Diving manners?

[Xanthro]

I keep reading this but just don't buy it - unless the diver is SEVERELY oveweighted to the point that their BC is full and they are still negative. How difficult a concept is it to add more air to your BC if you are negatively buoyant? If you have 4 lbs too much lead, the concept is the same: Add some air.

Most people who are overweighted are not very experienced divers, and the complication of dealing with air compression in their BC is more than they can handle.

This causes them to bounce up and down rapidly as more air in your BC means greater changes in bouyancy as you change depth.

Too much weight is going to cause problems with a new diver, even just a couple of pounds too much is enough to throw many of them off.

 

[Dion]

I notice Dion is on the boat too. :: I quietly grab my dive bag and ever so slowly walk backwards off the boat.

You seem to be harboring a lot of hmmm frustration Dion.

LOL I know I am terrible, I just hate clueless people....I can't help it but hurts when you get your head slammed up into coral by an inconsiderate diver!

But I am really nice most of the time, honest! :bogey:

Dion

 

[Iruka]

(regarding adding air to control buoyancy)
Hi BGI...yes, you're right in adding/releasing air to control bouyancy. It's just that having to add a LOT of air tends to make divers vertical, since the air goes to the shoulder area. And especially for inexperienced divers, they tend to be too slow to react or react incorrectly when they ascend or sink....adding or releasing too much air. We call them "elevator divers" around here. Inexperienced divers as well sometimes have trouble operating the BCD inflator well.....either not being able to find it right away, or forgetting which is the "in" and which is the "out" button. Not such problems if you mostly fine tune your buoyancy with your lungs, ha ha. (not referring to holding your breath, of course).

I'm sometimes forced to be overweighted when my group of divers is really unsure of how much weight they will need, so I carry a few extra lbs/kilos in case they need them. I have a lot of dives, so it's not a big deal...but I'm really happy to get rid of those extra weights ASAP, because diving is just so much easier.

 

[Wristshot]

. . . This can make for some great entertainment sitting back and watching the traffic.

. . . . I too have seen some really inconsiderate people on ascent/descent lines that seemed completely oblivious to anyone else's concerns.

This reminds of when I used to go shopping at Christmas when my nieces and nephew were young. I would suck it up go to Toy-R-Us one day. I knew that it was going to be a zoo, and I mentally prepared for it. I went in there with the mindset that "everyone in here is in a much bigger hurry than I am". It worked wonders. I stepped back and allowed people to push through. I waited for my turn, and then sometimes waited even more. I didn't let the unruly kids bother me, and I didn't let the pushy parents bother me. When I was done, I was darn glad to be out of there, but my blood pressure was not in the stratosphere.

Sometimes people on a dive boat are just like little kids, or like harried frantic parents. I have limits, but if someone really really needs to get past me, or be the first into the water, or the first up the ladder, or whatever, then usually I just let them go. No sense getting my bowels in an uproar.

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Peeve:

That said, we did have one older couple on a 2-tank trip that were really annoying. It was in Cozumel, probably one of the Palancar dives, but I am not sure. There were swimthroughs and channels etc.

They didn't necessarily want to be right behind the Guide, but by god, they could not be more than 2 people away from the Guide. If there were more than 2 people between them and the Guide, they would just run you over like Walter Payton.

I tend to be fairly laid back underwater; I am perfectly willing to follow or to allow others to stick close to the Guide. I am even willing to be the "sweep" in a group. No problem.

On these dives, I was paired with a woman (Cory) who preferred to be near the front of the group, but was not militant about it. Several times she was plowed over by the older woman when the Guide got a little ways ahead of the group. Cory was literally pressed into the sand by the little old woman on one occasion. Of course hubby could not allow anyone to get between him and his partner, so he pawed his way right over Cory also.

After a stop to gather the group and show us something, when the group started to go again, Cory offered the older couple the position right behind the Guide, and they politely declined.

After a couple twists and turns, and shuffling of the group, they found themselves behind Cory and myself. In the middle of a swimthrough, grandpa plowed right over me, and elbowed his way past Cory when grandma squeezed past Cory in a narrow passage. It was mostly comical, and we did have some laughs about it later, but there was an element of danger the way they acted.

Don't even ask me how much silt the stirred up. I thought I was going to need my powder skis on a couple of occasions!

Anyway, when I think of a pet peeve, or about bad manners, they always come to mind.


Wristshot

 

[scubagirl15]

Interesting. I think I know what you mean, but I suspect it may have come out with an unintended harshness; not sure.

On my first dive on the Speigel Grove, hanging at about 15 feet, two other divers approached from below, one experienced diver, one newbie buddy. (We had met earlier on the boat but that was not important) I glanced at the console of the newbie and he was in the red for air pressure. (He was taken on an "advanced" trust-me dive by a friend, but that is a different rant / thread) I moved aside, and allowed them to pass us on the line if they wanted to.

I was not going to "risk" myself or my buddy by surfacing "prematurely". Likewise I was not going to endanger the newbie (or any diver) by blocking his path. However, it was still up to him and his buddy to determine what ascent was safe for them. (I did hold onto my "octo" in case he needed to share air in a hurry) Not looking for accolades, just relating a perspective.

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It would seem to me that the divers coming up should have the "right of way" since they are nitrogen loaded and lower on air. However, even on the road not everyone respects the "right of way". There was a TV commercial here many years ago about a car crash where the driver was "right - - Dead right".

I think that a diver's first responsibility is for the safety of himself and his buddy (or her). Second to that would be the safety of other divers. If moving your group up or down to accomodate another group would endanger your group, then I am with you on staying steadfast. If moving aside would simply be a small inconvenience for your group to accomodate some others, then I consider it a small deposit in the Kharma Bank. Not all others would agree.

Just because they are making bad decisions is no excuse to treat them badly. Well not TOO badly.

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LIT - In the situation you described, I would have probably taken my "group" and gotten out of the way of the obviously inexperienced group. Once they were past we could have reattached for the rest of the SS. But again, that's just me.

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As a side note, it sounds like the other group of divers was not real experienced / knowledgeable. If three of them came back up with you after hanging at 15 feet for 3 minutes, then that would be an indicator of sorts.

I would probably have had a hard time not making fun of them, but only because I can be a real ***** on occasion. (If they came up with you thinking that you were part of their group thumbing the dive early, I might be gentle. If they were just idiots, I would probably ask them what they were thinking, and suggest that perhaps they could use some more training.)

Just some random thoughts,


Wristshot

On this topic of right of way...there is a simple solution. Jonlines. If the line is busy, just hang off the jonline. More comfortable in any case than hanging on to a down line in a ripping current.

 

[Charlie99]

On this topic of right of way...there is a simple solution. Jonlines. If the line is busy, just hang off the jonline. More comfortable in any case than hanging on to a down line in a ripping current.

Another maritime rule on right of way is that a disabled vessel or one not under command has right of way over everyone else. In the situation described earlier by Lil' Irish Temper, I'd try to accomodate the upside down diver clinging to the downline.