How to know you've found a good Dive Master?

[NudeDiver]

I dunno....maybe I'm just a dummy - it's always a good possibility - but I don't really want much from a DM. I just want the boat to put me somewhere interesting, give me a useful dive site briefing (tell me what I need to know, skip the BS), and let me dive my computer, however I see fit. Take my fins and camera from me when I pass them up, or pass them down to me as necessary, and operate the zodiac as required. If, by some chance, I am in distress at the surface, then come and get my sorry ass.

I don't want you to set up or take down or rinse my gear. I don't need you to carry it to or from the boat. I don't want to have to follow you around underwater. I don't want you following ME around underwater. I don't need you to point out critters and whatever. Basically, just leave me alone and let me dive.

That is all

 

[emttim]

I dunno....maybe I'm just a dummy - it's always a good possibility - but I don't really want much from a DM. I just want the boat to put me somewhere interesting, give me a useful dive site briefing (tell me what I need to know, skip the BS), and let me dive my computer, however I see fit. Take my fins and camera from me when I pass them up, or pass them down to me as necessary, and operate the zodiac as required. If, by some chance, I am in distress at the surface, then come and get my sorry ass.

I don't want you to set up or take down or rinse my gear. I don't need you to carry it to or from the boat. I don't want to have to follow you around underwater. I don't want you following ME around underwater. I don't need you to point out critters and whatever. Basically, just leave me alone and let me dive.

That is all

Awesome post. Two thumbs up.

I didn't even know some outfits set up the divers' gear for them...I'd never let someone else touch my gear, let alone set it up and then assume its working fine, set up right and ok to use. Reminds me of when I went to a dive shop a few months back, got a nitrox fill and the guy just brought the tank up to the front without thinking to leave it near the oxygen analyzer so I could analyze it....yeah I won't trust someone to set up my gear so I damn well won't trust them to have put the nitrox blend I requested in the tank without me personally verifying it.

And ironically, at that dive shop, I never get the requested blend or even close to it. Go figure.

 

[Sas]

So let me see if I can summarize this correct....he misjudged the current, couldn't navigate to the wreck in a reasonable amount of time and instead of calling it and going to another dive site, on (presumably) a recreational profile he went into deco mode accidentally and then apparently endorsed shooting very sharp, pointy objects around at fish while other divers are in the water with vis only being 5 feet?

**** man, that's a great DM alright. What's the outfit he works with? I want to dive with someone that bad ass...anyone who can piss on safety and common sense that easily has got to be a dive god of epic proportions!

I was wondering if it was just me that was a little disturbed about this DM's behaviour. I mean to each their own, but I don't think their behaviour is what I would consider safe or competent.

I dunno....maybe I'm just a dummy - it's always a good possibility - but I don't really want much from a DM. I just want the boat to put me somewhere interesting, give me a useful dive site briefing (tell me what I need to know, skip the BS), and let me dive my computer, however I see fit. Take my fins and camera from me when I pass them up, or pass them down to me as necessary, and operate the zodiac as required. If, by some chance, I am in distress at the surface, then come and get my sorry ass.

Yes I feel the same. That is pretty much all I want from a DM. There aren't really any on the boats (other than a person that helps out the captain) where I dive luckily so I largely get left to my own devices other than having shorter run times imposed sometimes if slack water is not going to last for long. When I first started diving I went on a couple of shore dives with a DM for club dives which was nice as I wasn't 100% comfortable with diving then, but these days when club dives are run me and my buddy go off on our own. I guess if I had a DM with me, I'd hope she was good at spotting critters, that would be one extra thing I'd add to what makes a good one.