot depends on the location, conditions, and our comfort/familiarity with the site. But Cozumel is different because of the current and drift dive format, for the most part divers are expected to stay with the group and it is his/her responsibility to keep up.

Have you done most of your diving as drift dives in Cozumel? I ask because you said that you've dived with the same DM for years but you only have around 75 dives. Is this a result of several trips to Cozumel? It is a lovely location but you might want to branch out a little and expand your breath of experience.

You might like Bonaire, have you ever been? The culture of Bonaire is "true diving freedom" and you can grab your tanks and shore dive at many locations and at any time of the day or night. They also offer boat dives with DMs (that you can follow or not as you like) or you can arrange for a dive guide to go with you if you prefer. If the idea of Bonaire appeals to you and your wife, then it is a great place to further develop skill, confidence, personal style, and situational awareness.

I have heard divers says that they are uncomfortable diving without a DM, and that's fine, but in Bonaire it's usually not an issue. You are close to shore, the reef structure is easy to navigate, for the most part the walls start shallow and don't go very deep, and there usually isn't much current to deal with. Most hotels/dive ops have a house reef and you do your first "checkout dives" by jumping off a pier; it's pretty easy.

The diving is very different from Cozumel, you won't see many large creatures or dramatic walls, but it has lots of lovely corals, clear warm water, and many interesting and healthy fish, eels, turtles, octopus, lobsters, crabs, etc. You may also encounter some less-common animals there, we have seen frogfish, sea horses, sharp-tail eels and more, it's a lot of fun. And you can spend as much time as you like photographing interesting subjects - as long as your computer and pressure gauge say it's okay.

The island is also different from Cozumel, less touristy and you will experience both desert and jungle, mangroves and salt flats. It's also below the hurricane belt and the water is warm all year long so that's nice too. There is a lot less beach because the reef starts so close to shore but you won't have to deal with long boat rides out to the reef either.

I don't make these suggestions to be bossy, but you asked for advice and it sounds like you might benefit by expanding your diving experiences; my apologies if I have misread the situation. Have fun diving!

 

[Lorenzoid]

This is a good reminder that divers should determine beforehand from the DM what the expectations should be. In Cozumel, on the one hand, if I dive with a group in which some of us are photographers and others are not, I would not expect the DM to hold up the non-photographers in order to wait for the photographers to finish what they're doing. But on the other hand, in Cozumel the DMs are supposed to keep the group together, due to the marine park rules. The practice, as far as I have seen, is for the group to generally keep moving. And due to the current it's often difficult to do anything BUT keep moving. In any case, I think it's important, especially when you have a mixed group of photographers and non-photographers, for everyone to understand what the expectations are as far as staying together.

 

[boat sju]

You might like Bonaire, have you ever been?

Funny, I was just thinking the same think.

Sounds to me like its time to cut the babysitter strings.