How to ensure my safety when there is no guide dive with me?

[@sea]

Thats very true Jimlap

A certified diver should be able to at least plan and execute a dive in similar or better conditions which they have been trained.

 

[Jayde323]

Your OW certification is a license to learn, nothing more. Remember, you are certified to dive in the conditions you are trained in. If safety and navigation are your main concerns, there are courses for that.

It's important that you do not rely on the DM to keep you safe, that is your and your buddy's responsibility. A DM role during diving varies, but is usually the dive leader or "tour guide" of sorts. Their job is not to keep you safe, but if there is an issue, they are trained to respond.

The only place I have been diving where a DM was always in the water with us was the east coast of Florida. It is mostly drift diving there and the DM's main duty is to carry the dive flag so the boat can follow the divers. It is the divers responsibility to follow the DM and stay with the group, but they are in control of their own dive, not the DM. Other then that, if a DM is in the water while I am diving, they are just another diver unless hired to do otherwise.

 

[vladimir]

My 8 week course is 289.00 USD. And I will even give discounts for various people/ groups,ie, police, fire, military, and very hot chicks. And when my students are done they do not require a DM to lead them around. And really don;t want one because they are fully capable of deciding what is interesting to them and planning their dive to see it, executing that dive, and getting back safely.

I was trying to remember if my original YMCA course was six or eight weeks--I think eight. It cost me $150 in 1975, which was a lot for a 15-year old to save. I guessed that was about $500 in today's dollars, so your course sounds like a bargain.

 

[diver 85]

3 things----get a reel, get a compass, or you can always 'wagon wheel' the dive from the bottom U-Bolt............

 

[xjkip]

don't dive

 

[dwhthediver]

3) Didn't they give you basic instructions in the use of compass in OW course?

YEEAHHHH!!!!!!!!! As I was reading, I was wondering if someone would bring this up, so buy a compass, get in the water, remember your o/w training and practice reciprocals till you do it perfect, then practice some more and get confidence in it. Take advanced, navigation, and rescue classes to build your confidence. There is great diving out there that doesn't require a dm to hold your hand and show you stuff and "keep you safe"

 

[ScubaSteve]

3 things----get a reel, get a compass, or you can always 'wagon wheel' the dive from the bottom U-Bolt............

I am going to suggest that this person not clip themselves off on anything. From this post, I get the impression of an accident waiting to happen and entanglement is likely far beyond their ability to deal with if they cannot perform some of the simplest of navigation skills (compass OR environmental).

 

[merxlin]

You need a new instructor. I plan on paying my DM candidates or at least compensating them in some way. I was a slave to an instructor for awhile. It sucked, cost me money, and I will not put someone else through it.

Actually Jim my instructor is quite fair. It was meant to be humorous. But I know that is not the case with all DM's, so thank you for treating yours as professionals.

And so this is not too off topic, I agree that the OP needs more instruction and must become confident in the water and be self sufficient. He could do an advanced class at a location he wants to dive, and get the best of both worlds. He'd still be paying, but at least he'd come away with more than a tour.

 

[Sas]

You know, I hope I misunderstood the true tone of the OP. It seemed that he was complaining because he couldn't have a free guide for every dive to care of him. Then he wanted to know how to deal with it if he couldn't get said guide for free.

I was amazed that he asked if he should get a compass..... I had to wonder then how real a request for help this was at that statement. 24-49 dives plus the original training and he never had a compass? I wonder who certified a diver and went through compass use and navigation? It is standard for all agencies and I would be amazed if it wasn't taught. And let's not just point at the instructor. Some get the instruction and promptly throw it out the window and let others take care of them. I have no idea if this fellow got it or didn't. So, this lead me to think that maybe he is one of the princess divers....

I would love to be wrong. Because overly dependent divers can't problem solve or navigate and often get killed. I would hate for that to happen. I hope he trains more and learns to take care of himself. But his starting complaint was against DM's. Not the best way to ask for help.

You'd be surprised how many dives people who have been taught badly can rack up before they start to realise their training was deficient. I have seen divers with a few dozen dives who have never had to do anything beyond a very simple dive unsupervised. They just follow the DM and this is generally ok as most of the time, nothing goes wrong during diving. They are taught that the DM is there to help them out so I can see why the OP might get upset when they go to a place where this does not happen (whether or not you agree with this does not take away from the fact that one can understand the reason for this reaction). But if the DM is not around one day and something goes wrong (even something little, like their mask floods or their inflator hose starts to leak), they can be in serious trouble. Or if their DM leads them on a dive they are not comfortable with they tend to be the type of divers who follow unquestioningly despite their concerns and those ones you tend to read about in the Accidents forum.

But yea, this diver might be what you describe as a "princess" diver or a troll or whatever, who knows, but as it is the Basic forum it is best to treat the questions seriously and answer without attitude (as some seem to have forgotten here) as they might be a new diver who has gotten some really crappy training... and a bunch of people bagging them on a forum is not going to make them receptive to advice to get better instruction.

FWIW, I did OW, AOW, Deep and a Navigation specialty and still came out of it unable to navigate particularly well, despite my best efforts. Most agencies have quite low standards and as long as you meet these (very) low standards you get signed off and many instructors do not care to help you beyond this. It tends to be after the course when you dive with better instructors or more experienced people that you realise you've been short changed. I ended up being taught to navigate by a buddy and a different instructor in the end.

 

[James R]

Seems like a perfect time for "thefirststep2000" to head down to the local LDS - or one where he/she wants to dive - and sign up for Discover Local Diving (DLD)

Discover Local Diving is a supervised underwater tour
designed to orient divers to unfamiliar aquatic conditions and
environments. It may also be used to reintroduce divers to
the open water environment after a period of diving inactivity.

​

DLD will get you a Divemaster or Instructor led tour of your local diving spot....hand holding at discretion of DM/Instructor :blinking: