chepar
Contributor
I've just gotten back from my first dives since getting OW certified in November. I had been anxiously awaiting this day, but haven't gone until now because I didn't have a buddy. Decided to just go ahead with one of the tour operators/charters, rather than wait for who knows how long until I find a buddy. I figured that I would tell the crew my experience level and they could help pair me up appropriately with someone.
I specifically chose the operator I went with because both of their dives stayed shallow. I don't know any other divers, so I couldn't really get any recommendations from anyone. Most of the tour operators/shops go to one of the wrecks on the first dive - about 90-100 feet. As these would be my first, I wanted to stay within my (admittedly nervous-nellie-ish like) comfort level.
When I get to the shop, there are about 10 of us there. I become friendly with a couple (both certified divers) who have a couple of relatives with them who are taking the discover scuba tour. We go down to the dock and wait. When the boat comes, it becomes apparent that I am about to take a ride on one of the infamous "cattle boats" that I read about on this board. I looked at this operator's website and saw a picture of "their boat" - this DEFINITELY isn't it. Apparently there are bookings from several different tour operators and shops on this boat. There are about 30 divers (not including staff) going out. Well, I figure that I can handle this.
When we get to the first dive site, it's CHAOS. Obviously several different groups need to be established. The problem is, there are not enough DMs or instructors to take all the groups down at the same (or relatively close to) time. There aren't enough weight belts, either. What ends up happening is only 1 group can go down at a time, which makes everyone else just sit on the boat and wait. I decide to go with the couple I had become friendly with and their relatives, who were in discover scuba. I understood that I would have a shorter dive because of the discover scuba people, but it was fine with me. I was there primarily to practice on my buoyancy skills, anyway.
When it's finally our turn, the couple realizes that one of their relatives has a tank with only 1,000 psi in it. When they call it to the attention of the boat captain, he says "That's ok! It's discover scuba - that's all they get!" Then they discover their other relative has only a tank with 500 psi in it. Apparently as divers were getting out, they just slapped the same BCD, reg and tank on a diver going in.
The area in the water close to the platform (where they told us to wait) is chaos. People are trying to get in, people are trying to get out. There are about 10 divers in the water, and it's hard to tell who is who. As I bobbed in the water, waiting for the discover scuba people to get more tanks, all of a sudden I heard "Hey! Where's your group? They went down without you!" Sigh. I guess the DM forgot to make sure I knew we were descending. Perhaps I should have been paying attention a little better, but I was trying to keep out of the way of the people getting out of the water (all at the same time) and the people coming in. I go off with another discover scuba group, whose dive consisted of being taken in a big circle and lasting only about 10 minutes. Then I get sent off with another discover scuba group for another 10 minutes. I really didn't mind so much because the vis was only about 10-15 feet, and I was worried about keeping them in sight.
When I get back on the boat and we're on the way to the second dive site, I find out the couple I had become friendly with were not happy at all. I guess they called to find out what the discover scuba entailed - they were told there would be one-on-one instruction, and each dive would be about 35 minutes. Their dive was only 10 minutes, and the one-on-one instruction was a laminated sheet of paper that pointed out the finer points of diving and the boat captain yelling at the discover scuba people (hanging on to the dive platform for dear life) "Put your head in (the water) - PRACTICE!" Practice breathing with the regulator, I guess.
When I get my tank, reg and BCD for the second dive, I look at the gauge and see that it's the tank from my first dive. I ask for a new tank, but am told that they didn't have any. Only 3 divers on the boat got new tanks for the second dive - DMs included. Is it too much to ask that if I pay $95 for a 2 tank dive, I ACTUALLY GET 2 tanks? So I have to use my first tank with only 2000 psi in it for the second dive. :upset:
The second dive was much better - the vis was 60 - 70 feet, I saw lots of turtles and a huge ray. Wished I could have stayed longer, but starting with a 2/3 full tank kind of prevented that.
When it was time to ascend, the DM grabbed the hands of the discover scuba people and started leading them up. I kept pace with them until I looked at my computer and saw that we were going way too fast - I was all the way in the red. I slowed down, and then tried to do my safety stop at about 12 feet. At some point the DM looked down and realized I wasn't ascending. She came down and tried to grab my hand to pull me up. I pointed at my computer, but she grabbed my console - and up to the surface I popped.
I was extremely disappointed in the choice of tour operator I made. What was really scary was the cavalier way they treated the discover scuba people. At the end of the dive, I really felt like all they saw us divers as was a bunch of walking credit cards.
However, the bright side is that I met a couple people who I exchanged phone numbers with - hopefully we can keep in touch and dive together in the future. Also, the second dive went a long way towards salvaging the day - it was great to be able to get back in the water again!
Lesson learned- always ask how many people they're taking out and if a "two tank dive" really means that you get 2 tanks!
I specifically chose the operator I went with because both of their dives stayed shallow. I don't know any other divers, so I couldn't really get any recommendations from anyone. Most of the tour operators/shops go to one of the wrecks on the first dive - about 90-100 feet. As these would be my first, I wanted to stay within my (admittedly nervous-nellie-ish like) comfort level.
When I get to the shop, there are about 10 of us there. I become friendly with a couple (both certified divers) who have a couple of relatives with them who are taking the discover scuba tour. We go down to the dock and wait. When the boat comes, it becomes apparent that I am about to take a ride on one of the infamous "cattle boats" that I read about on this board. I looked at this operator's website and saw a picture of "their boat" - this DEFINITELY isn't it. Apparently there are bookings from several different tour operators and shops on this boat. There are about 30 divers (not including staff) going out. Well, I figure that I can handle this.
When we get to the first dive site, it's CHAOS. Obviously several different groups need to be established. The problem is, there are not enough DMs or instructors to take all the groups down at the same (or relatively close to) time. There aren't enough weight belts, either. What ends up happening is only 1 group can go down at a time, which makes everyone else just sit on the boat and wait. I decide to go with the couple I had become friendly with and their relatives, who were in discover scuba. I understood that I would have a shorter dive because of the discover scuba people, but it was fine with me. I was there primarily to practice on my buoyancy skills, anyway.
When it's finally our turn, the couple realizes that one of their relatives has a tank with only 1,000 psi in it. When they call it to the attention of the boat captain, he says "That's ok! It's discover scuba - that's all they get!" Then they discover their other relative has only a tank with 500 psi in it. Apparently as divers were getting out, they just slapped the same BCD, reg and tank on a diver going in.
The area in the water close to the platform (where they told us to wait) is chaos. People are trying to get in, people are trying to get out. There are about 10 divers in the water, and it's hard to tell who is who. As I bobbed in the water, waiting for the discover scuba people to get more tanks, all of a sudden I heard "Hey! Where's your group? They went down without you!" Sigh. I guess the DM forgot to make sure I knew we were descending. Perhaps I should have been paying attention a little better, but I was trying to keep out of the way of the people getting out of the water (all at the same time) and the people coming in. I go off with another discover scuba group, whose dive consisted of being taken in a big circle and lasting only about 10 minutes. Then I get sent off with another discover scuba group for another 10 minutes. I really didn't mind so much because the vis was only about 10-15 feet, and I was worried about keeping them in sight.
When I get back on the boat and we're on the way to the second dive site, I find out the couple I had become friendly with were not happy at all. I guess they called to find out what the discover scuba entailed - they were told there would be one-on-one instruction, and each dive would be about 35 minutes. Their dive was only 10 minutes, and the one-on-one instruction was a laminated sheet of paper that pointed out the finer points of diving and the boat captain yelling at the discover scuba people (hanging on to the dive platform for dear life) "Put your head in (the water) - PRACTICE!" Practice breathing with the regulator, I guess.
When I get my tank, reg and BCD for the second dive, I look at the gauge and see that it's the tank from my first dive. I ask for a new tank, but am told that they didn't have any. Only 3 divers on the boat got new tanks for the second dive - DMs included. Is it too much to ask that if I pay $95 for a 2 tank dive, I ACTUALLY GET 2 tanks? So I have to use my first tank with only 2000 psi in it for the second dive. :upset:
The second dive was much better - the vis was 60 - 70 feet, I saw lots of turtles and a huge ray. Wished I could have stayed longer, but starting with a 2/3 full tank kind of prevented that.
When it was time to ascend, the DM grabbed the hands of the discover scuba people and started leading them up. I kept pace with them until I looked at my computer and saw that we were going way too fast - I was all the way in the red. I slowed down, and then tried to do my safety stop at about 12 feet. At some point the DM looked down and realized I wasn't ascending. She came down and tried to grab my hand to pull me up. I pointed at my computer, but she grabbed my console - and up to the surface I popped.
I was extremely disappointed in the choice of tour operator I made. What was really scary was the cavalier way they treated the discover scuba people. At the end of the dive, I really felt like all they saw us divers as was a bunch of walking credit cards.
However, the bright side is that I met a couple people who I exchanged phone numbers with - hopefully we can keep in touch and dive together in the future. Also, the second dive went a long way towards salvaging the day - it was great to be able to get back in the water again!
Lesson learned- always ask how many people they're taking out and if a "two tank dive" really means that you get 2 tanks!
A buddy and I were unlucky enough to plopped in with a group of freshly (might I say... underservingly) certified divers on a cattle boat, too, and many of the same problems cropped up there. However, it sounds like your experience was even worse! 
