Does this make me a bad/weak diver?

[O-ring]

Like the others said...go for a less aggressive dive next time (tower, tug, whatever) and acclimate yourself to VB conditions and then shoot for some of the offshore wrecks.

You also bring up a good point about VB...namely that it ain't NC and it ain't the Caribbean. I think people have the misconception that the diving in VB is very similar to NC due to the close proximity, but it just isn't so. VB is MUCH more difficult to dive in than NC and NC is much more difficult than the Caribbean, IMHO. Dutch is a good approximation for VB temperatures, but has much better vis than VB usually does and doesn't have current, wildlife, boat weirdness/high seas, etc.

I have never dove with Wreck Master Charters, but I know a lot of guys that have and do. I would regard them as a tougher lot than most..

 

[GQMedic]

Hey,

You didn't feel up to the dive for the reasons you stated. SOunds like a good call to me. If you don't feel up to the dive, call it! I don't think you should count VB diving out because of that experience though.

I don't think this makes you a bad or weak diver, I think this makes you a smart diver. Of course, limitations were also addressed. If your willing to accept these limitations, then, you've bought into them at full price, that's your business. If you want to slowly push beyond these limitations, great!

Don't let this experience turn you off though. You've got 50 or so dives under your belt, I'd call that good experience, so, go get 50 more under your belt. Vary the conditions (while still playing it smart) and locations. Best way to stay fit for diving is to keep diving.

This too has been said by someone else on the thread, and I'll add to it too. That charterboat you went on, SUCKS...

What recreational diving is NOT supposed to leave you feeling:

1. Like you just ran a triathelon
2. Scared

 

[ZoCrowes255]

No it does not make you a bad diver it actually makes you a good one. You chose not to dive when you did not feel comfortable and that is one of the wisest things you can do as a diver. Whenever you are uncomfortable or unsure don't dive.

 

[Rick Inman]

ReeferBen once bubbled...
As I tried to desend I had a bit of trouble decending and all the other divers (my brother, the dive master and anouther diver) were all to far down to see. I was paniced and out of breath.

Panic??? It is right that you called the dive. Panic is what kills people. The fact that you paniced because you "had a bit of trouble decending" is something to take a good look at. You can't blame a bad charter or VB for that.

 

[Custer]

Rick Inman once bubbled...


Panic??? It is right that you called the dive. Panic is what kills people. The fact that you paniced because you "had a bit of trouble decending" is something to take a good look at. You can't blame a bad charter or VB for that.

Hookas.

I got a dollar that says you'll panic long before I will.

The charter captain obviously has to pick his sites comenserate with the abilities of the divers on board.

While I personally feel that dude needs to spend some time on basics and endurance, it's pretty obvious that the charter captain wasn't cognizant of his charges' abilities.

We're talking a 20-30 foot dive here. It just shouldn't have been that hard.

What, exactly, would you have to say, if you paid for an off shore dive and wound up like that?

It wouldn't have been pretty with me.

 

[ReeferBen]

We're talking a 20-30 foot dive here. It just shouldn't have been that hard.

Depth doesnt have any factor on the difficulty here. It was simply the current.

"Argue hard enough for your limitations, and, sure enough, they're yours".You'd have to answer your own question for us. If all the others made it, and you didn't, I'd say a little conditioning is in order.

Everyone was back within 5 minutes. No one else made the dive. Everyone else minus the dive master said the current was a tough swim. I have been swimming all my life, swim team ect.. and always considered myself a good swimmer but the current was tougher then they led us to belive, IMO.

Also the comment they made about if you go out to sea we will have to come look for you in a few hours in that "nasty sea" and anouther "if you fall off the boat and hit are prop youll have to buy us a new one". Along with recovering dive gear the boat ride back in as I was the only one on the deck and tanks kept falling out, freaked me out.

In anycase I am sure I probably will dive there again, but will be with a new charter and after my AOW is complete. I have OW YMCA right now and am taking AOW SSI soon. Not that wreck master ever asked for a c card or anything

Thanks for the replies.

 

[mars2u]

You could have encountered this...http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28885

...so you did the right thing IMHO. Remember...diving is supposed to be fun, so if it doesn't feel right than abort.

 

[DrSteve]

I was out with Don this last weekend on the Bay Bridge Tunnel. I'm a strong swimmer and physically very strong. But let me tell you that swim out maybe 100 yards was *hard*, very hard indeed. Don't let one bad experience make you never try it again! (Let's face it if we did, we'd all stop having sex after the first time right?)

 

[BIGSAGE136]

...and learned.

It dont get any better.

Save diving

 

[zboss]

I was also on that trip and I think that ReeferBen pretty much summed up the trip... it pretty much sucked. The thing about business though is that even if a customer is unhappy with something (and it's pretty obvious when they are even if they aren't yelling and screaming), a good owner/operator can turn an unhappy customer into a customer that would consider buying from that business again - did Wreck Masters bother doing anything that would have turned a bad day into a good day? No... here are some examples of what might have been done...

1) Offered a discount if we came back again this season
2) Offered some kind of insect repellent to the guests... the green biting flys were perhaps the second worst part of the day... the green flys were swirling around by the hundreds and we couldn't get away from them... BTW - they were attarcted to the boat by the fish that the single spearfisher caught.
3) Follow the game plan... the trip was supposed to be "an introduction to Virginia Beach wreck diving". The orginal plan called for us to go to a relatively intact boat - did we go there? No - according to the Captain they wreck we diverted to was "pretty much a lump of rubble"

It was a mistake even getting in the water on our parts - it was obvious to anybody that has spent any time on a boat that the current was "ripping" (as the divemaster put it).

All in all - I have heard that while VA diving is by no means caribbean diving - Wreck Masters could have done a lot more to make the day more enjoyable - maybe even treated us to a beer at the end of the day. Anything....