"I refuse to dive with him!"

[NadMat]

I have never refused to dive with someone until after I had been in the water at least once, but I can see it happening. Either on advice of someone I know and trust, or just from finding out on land or boat that they are complete jerks.
But I find is usually much more fun to be buddied with someone close to your experience and fitness levels.

 

[tjmills]

Sorry Boulder John,

I was directing that question at All4scuba05. I was post #3 when I started it and ended up all the way down at #16 when I finished and hit the send button Either I am slow or everyone jumped all over this one.

Good answers though as I agree with them. Its always a roll of the dice but at least you are still gettin' wet. Its awesome when you are matched well but make the best of the situation and help a new guy when you can. Sometimes you even get lucky (once) and get paired up with babe that just makes your whole vacation!! Like I said....once.

BTW: Have you been outside today....what the hell is blowing in here? It actually blew my newspaper across the street and its in a plastic bag. Is it winter again?? I almost forgot what that was like.

 

[The Chairman]

I love diving with noobs: they make me look so goooooooooood! Bwahahahahahahaha!

In reality, I like to dive with just about anyone, myself included. If you have a good attitude, your buddy will probably have one too! Laugh, lay back and enjoy the time getting ready with your new found friends. If you are a little shy check out all of the Trips and Marketplace Forums in your area. Bringing a buddy with you is a GREAT way of ensuring a relaxing dive and time later on to relive the dive!

Are there people I won't dive with? Yeppers! But they continually prove to be reckless divers and they are FEW and far between! Not just a simple mistake or a moment of inattention but a willful disregard of safety.

As for pairing up noobs together: it should not be an issue. No one should be diving beyond their skill or training level so two inexperienced divers should not be getting into trouble.

 

[boulderjohn]

BTW: Have you been outside today....what the hell is blowing in here? It actually blew my newspaper across the street and its in a plastic bag. Is it winter again?? I almost forgot what that was like.

No kidding! A couple of hours ago I opened the garage door with the intention of playing nine holes of golf, based upon the optimistic weather report from earlier in the day. That didn't last long.

 

[Jafo123]

I was wondering if you knew the guys diving habits good or bad is he still a strainger?

 

[Daylonious]

ROFLMAO!!! Wow, it's like you were with me on that boat in Majahual... That's priceless.

I understand your question well. Here is the way a typical boat dive goes. You are visiting an area, anywhere USA or some exotic locale. You go to the dive shop and ask about diving and they tell you it is great and they have a boat going out in the morning. You sign up and give a deposit. Sure enough, next morning a boat is at the dock as promised and is rapidly filling with divers, most are excited and talking and chattering, a few are quiet and reserved sipping some coffee, others are knocking stuff over, fins and masks are everywhere, the National Geographic wannabee photo guy is hogging all the deck space with his camera gear and complaining people are stepping on it so I help him out and step on it some more. Then you got the guys with the big spear guns and the captain is arguing with them about no spearing allowed. Somehow you get your gear on the boat and yourself and the lines are cast off and veroooooooom, away you go. You are alone, you look around, soon the captain ask for buddy teams, you ask to dive solo and they freakout and quote the stupid PadI Bible to you and claim gravity will cease if they allow solo diving and they team you or you team with some guy you have never seen. It is a two tank dive and two different locations. there is current and once anchored you must descend and go down the anchor line. You don't get to say "Hold Everyhting" into your Dick Tracy watch and go dive a quarry with your new buddy. Amongst all the chatter and chaos and drum of the diesels and the camera guy fussing with the spear guys and the lady changing cloths in the front of the boat and the guy changing his cloths in the back of the boat and you figure they are an excellent match and the three divers vomiting off the side you figure you are on a ride to Hell.

So what do you do, do you not dive? Do you dive and if the buddy is a dweeb do you dump him and take the wrath of the captian when you return or do you just decide to babysit the dweeb or do you luck out and get a good buddy or what--it is pretty much wild card. What if you ask to dive with the "squared away guy" and he and his "squared away" buddy say no because they only dive with a "squared away" "team". This is the real world of tourist diving. There is no get to know, there is only go or no. N

 

[GrierHPharmD]

I laughed when I read the City of Washington story. I had a very similar experience on that same wreck with an "instabuddy", and that inspired me to spend a considerable amount of time become more self-sufficient as a solo diver.

Don't get me wrong - I believe in using the buddy system wherever possible, but I've lost enough dives due to same day/same ocean buddies that I'm now quite self-sufficient...

-G

 

[Rick Murchison]

I'll dive with anybody, any time, anywhere....
as long as they're buyin'
Rick

 

[scubatexastony]

I'll dive with anybody, any time, anywhere....
as long as they're buyin'
Rick

Wish I could afford a plane ticket

 

[tiburon72157]

typically i won't dive with anyone not equal to, or higher than my experience level. my regular dive buddies are rescue up to instructor level divers. i don't like babysitting ow, aow, or similar classification divers, with fewer than say 50 dives. it has completely ruined my day in the past, when i have done so. and i don't want my enjoyment of the sport in general to be compromised. hence, the reason why i haven't pursued dm certification. when i spend my hard-earned bucks on boat trips, i want to get my money's worth, doing what i want to do, when i want to do it, and where i want to do it. i have enough trouble dealing with newbies stumbling and bumbling and always under foot on the surface, let alone underwater on life support equipment. just not my thing. saving/rescuing somebody however, is a different story. i have dove off of several boats here locally, and most of the captains and dm's know me and don't hassle me when i choose to go over the side solo. i'm comfortable with it, and so are they. not any different if i were a photographer, and dove solo which many do. many times, none of my dive buddies have been able to join me on boat trips, and as such, if i didn't go diving on my own, i'd be left staring at the walls. i simply won't let other people's schedules, commitments and flakiness dicate my opportunities as to when i am able enjoy my interests. the same goes for road trips on one of my bikes. i always tell people that know me, that the only way i won't come back to the boat is if something ate me. and if that is the case, a single dive buddy, more than likely isn't going to help the situation much. since neither one of can outswim whatever animal it was, and considering i would probably be already dead from loss of blood/drowning, etc. anyway, its somewhat of a mute point. sounds rather morbid, but its true. wrecks, overhead environments and some drift diving, are an exception...a dive buddy in those situations is a must. i have been in and around the ocean since early childhood swimming, surfing, snorkeling and eventually diving. i love and respect the ocean and it's inhabitants very much, but i do not fear it/them.