Follow your instincts

[shogan]

I've been certified since 1983 at the young age of 14. My dives since then have been limited Most up to around 30-60' range and what I would consider begininer level type dives. My original training seemed thourogh compared to what I think a lot of folks get but it was a long time ago. My instructor reported to be an ex military instructor pretty much would always surprise test us in the pool and on our open water dives this was a course that meet every week through the winter and I continued to dive with him through the summer. Thus I've always felt very comfortable even during some stressfull encounters.

Fast forward to last week. I was just Diving 4 months ago so everything is pretty fresh in my mind and I"m feeling more comfortable than if it's been 12 months or longer since my last dive. I'm in Cancun and want to go on a dive. I state that I don't want to dive with begininers doing a checkouts as that has always been what I seemed to get on the Vacations Dives. They say how about a dive that includes 1 reef and 1 wreck. As best as our english spanish conversation can go I keep asking how are the sea conditions. They keep telling me fine. I specifically ask about sea heights and currents. Fine they say.

Well I get out there they load us on the boat and start to cruise away. And the all the signs that I should not be there begin to ring in my head like the bells of notre dame.

I'm thinking to myself. No one asked me what size BC I need and I'm a big guy.
Large group of folks varying sizes and skill levels from my perspective
Dive Master stands up and gives the dive plan.
Ok folks we could have some strong currents so we have to enter the water and immediately descend to 90'. If you can't stay with the group the whole group has to come back up and the boat pick us all up and try again (theres 4 groups of 4-8 divers with varing skill levels). Once down there you should have your gloves on as the opening to get in the boat is tight and there are some sharp edges. (skinny guy is telling this big guy the opening is tight and I don't have any gloves as I had no intention on climbing inside anything). We have to stay together as the current is going to be pushing us pretty quick. AFter going through the all that we have to decompress at 50' for 15 minutes.

Is it just me or is all this kinda late to be stating now. These seem like rather severe dive conditions for a thrown together with what I'm guessing are a huge variety of dive experience and skill level. One guy had been certified for 2 years and best I could tell had been on an open water check out dive and maybe 1 more.

Anyways my group gets to the back of the pitching vessel in the 4' seas and as I get the weight belt it becomes apparent its broken now my group all sitting down gear on and I'm watching some guy throw together a weight belt. I strap it on. They swiftly get me geared up I have no idea whats on my back. The BC doesn't fit shi$$ feels likes it's gonna fall off. And now I have to lounge across this pitching boat to catch up with my group in the water and begin the descent. The regulator feels like I'm breathing through a straw but I try to let the air out of the BC and get with my group. BUT I'm still floating. I look down and the rest of my group is still going down. At this point pretty far from me. I wave good bye to them and begin to figure out what now. Not enough weight to sink and frankly I was thankful.

Once aboard (wont even talk about getting on the boat that was running and pitching to me like something on deadliest catch) I summed up the situation I can stay on board this horribly pitching boat with a guy throwing up or go against my better judgement and dive in conditions that just don't feel right. I don't like going inside cramped spots. Definetely don't want to go in it if when I get there I there is no choice (lets just say I'll never go cave diving). Despite much urging I skip the wreck dive. While on board waiting for the 4 groups of divers to return the two remaining crew members lay down for very good period of time lets say 15 minutes without looking up. SO who's looking for divers that might have to return to the surface?

I blame myself for not insisting on more information about sea conditions despite the difficult communication (though I believe it was glossed over to make the sale).
I blame myself for not finding a dive shop that is more along my expectations.
I blame myself for not getting a dive plan prior to booking trip and stepping on boat as I would never schedule a dive where I have to go inside something
I blame myself for getting in the water the first time when my instincts said not to.

Dive 2 is a reef dive to about 50'. This is something I am more comfortable with. I squeeze my big barrelled body into the BC barely able to get it snapped (forget the velcro inner strap) I double the weight on the weight belt I sit down and being the first one down I take a second now and check the gear. (The same gear they had on me the first dive). Whats that! sound of air rushing out behind my back. Hum again frantic rushing to fix the problem (that I couldn't hear during the first launch due to the chaos). Currents are milder and depth is something that I can handle if problem occur so when They fix the leak I go in. Still this regulator feels like I"m breathing through a straw. I focus on the bottom to get out of the current and push myself mentally to go down. The regulator was never comfortable to breathe through and I can't even imagine trying to take it down to 90'. I can't tell you how glad I am that I skipped the first dive.

So in the future I will get a detailed plan of the dive prior to booking, expected sea conditions, and currents, and I'm buying my own gear and will haul it there or find a place that will take the time to fit the gear and allow me to check it out in the shop before even stepping on board.

 

[TSandM]

Well, it does not sound like the best run dive operation, but I think there are a few more points to make here.

If you know you are a big person and there may be fit problems, would it have been reasonable to have asked the dive shop the day before, when you arranged the trip, to allow you to try on the BCs to make sure they had one that fit?

If you have done the amount of diving you describe, what was different that caused you not to know how much weight you would need to do the dive?

When they said conditions were "fine", they probably meant it. The diving in the channel between Coz and the mainland is often subject to currents, and thus the dives are generally drift dives. "Fine" probably meant the ocean wasn't doing anything other than what it normally did. You didn't want a dive with current, but that's what the dives there ARE and they clearly didn't understand that from you. They probably thought you were worried about the surface conditions.

If, in fact, the dive plan was to penetrate a wreck, and no option for diving the outside of it was given to you, I would have been annoyed as well. I don't think anybody should be committed to an overhead environment, no matter how "benign", without understanding what they are getting into.

I think the big lesson I took away from reading your account is that arranging diving with a dive op where there are major language issues is fraught with hazard. I'm lucky to speak pretty good Spanish, but I could see myself running into similar issues in other parts of the world. Good to think about, and thank you.

 

[mselenaous]

Thanks for sharing your learning experience.

I learned lots from reading here on Scubaboard to not trust rental gear condition (or sizing) especially in a foreign country.

 

[Crowley]

Guys and Gals - please research and check. If you're going on holiday somewhere touristy and want to go diving, read the websites, read the travel reviews, look at the descriptions of the dive sites. When you arrive, make sure you have an opportunity to try the equipment on.

I work for a busy resort operation and a check dive is mandatory for almost everybody unless we know they are experienced in the location - and it is exactly to make sure the gear fits; that they have enough weight (or too much!); that they become familiar with the local environment and conditions.

Some dive centres will simply assume an experienced diver such as the OP would be able to cope with the conditions - we don't - and we are required to evaluate all our divers before taking them to more challenging sites. This is all explained to them beforehand that is for the safety of both themselves and the other members of the group, and most people accept that. It's also an opportunity to get to know them a bit, find out what they're like.

As divers, you are placing your lives in other people's hands, and to a point, we as dive professionals are placing ours in yours. There are dive operators out there who are - shall we say - a little more cavalier about the business with an attitude that "probably nothing will go wrong but definitely we are making cash dollars."

I would like to make a point that check dives are there for a reason, not because it earns a few extra bucks for the dive centre. Perhaps this is not applicable to you - shogan - but at least make sure that you all know what you are getting into.

Thank you for sharing shogan - it's something I deal with on an almost everyday basis - your lesson is a valuable one, and should be well heeded.

Safe diving folks

C.

 

[bsee65]

Crowley, I think that for everyone who has your set of beliefs, there is someone else who will tell you that every diver is responsible only for themselves. Certainly, it is wise for any diver to believe that no one will be coming to protect them from their own mistakes.

The lesson is that you can't be a trusting fool when you book a dive vacation. Spend the extra time before you contact an operator to make a list of questions that you need answered. (I wonder if anyone has put together such a checklist here already?) Take the time to get the answers, prefereably in writing, so you have some leverage should the reality not live up to the answers. Paying with credit cards will probably help with that leverage as well should you need to refuse a service that doesn't match the promise.

We all know that the cheapest dive ops may not be the best deal, but our eyes still light up when we see a great price. Diving isn't buying a gallon of milk. We need to look more closely by asking questions and seeking reviews. We need to get familiar with a vacation area if we plan to dive it to decide which sites would interest us, and which might be beyond our skills. It's totally our responsibility if we end up in a mess because we didn't do our homework, and diligence helps us be more confident in walking away or refusing payment to a dive op that doesn't live up to their end, not to mention that we're less likely to end up in that situation in the first place.

 

[Crowley]

bsee65 - you are right - every diver should be responsible for themselves and what I wrote is not my "belief" - it is a fact of life. Unfortunately a I work in a real world where people are taught that the dive guide is there for overall planning, but still blame the guide when things go wrong. Recent complaints at my centre include:
"the guide allowed us to dive with an empty tank, we had to abort a dive after 5 minutes because I ran so low on air" (where was your buddy check?)
"the guide left our masks on the boat"
"the guide said we would see xyz shark and didn't"
"the instructor tried to hit me underwater"
"why are we made to do these reef dives? Reef dives are boring, I want to see the shipwrecks"
"why did the guide say I was not experienced to dive [this wreck], I have four dives and my friend said it was easy"

I want divers to all be responsible for themselves. Even if all you ever do is a holiday every now and then just to escape from it all and enjoy the underwater world. Most of my customers understand that, but the sad fact is that many people feel that the responsibility is entirely with the dive ops, for everything

A case in point in a recent PADI publication: The wife of an obese diver who had a heart attack underwater and, sadly, died, tried to sue the dive op because firstly, because the guy was so heavy and the crew could not haul him onto the boat, the dive op was at fault for
( a) not having a crane to lift him on board
( b) allowing him to dive when he was clearly medically unfit to do so.

As dive professionals, we have to trust that our customers are aware of their own limitations, and will exercise good judgement based on their dive experience, ability, and personal health. If we told an overweight diver he or she was not fit to dive, we would be sued for discrimination, but as the case in point above suggests, by not doing so, we are also somehow liable.

As a full time dive instructor, I agree with bsee65 100%; look, research, google, email, get recommendations from people who have been before. Use these forums in the international section. Cheap does not necessarily equal "bad" in the same way that expensive does not always equal "good" - on the other hand, in this industry, some people (a minority) will overlook safety for cost.

You'd be doing us a favour as well!

Safe diving,

C.

 

[bsee65]

Apologies if I misinterpreted your meaning. I am a big fan of covering both sides. Dive as if you are 100% responsible for your own safety, and never expect anyone else you are going into the water with to do the same. Any time it is possible, work out the details before you get wet.