First Dive Trip To Cozumel

[diveborg]

That is an excellent list. The importance of staying hydrated, especially in a warm climate such as Cozumel can not be emphasized enough. Just remember to try and pee in your wetsuit at the beginning of the dive so the water will have a chance to "flush" thru.

NOTE: Go with the flow. Don't be the diver that other people remember as the whiny pain in the butt.

So true.

 

[SadiesMom]

Here is the drift diving post wristshot made long ago. Good stuff! [clip]
>Climb aboard the boat per the instructions from the "dive brief". Usually you will take off your fins and hand them up to the captain. Some want you to remove your weights, some don't care. Some divers take off their BCs in the water. I climb the ladder intact, but that's just me, [clip]

I would agree with all of the posted list with the exception of this one point...

First, I think you should board the boat AS instructed by the boat crew - whether that means handing up your BC or not. They know their boats and how they want them boarded and there are reasons for why they ask you to do certain things - they know what they're talking about.

On a recent dive trip, we were instructed to hand up our BCs to board the boat - but one diver insisted on boarding fully geared. That diver slipped and threatened to fall on nearly every boarding, people had to move to the other side of the boat to balance that diver's weight as that person boarded the boat fully geared, and on one dive, the diver's foot slipped and ripped the material covering the deck of the boat - damage that our op had to pay for, since the boat we were using was leased. Had that diver not insisted on doing things one particular way instead of as briefed, those things would likely have been avoided.

Just my $0.02...because I personally believe that in matters concerning the boat, the captain and crew know their preferred procedures better than I do.

 

[Wristshot]

SadiesMom,

True enough in general.

However I would ask them for their reasons in the case of something like doffing gear prior to exiting the water. If they had a solid reason, I would accept that (and go with the flow). If they are just making an offer, or trying to make things easier for divers that have difficulty moving in gear, then I would ask permission to do it my way. (Note that I did not say that I would ignore them)

I have been on boats where they have offered or even suggested that people could remove their BCs before climbing aboard. I prefer to climb up with full gear intact, and I can do so without endangering the crew or the other divers. With the exception of one dive on my very first trip to Cozumel (when I did something really stupid) I have never had any issues from my choice to climb in wearing gear. I have had issues on several occasions when someone tried to help me (unasked) and they caused problems.

If the crew is willing to have me hand up my camera, and I want to hand up my camera, I should be able to do that. If I prefer to keep my camera attached as I board the boat, and I am not endangering anyone, I should be allowed to board with my camera clipped to me. The problem arises when I am trying to get on board and someone starts to try to unclip my camera and pull it away from me. I had that happen in Bonaire 8 days ago. They did not know what to unclip, and they did not know that I had two separate attachements. Their heart was in the right place, but they were messing with things that they had no business messing with. I was yanked around a bit as they tried repeatedly to pull a still-attached camera from me, and I was blocked from returning to my seat. In addition, I was forced to re-clip my coiled lanyard to keep the camera from banging around before I was able to move. It was not a huge deal, but a good example of what my mother taught me "make sure your help is wanted before you give it".

I have also had some small issues with people that are overly anxious to "help" with fins at the ladder. I lost a fin strap and my buddy lost a fin (on separate occasions) because someone forced their "help" upon us without asking or being asked.

Your example is a valid one, but not having been there I can't address it directly. I am not sure that a geared up diver climbing aboard a boat would upset the balance any worse than a crew member reaching over the side to hoist a fully weighted BC. Of course I am simply visualizing.

In general, the recommendation to abide by the requests of the crew and captain is a good suggestion.

[Final comment deleted]


Wristshot