chepar
Contributor
Ok, a little late to this thread, and you've already done your dives - but I'll chime in for the benefit of others.
Keep your gear/bag out of the way - not in the middle of the deck. Under your seat, in the dry storage area or wherever the crew says is appropriate. I think that's my biggest peeve - people that leave their stuff all over the deck and make no attempt to put it away. It's a tripping hazard - when you've got gear on and the boat is rocking, you don't need to be navigating over stuff left on the deck, too.
Find out the approximate time it will take to get to the site and gear up accordingly. Be ready to enter the water once the boat ties off. Depending on the set up of the boat, it may be hard - or impossible - for divers to move past you to enter the water if you're sitting there and still gearing up. In that situation, it's irritating when you have to sit and wait 10 minutes to get in because someone didn't gear up and is just then putting on their wetsuit.
When getting back onto the boat - especially if you are not ascending right up to the ladder, make sure you look down to see if anyone else is ascending up from below onto the ladder. Many times people will do their safety stop, wait at around 15' until the ladder is clear and then approach. Other people may do their safety stop, ascend and wait on the surface - then surface swim to the ladder. When one is not looking out for the other, a collision can occur.
There are usually 2 buckets of water on the boat - one for cameras, the others for masks and stuff. Make sure you know which is which and don't put your mask in the camera bucket.
If you see someone trying to get to their seat after a dive, move out of their way so they can get by you. If they're a bit unsteady or the boat is pitching, help them out if they need it. Sometimes it's hard to get to your seat with a rocking boat, and a clear path to your destination makes it much easier.
If you are thirsty and see a bottle of water in a bag that is not yours - it is not free for the taking!!! Ok, that's not really related to the other boat diving tips - just something that's happened to me a couple times and it still bugs me.
Keep your gear/bag out of the way - not in the middle of the deck. Under your seat, in the dry storage area or wherever the crew says is appropriate. I think that's my biggest peeve - people that leave their stuff all over the deck and make no attempt to put it away. It's a tripping hazard - when you've got gear on and the boat is rocking, you don't need to be navigating over stuff left on the deck, too.
Find out the approximate time it will take to get to the site and gear up accordingly. Be ready to enter the water once the boat ties off. Depending on the set up of the boat, it may be hard - or impossible - for divers to move past you to enter the water if you're sitting there and still gearing up. In that situation, it's irritating when you have to sit and wait 10 minutes to get in because someone didn't gear up and is just then putting on their wetsuit.
When getting back onto the boat - especially if you are not ascending right up to the ladder, make sure you look down to see if anyone else is ascending up from below onto the ladder. Many times people will do their safety stop, wait at around 15' until the ladder is clear and then approach. Other people may do their safety stop, ascend and wait on the surface - then surface swim to the ladder. When one is not looking out for the other, a collision can occur.
There are usually 2 buckets of water on the boat - one for cameras, the others for masks and stuff. Make sure you know which is which and don't put your mask in the camera bucket.
If you see someone trying to get to their seat after a dive, move out of their way so they can get by you. If they're a bit unsteady or the boat is pitching, help them out if they need it. Sometimes it's hard to get to your seat with a rocking boat, and a clear path to your destination makes it much easier.
If you are thirsty and see a bottle of water in a bag that is not yours - it is not free for the taking!!! Ok, that's not really related to the other boat diving tips - just something that's happened to me a couple times and it still bugs me.
