For resort guides/DMs: Rushing?

[TSandM]

We just got home from three weeks of diving in the South Pacific. Most of the dives were done off moored boats, and not in heavy current. I think we did 14 or 15 dives on the trip, with about five different dive ops.

I was really struck by how much we were rushed into the water. This varied from simply having to stop the guide several times because I literally WASN'T ready (didn't even have my straps buckled, for example) to actually having an INSTRUCTOR make fun of us for doing a buddy check. "Looks like it's going to be a night dive for everybody else!", was what he said.

I can't understand the rushing. The boat's moored, so we're not losing the site. There's very little current and we aren't trying to make slack. Several times, the whole group was doing a second dive, and it was clear when we went back to change out tanks, that there was no hurrying being done on land!

I'm really interested in hearing from folks who work in warm water resort destinations as to whether they hurry people into the water, and if so, why? I'm not asking if anybody discourages buddy checks, because I know people do, and there's simply NO excuse for that -- ever.

 

[k ellis]

TS I agree whole heartedly. No excuse for what could very well be the last dive one ever makes if no check is done. I have seen dive tours do this also.

 

[scuubaadoo]

in key Largo I was told 45 minutes was enough of a surface interval "because you won't be going as deep on your second dive".:shocked2: I got it, you want to go home, this is not an hourly job so the sooner I get in the water the sooner you get back.

 

[paradicio]

TSandM, very well put and honestly one of the reasons I'm not a big fan of boat diving. While I love not having to lug my gear on and off shore (and through the surf here in CA), I really don't like being rushed when I'm diving and every boat dive I've been on has left me feeling like I was hurried to one degree or another. I'm sure there are charters out there that are not like this, but it's been my experience (limited though it is) here in CA, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii...

 

[k ellis]

Come to think of it I dove with Maui Dive shop in MAui and requested Nitrox. The answer I received was " It gives you more bottom time which would take you out of the dive profile. It would not be fair to the others and besides you wont be in the water that long" When I asked why we would be rushed "Because the boat has to be back in time to pick up the next group"

 

[OldNSalty]

They honestly do have a schedule to keep-that's no excuse for them being rude as they were in your case or trying to prevent you from doing something you should. I suspect they have also dealt with the type of person who waits till all their groceries are totaled before even thinking about looking for a checkbook. This serialized way of thinking and acting is probably the root cause of the DM attitude.

 

[Blackwood]

I've felt rushed in Hawaii and French Polynesia.

Also got a lot of crap in Hawaii for pulling out a backplate. "Uhoh, big technical diver here, everyone look out." Could me amusing if it weren't so stupid.

Getting a group together and chartering your own boat is always the best option.

 

[Hillmorton Scubie]

Day boat diving is related to the local cultures. In the Caribbean its away at 8 a.m. do 2 tanks and back for a late lunch (1-2 p.m.)
In the Egyptian Red Sea the day boats go out from 9 a.m until 5 p.m. This is much more relaxed,fun, and far preferable to the rushed dives I have experienced in Coz/Dom Rep.

 

[OldNSalty]

Also got a lot of crap in Hawaii for pulling out a backplate. "Uhoh, big technical diver here, everyone look out." Could me amusing if it weren't so stupid.

Wow, that is also rude. These people would never survive in a service based industry. Oh wait....

 

[mjh]

So sorry to hear about your experience. In all our diving I have never felt rushed by an operator unless we where trying to hit a specific tide or event. What I do see is many of our fellow divers rushing to be the first in. This rush to get in sometimes becomes contagious with the other divers.

For operators we had one bad experience early on with an op who wanted to cap dives at 45mins. Ever since we have a set of questions we ask of all ops.
1. Do you cap bottom time?
2. How many dives per day? We like to do 4minimum.
3. How many divers per guide? We look for 5 or less.
4. Are you familiar with divers packing cameras?
5. Do you realize how slow we move? Due to taking hundreds of pictures of one nudibrach.
6. Given conditions allow it and your guides are comfortable with our diving abilities can we dive our own profiles? (Short of deco diving)

We have more but I won’t bore you with them. But these seem to really help us choosing dive ops and to date can give all the dive ops we have been with thumbs-up.