Guided Dive cert card????

[1_T_Submariner]

I recently returned from St. Maarten. I ran into some Issues that I had not experienced before.

In all of the courses/classes that I have taken up to now. I have had to be responsible for my own gear even in OW my instructor taught us that we are responsible for our own gear. We learned Buddy checks etc...But still stressed that each diver is responsible for their own gear. Also you are reponsible for Planning your Dive then executing the plan.

So I showed up for the Boat dives with my wife (Dive Buddy) and due to divers on the small boat and carrying bags back to the car the DM decided to set up my Gear without asking. I maintained my composure but when the DM inflated my BC until the relief lifted I told the DM to leave my gear alone. I got a response something like its our responsibility Ugggghhh . I finally just asked her to leave my gear alone. She then grabbed my 1st stage mouth piece and told me I needed to replace it cause it had a rip in it. It only had a rip after she grabbed it and twisted it.

Ok so I calmed down enough (somehow) and we did the first dive. Good dive the DM didn't even get too upset with me when I went at my normal place and kept the group just barely in sight. I determined that we don't use as much air as the group by like quite a bit. They where signalling 1000 my wife and I still had 1800 psi.

Second dive. Perfect conditions no current, great 100+ ft vis, Shallow wreck 60ft. They give a dive brief and we get in we are instructed to wait to go down huh??? ok we'll meet you at the bottom. (I understand this might be important under diff conditions). They limit bottom time to 30 minutes. I give the No tip sign since I'm at 1500-1600 psi.

The DM called the Dive so we could get back to the Shop early so they have lunch time before the afternoon trip. I just about Exploded!

I sure miss Bonaire/Roatan CocoView Go do your own thing!

Sorry for the Rant just gotta go find that Guided Boat diver class lets Dumb it down!

I did talk to the Captain of the boat he said he tries talking to them but they don't listen. Ugggh

 

[tstormdiver]

I can understand your frustrations there. 1. No one should ever touch another's equipment without asking or in the very least least, informing all divers that it is standard protocol for the operation, to do so. I do not even touch my student's equipment without asking first, with the explanation that they can not get into the water until I do check it out,... so they usually seek me out first. To just start messing with another diver's equipment is taking on a lot of liability. It is amazing how many people will let dive operators (DM's, Instructors,....) set up their equipment. Laziness IMO. The other day I saw a DM who had gotten so used to others setting up their equipment that I watched them put a regulator on the cylinder backwards not once,... but twice..... a Dive Master! I couldn't believe it. I set up my gear the way I like it,.... unless it is written in stone that the dive operator must do it. If that is the case, then I check it over thoroughly after they are done.

The 30 min. time limit seems very short, unless they are on a very strict time schedule. As OW divers, we should all know how to plan & execute our own dives & be allowed to do so, unless conditions dictate otherwise. What it sounds like, is this operation caters to (pampers) once a year vacation divers & that is probably the average air consumption of these folks. Sounds like you got in with a "tourist", dive operator that has gotten used to catering to those who have no, or have lost the skills to be independent divers, when you are well beyond that point.

By the way, the boat captain should have final say in what transpires on his boat. He is ultimately responsible.

 

[Doubler]

I would have "Went Off". Do not touch my gear. I probably been assembling my gear longer than the DM has been on this earth in most cases. She probably did it to hurry things along and that is usually where mistakes get made. I admit I don't even like them touching my tank valve to check if it is on. Actually had one fool shut it off.

 

[kaerius]

I've always set up my own equipment, and the dive op I've worked with so far encourages it as well. I'm with tstormdiver on this one.

30 minutes seems very short, but it may not just be about lunch, but about getting the boat ready for the afternoon customers, they've got a schedule to keep. I've had 45 minute time limits on morning dives... the dive op was quite a bit more lenient on the afternoon dives.

As staff, lunch was when you could squeeze it in, but in general: DMs on land duty got the boats ready, they had their lunch before or after, their call. DM working as surface cover got lunch to go(they also work on readying boat), and DMs/instructors on the boat had time to grab their lunches while the boat was prepped.

There's a lot of work getting boats prepper, and the time pressure can be quite intense. For me, if I was on the boat, lunch time was usually 10-15 minutes.

 

[flots am]

So I showed up for the Boat dives with my wife (Dive Buddy) and due to divers on the small boat and carrying bags back to the car the DM decided to set up my Gear without asking. I maintained my composure but when the DM inflated my BC until the relief lifted I told the DM to leave my gear alone. I got a response something like its our responsibility Ugggghhh .

I don't like people messing with my stuff anymore than anybody else, but considering the number of people I've seen hit the water with BCs that won't hold air due to damage or a stuck valve, I wouldn't get too pissed off that the DM was checking this.

In reality, it's your responsibility to do this test, but almost nobody does. Pressurizing your BC until the relief valve pops is not damaging, assuming your BC is still in usable shape.

If it fails on the surface, you don't want to be diving with it anyway. On the other hand, this person is a DM, not a service tech and I wouldn't do that to anybody's stuff unless it was mine, or in the shop for service, since a failure would require an amazing explanation in order to avoid a beating.

Flots

 

[pir8]

Most DMs look at my BackPlate & Wing and don't know how to put it together.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

I don't like people messing with my stuff anymore than anybody else, but considering the number of people I've seen hit the water with BCs that won't hold air due to damage or a stuck valve, I wouldn't get too pissed off that the DM was checking this.

In reality, it's your responsibility to do this test, but almost nobody does. Pressurizing your BC until the relief valve pops is not damaging, assuming your BC is still in usable shape.

If it fails on the surface, you don't want to be diving with it anyway. On the other hand, this person is a DM, not a service tech and I wouldn't do that to anybody's stuff unless it was mine, or in the shop for service, since a failure would require an amazing explanation in order to avoid a beating.

Flots

I did this check the day before. Prior to getting on the boat. But I don't like to leave it fully inflated.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

I've always set up my own equipment, and the dive op I've worked with so far encourages it as well. I'm with tstormdiver on this one.

30 minutes seems very short, but it may not just be about lunch, but about getting the boat ready for the afternoon customers, they've got a schedule to keep. I've had 45 minute time limits on morning dives... the dive op was quite a bit more lenient on the afternoon dives.

As staff, lunch was when you could squeeze it in, but in general: DMs on land duty got the boats ready, they had their lunch before or after, their call. DM working as surface cover got lunch to go(they also work on readying boat), and DMs/instructors on the boat had time to grab their lunches while the boat was prepped.

There's a lot of work getting boats prepper, and the time pressure can be quite intense. For me, if I was on the boat, lunch time was usually 10-15 minutes.

My Rant left a few details out.
$100 for 2 tank boat trip. 10-15 minutes of run time to dive site #1 50-55 min dive 5 min to site number 2 40 min surface interval then 30 min dive. To me $50 per dive for the Caribbean with a short boat ride is a pretty premium price. Granted long boat ride or other special conditions could drive this up. There schedule is not my problem.

 

[ktomlinson]

When we were in Roatan in February my wife had a DM turn her tank off after she had turned it on. My wife had set up her gear and had the tank turned on (she inflated the BC at this point when testing her gear). When she jumped in the water and tried to breath out of her reg she couldn't because her tank was off! The DM made some sarcastic comment about checking the gear but didn't admit fault. All turned out fine but the outcome could have been different if my wife hadn't already inflated her BC. Lesson learned from this by both of us it to pre-breath the reg not only when setting up gear but also right before jumping in the water!

 

[elan]

In reality, it's your responsibility to do this test, but almost nobody does. Pressurizing your BC until the relief valve pops is not damaging, assuming your BC is still in usable shape.

What's the point of doing this test ?