"I refuse to dive with him!"

[Diveral]

I understand some of you guys wouldn’t want to dive with me… at least not until I’m more experienced. Yet I don’t think lack of experience is the only reason we newsby become «dangerous» under water. Proper planning, briefing and confidence matter. Perharps even more so for those of us who know we don’t know.

OK, here’s my (long) story : ... OK so I removed this part

we «unstadivers» need reassurance. At least I do. When I was learning and diving with my instructor in Mexico, I knew I was just a beginner, yet I always felt safe. Knew that he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to me or anyone else under his responsability. Therefore not only could I enjoy the dive, I was also able to concentrate on improving my skills, and felt confident enough to let him know if anything seemed wrong without fear of beeing mocked at.

I’ll do my homework and take classes and improve my skills. And please, for those of you who don’t like to babysit : feel free to refuse to go under with us. You wouldn’t have fun with us, and we wouldn’t feel comfortable diving with you.

Cheers
Annlaur

I will be happy to buddy with you if we should ever share the same boat ma ami or is it mes ami? I suggest that you try to join a local dive club as Phil suggested or post future dives here on the board to try to arrange a good buddy before the trip. You do have the right attitude to make a good buddy and a good diver. You may want to start purchasing some of you diving gear so that you do not have the problems with the rental gear.

AL

 

[redhawktwo]

My wife and I went to Ginnie Springs in December, I posted here that we were going and was very lucky to have a nice lady there volunteer to take us on the grand tour. It was the first time that we had "met" someone on the net, and to be honest, was not sure that it would even work out.

When we arrived in Ginnie, we found our "guide" who turned out to be OUTSTANDING. She answered our questions and was very patient in working with us "new" divers. Anytime I go somewhere new, I will definately post here, you can meet some great friends here and also have other divers who understand your position.

 

[CAPT HOOK]

Interesting!

My wife is ALMOST always my buddy; we have had operators ask if we would take on a 3rd on occasion since they know us. Only once was this turn out bad and we got it straightened out before the 2nd dive.
Was a 1st time ocean diver who didn't stay off the reef.
Would do it any time if asked.

 

[ItsBruce]

I'll dive with almost anyone once. I'll dive with many of them more than once. New divers can be fun to dive with, even if it means a shorter dive or easier dive plan.

When you make it clear that you lack experience, it is the operator's obligation to either not take your money or make sure the dive is one within your capability. A dive operator who doesn't meet that obligation should be posted so others can consider whether they want to use that operator. There are so many good operators, many of whom are represented on SB, that there is no reason to dive with a bad operator.

 

[ScubaMike14]

Nemrod!!! I can hardly type because I am laughing so hard. You my friend (if I may call you that) are obviously an experienced diver. Only someone who has spent a lot of time on a boat could write a narrative that hits the nail RIGHT on the head like yours. I am sure other readers/posters are also reeling in laughter saying "my God, I feel like I am on the boat right now" after reading that.

Like yourself, I love to dive solo. Call me what you will but I trust only 2 other divers with my life, and we hardly get the chance to dive together. Most boat operators are begining to understand the whole "solo" diver concept. If a boat won't let me dive alone, I just leave and find another that will.

Mike Rushton

 

[annlaur]

Thanks everybody for the replies. All good advice you’ve given me, thank you.

I tried over the past weeks joining several dive clubs in Paris to do some pool practice and theory, but their courses all start in september :-(

Phil TK, this happened with Blue Lagoon. Afterwards, I regretted not having signed up with Emperor, but after reading your post I’m glad I didn’t.
Now, I don’t like to do name-dropping, so let me just say that, although I and many other divers I met on the boat were unhappy with Blue Lagoon (overworked DMs and poorly-maintained gear), several people (especially those who dove with a lady named Nikki) said they had a great time.

Bonne journée (have a nice day)
Annlaur

 

[DanBMW]

I'll probably get flamed, but this is my experience on over 1,000 dives and many boat trips. I have said this previously, but it needs to be repeated, you need to have the capability to dive solo and be responsible for your own life. The reality is that on must dive boats, the DM will not be able to do everything you'd like them to do and no matter who your buddy happens to be, it is up to you to know when to say when and take care of yourself.

Knowing that, makes you a better diver. You do not have to dive solo, just be capable of doing that. NEVER assume someone will be there for you. It is nice when it happens, but never bet the odds. If you are ever not sure then the answer is no. Not maybe or I hope. The environment down there is not forgiving and too may take it casually.

Practice your skills in a safe environment with knowledgeable divers. Do not take a trip into an unknown with just hope as your assistant. You are just lucky and thats not a good dive plan.

 

[BabyDuck]

a lot of the responses have been in the 'newbie vs experienced' vein, so here's a bit of a twist.

i was on a liveaboard week before last (thanks for all the packing help, guys - i had everything i needed and only socks i didn't, but i wasn't sure what the weather would be). anyway, my first day of diving i was paired with a guy. we talked about our gear & he was gonna lead.

he was a speed demon! i didn't get to see much because i was chasing him for all i was worth. on the si, i told him he was going way too fast (i couldn't tell him underwater, because he wasn't looking at me) and we decided i'd lead. he spent all of dive 2 speeding to and fro while i was looking at stuff. oh, and not looking at me. i wanted to show him something, i forget what, and he was staring off. turns out he was looking at a shark in the abyss. you reckon he could have looked at me & told me to come over & look? shoulda coulda woulda, but didn't. i didn't buddy with him again.

so it's more about compatibility for me than experience. he was a good diver, just not the fit for me. i buddied most of the rest of the dives with a photographer. we meshed great. he actually checked to see where i was once in a while, and went real slow!

and in 115-ish dives now, i've only had one where i didn't meet my buddy on the 'net. what a great tool to meet dive buddies!! all props to my mentors - i've been saying that a lot lately, but i really mean it. my buddies rock.

 

[SharkRider]

I'll probably get flamed, but this is my experience on over 1,000 dives and many boat trips. I have said this previously, but it needs to be repeated, you need to have the capability to dive solo and be responsible for your own life. The reality is that on must dive boats, the DM will not be able to do everything you'd like them to do and no matter who your buddy happens to be, it is up to you to know when to say when and take care of yourself.

Knowing that, makes you a better diver. You do not have to dive solo, just be capable of doing that. NEVER assume someone will be there for you. It is nice when it happens, but never bet the odds. If you are ever not sure then the answer is no. Not maybe or I hope. The environment down there is not forgiving and too may take it casually.

Practice your skills in a safe environment with knowledgeable divers. Do not take a trip into an unknown with just hope as your assistant. You are just lucky and thats not a good dive plan.

Nothing wrong with saying "you should be able to dive solo and be responsible for your own life." Most of us will agree. What we won't agree with is flat out saying that people should just go it solo. I dive solo quite often and I'm comfortable doing so. I also happen to be an Instructor with more than 1000 dives under my belt... and not a single one of those are training dives teaching students. I log them seperately... so there isn't any fluff in my personal logbook.

Diving solo is foolish for the average recreational diver... but the ability to save ones self is not. Divers gain a false reliance in the buddy system. In most real world situations buddies are not diving attached at the hip. If an immediate out of air situation presents itself (such as catastrophic equipment failure) and you need to take a breath, you may not be able to reach your buddy. A distance as small as 5 or 6 feet away, swimming into a current could create an insurmountable problem in reaching your buddy. An emergency ascent may be in order.

This is the worst case scenario... but here is something I do to keep myself in a "safe" position. I tend to swim below (my buddy if applicable) or any other divers in my group. You see, in the event of this worse case scenario, this means I will bump into someone on my way up. I don't need to swim in any direction... I just need to start up and someone will be there to share air with. This is called thinking ahead and is part of my every dive planning.

Be safe..dive smart

 

[Zoomer]

I just noticed something.... the title say's, "I refuse to dive with him!" so is this to insinuate that you would dive with her? Do females have an easier time finding a good insta-buddy vs a male diver?

Makes one wonder.....