Bogie
Contributor
Wow, diving without a 7mm wetsuit or drysuit. I have never experienced it. Monterey is cold water diving.
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It all boils down to the most basic thing you should have been taught when you were a child...
"Don't be a d--k!"
:cool2:
I have to disagree with this. The dive is more important, but I enjoy the company of my fellow divers, almost always. All it takes is one obnoxious guest to really detract from the whole experience, especially on a liveaboard.Nothing that happens at sea-level or above really matters to me.
Stacy Amberson:Please be on time
Stacy Amberson:Check your gear before you leave home, the shop or hotel.
As ong as you keep your gear out of the way, I don't care what size bag you use, you're OK. If I'm tripping over your gear, I don't care what size bag you use, you're a pain in the neck.Stacy Amberson:Stow your gear in a size appropriate bag
Stacy Amberson:And a huge personal pet peeve; you dive with fins on your feet. Flipper was the dolphin star of an old TV show, adorable and much beloved but was never worn on a diver’s feet.
Stacy Amberson:Spray-on sunscreen is a treasure of modern convenience; it is healthy to protect our skin. But please, use it down wind or better yet, before you join the group.
Stacy Amberson:Save the hairspray, make-up and for the love of all that is holy the perfume/cologne for after the dive.
Stacy Amberson:You can however, contribute to the overall aesthetics on the boat. Be a pal; discretely give a heads up if you notice someone with nasal matter on their face when they come up from the dive. Mothers out there – withstand the urge to clean it up for them! Our kids hate it when we do it to them and an adult diver won’t like it any better.
Stacy Amberson:Resist the urge to argue or fight with your spouse/significant-other on the boat, it makes everyone uncomfortable.
Stacy Amberson:the dive boat is not the right forum for a political, religious or opinionated tirade; just because you have a ‘captive audience’ doesn’t mean you have to take advantage of it.
Stacy Amberson:In that same vein; one-up a story and we’ll listen with interest and admire your travel/dive experience. One-up everyone who speaks and we’ll think you’re a pathetic bore with poor self esteem and request to be on a different boat next time.
Stacy Amberson:Please don’t try to be in charge unless the DM or crew requests your help. You may very well be the most knowledgeable, highly certified, physically fit, geographically erudite, ultimate diver who ever lived but here and now you’re one of the group, so sit back, relax and enjoy it.
Stacy Amberson:Follow instructions from the DM or crew on how and when to enter the water, wait your turn and then be ready to go - don’t dawdle. Some of us are ready to throw you in at that point.
Stacy Amberson:Once underwater don’t flail about, remember to move slowly and be aware of your position and that of those around you.
Stacy Amberson:If the guide or DM points out an item of interest, don’t rush the area like the free cheese give-away on welfare payday.
Stacy Amberson:Small, minute fin movements near the bottom or on a swim through; sandstorms happen frequently in the desert countries and are moderately interesting in theory, but most of us choose diving instead.
Stacy Amberson:If you are diving with a group, please stay with your group. We all get caught up in the wonder and beauty of the undersea world but pay attention to your group. Don’t make them search for you or get so far behind you mistakenly join another group. In either scenario people are inconvenienced because of your inattention.
Stacy Amberson:On a similar note, occasionally there will be something of such magnificent and singular interest that you just have to exceed the planned depth to check it out. Remember; safety first. Be a good buddy. And contrary to some schools of thought – going deep for the sake of depth does not make you a better diver, tougher, more attractive or in any way increase the size of certain anatomical features.
Stacy Amberson:if you haven’t mastered buoyancy and/or basic skills don’t bring a huge cumbersome professional sized camera rig into the mix.
Stacy Amberson:At the end of the dive bear in mind that everyone will get a chance to use the ladder or ramp in order to exit the water.
Stacy Amberson:Finally, although this topic has been beat to death from both sides, tip your dive crew.
Stacy Amberson:And not so much dive or dive boat etiquette but just in general because we’re on a roll here. Foreign countries are going to be different from home. That’s why most of us travel. Don’t complain about those differences, embrace and learn from them. Respect the locals and their customs. If you are genuinely upset, appalled and morally outraged by the lifestyle and/or traditions, keep it to yourself and find inner peace and contentment with the knowledge that nobody will make you return.
Stacy Amberson:Mistakes happen. If you do something dumb, be willing to laugh at yourself because the rest of us certainly will. If you slip-up or make a faux pas, apologize and move on. No one is perfect and we wouldn’t want to dive with them if they were. Most of all enjoy yourself, diving is the most wonderful activity and you are one of the fortunate who get to do it.
Yes, it's almost predictable ... human nature, perhaps. At about 50 dives, people start getting comfortable with what they learned in their initial classes and begin to think they've got it all figured out. At about 100 dives, they start to realize that they don't know it all just yet. And by 500 dives they are well on their way to developing an understanding of how much they have yet to learn.Ever notice that a fair number of divers start thinking they are dive mavens, once they get over about 50 dives under their weight belt?
Had that happen a few times. Was gearing up in a parking lot once when a friend pulled in to hook up with a "new" diver who was getting ready for his Fundies class. His dive buddy ... who had about 60 dives ... came over to chat and immediately started telling my dive buddy why the way his gear was configured wasn't efficient. My dive buddy ... who has about 10,000 dives under his belt ... just stood there and patiently took it all in. After about 40 years of diving, I figure he's heard it all before.Earlier this year, I had a fellow pontificate to me about proper hose routing and gear set-up (he just got his DM, and had less then 200 dives. I just let him go on and on. I guess that he thought he must be the the most experienced guest on the liveaboard. I did not bother to tell him what my diving experience was. I listened to see if I could learn something, and I did. I learned he was a d--K!.