How do you get better, when you're always following a group leader

[undrwater]

Sounds like I will be spending money on dry suit cert when I get home.

It's expensive to really enjoy this activity. Good luck!

 

[Damselfish]

As said, following a DM should not prevent you from working on the skills you're talking about. If the DM is racing around, find someone else. If they are complaining you are too far away and that's a problem for you, find a place that is ok with you going off on your own. (Assuming it is a dive where there isn't some reason it's better you do, or they are not insisting you stay close for good reason.)

Occasionally a DM might be a jerk about correcting you, but from what I've seen most tend to not even want to correct divers because they don't want to offend customers. So if they're telling you something, good chance it's something you need to hear. Take it for the "free" training it is.

It would obviously help to go off with a buddy and not follow a DM, for dives you are comfortable with, as it sounds like you're doing. Plenty of places don't require following them, or even have them in the water (like shore dives most places or most boats in continental US.) But sounds like you don't have a regular buddy. Perhaps look for a dive club wherever you are, they usually organize dives and give a chance to find some good buddies that you can get to know and will be better than the average tropical inst-buddy. Other people have the same problem and get involved in clubs for that reason. For travel, look into trips run by groups or dive shops for the same reason - there will probably be other people looking for buddies.

 

[mcohen1021]

There are tons of ways to improve, here’s a few:

1. Be the last diver in the group
2. Practice breath control buoyancy
3. While doing #2, determine if you’re overweighted
4. Practice crossing your arms and only using your legs/fins to navigate
5. Practice not moving at all to see where the current (if any) takes you

I don’t understand how following a group and your scuba skills have anything to do with each other to be honest.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

My home town is in Maryland, I'm currently in Guam for a few months for work so I'm taking full advantage (Think I am going to end up loosing money in working Guam, instead of making money, because of diving). I haven't tried diving in Maryland yet, there are a couple of quarries and man made lakes, I'm not to keen on the the Chesapeake bay unless I have suit of armor for the Jelly fish. I think my biggest problem there is I have yet to find a good dive shop. Sounds like I will be spending money on dry suit cert when I get home.

I've been out on the bay twice. It's not that bad (at least not when I went). The visibility is the big issue (to me). It was well under 10' visibility on my dives.

Brad at Kent Island Scuba is cool.

 

[stepfen]

A good DM is going to move slowly through the water, completely stopping ton a regular basis to point out interesting features and creatures and to allow slower divers to catch up to the group.

True, but occasionally even this is not enough. For example a new diver who hasn't got very familiar with buoyancy yet and maybe uses some new to her/him equipment (rental for example) needs time first to relax and then to get familiar with the equipment while trying to figure out his weight/trim/buoyancy etc.

If the said diver is lucky enough to be able to get enough dives back home to deal with these good for her/him. But often the only other option is to dive anyway during vacations and/or with more "advanced" groups. There one needs to try to improve and correct things bit by bit during every dive. It takes several dives to get there and the stress of having to catch up with others doesn't help.

 

[Lorenzoid]

My home town is in Maryland, I'm currently in Guam for a few months for work so I'm taking full advantage (Think I am going to end up loosing money in working Guam, instead of making money, because of diving). I haven't tried diving in Maryland yet, there are a couple of quarries and man made lakes, I'm not to keen on the the Chesapeake bay unless I have suit of armor for the Jelly fish. I think my biggest problem there is I have yet to find a good dive shop. Sounds like I will be spending money on dry suit cert when I get home.

Seek out a DM or instructor in Guam who does technical diving and see if you can hire him to buddy up with you for a couple of dives while giving you some pointers on the things you want to work on. Then ask him if he has any suggestions for finding like-minded buddies for you to dive with. By the time you're back home, your skills will be better. You may even be confident enough to say screw you to the lightning bolt DMs and follow them at a more reasonable pace while exercising the good buoyancy, trim and propulsion skills you picked up in Guam.

 

[AJ]

I feel better now because the current outfit I’m going out doesn’t have a dive master in the water, this means the biggest gains I have made in comfortably in the water have actually come from when, I was paired with somebody random, with no stress to swim HERE or DO THIS, or LOOK AT THIS, it’s been a good experience because it’s forced me preplan and execute dives, think and communicate critically of my buddy and his/her gear and diving style and how it compares to mine. I can also swim at my own pace.

This sounds to me you're lacking confidence in your own skills? There's only one way to get around this: build your skills in your own pace. As others said: go diving with people who take the time and have the patience to let you learn and explore.

 

[nolatom]

Yup, "dive more". Then you'll become more relaxed, and so will your air usage, while you concentrate more on what's around you, than on yourself or a DM.

One idea--Go where they dive a wreck, where the boat ties onto, or anchors next to, that wreck. It gives you a local "neighborhood" to explore with your buddy while keeping the down line (rather than a DM) in sight so you can return there. You get to set your own pace and itinerary. Around the Florida panhandle where I dive some, typically the DM ties into the wreck, then comes back up and stays on the dive boat. So, you're not a duckling following, and getting quacked at, by the "big duck".

 

[Kimela]

I have been on some dives where the DM seems to have a final destination in mind so we're on a 'forced march' to get there. In those dives there is no opportunity to work on buoyancy control as your singular focus is keeping up. But most of the time it seems I can follow at my own speed as long as I can see the DM, and work on buoyancy or other skills as I choose.

It sounds like you are interested in working on buoyancy and it also sounds like you may have gotten chastised for flailing in the water? Maybe moving your arms to scull with your hands? I suggest holding your own hands in front of you or carrying a flashlight so your hands are occupied and you CAN'T scull. Once you get into the habit of trying to use your hands for propulsion or direction change it's a hard habit to break. Yes, you will occasionally need your hands, but most of what you are doing will be depending on our fin and leg work (and lungs).

Good luck!

 

[nippurmagnum]

I agree with the premise of the question -- it's very hard to improve your skills as a diver if you are constantly going on DM-led dives. To me, diving is very much like driving a car. Both activities require an initial training/license, but to become proficient in either, you need to subsequently develop a lot of situational/spatial awareness, the ability to triage competing demands for your attention, and a defensive mindset. I wouldn't trust a driver who had never set off on his own without a copilot given him directions or driving tips, or who was only comfortable driving in a caravan. I also wouldn't trust a driver who got his license and then drove a car only once a year for a few days. Same thing with diving. Assuming a basic level of initial competence, the more you dive without a DM, the faster you'll develop as a diver. For me, what really helped was a lot of unguided shore dives in Bonaire, Roatan, and Hawaii. Plus, diving a couple of times a month as a volunteer in my local aquarium.