I've been following this thread, popcorn in hand. Now that I've managed to get the butter off of my mouse, I decided to add my 2 psi.
I can't help but sit here and shake my head at the idea of BS'ing about your experience level. My wife is my buddy, so I haven't been, nor have I needed to dive with, an "Insta-buddy." However, we make it a point to let everyone on the boat know that we are diving newbies. I carry it one step further, and ask any experienced divers on the boat to tell me if they notice anything we should change in order to make us better divers. Not asking for a baby sitter, just that they tell me what they saw, if they noticed anything. I'd rather downplay my experience, and have people tell me I'm doing fine, than puff myself up and have them run the next time they see me. Consequently, we've been given some great tips that have helped us to advance our skills. Maybe it's because I'm getting old, or because I grew up on the streets of New York, but I have no tolerance for macho guys who think everyone else is beneath them. I can smell the BS from a mile away.
Another point that confused me is the idea of a relative newbie worried about slowing down an experienced diver. It's been my personal experience that the experienced divers like to take it easy and poke around the environment. The experienced divers we've been with are the ones who taught us to "slow down, it's not a race." On one dive trip, a couple of very experienced divers told a DM that they wanted to do a nice slow dive, and that he should not try to rush them around the reef. Slowing down and relaxing has virtually cut my SAC in half.
I can understand a very experienced diver not wanting to be saddled with a fumble-butt while on vacation. Especially dive professionals whose job entails working with said fumble-butts. But isn't it the DM's responsibility to pair up like divers? Shouldn't the DM take the newbie as his/her buddy if there are no appropriate matches? I would think that for the sake of safety, and customer service, a truly professional DM wouldn't expect an experienced diver to babysit a newbie, unless he/she first asked if the experienced diver would mind. No, I have not started drinking yet. It's only 10 AM. However, tonight is martini night!
Those of you advocating solo diving - are you set up to actually do a solo dive? I would think that it shouldn't even be attempted unless you have a pony bottle (or some kind of spare air), and whatever else you need to be totally self-sufficient. Otherwise, you're no better than the macho diver who thinks he "wrote the book."
Unfortunately, the divers you should probably be most concerned about (other than the macho log book forgers) are the divers who get certified, and only dive once every few years. I would bet they're not even aware of this forum, let alone read it, nor are they concerned with improving their skills. We newbies who are "into" diving should (in a perfect world) be your smallest challenge.
Sorry for the long dissertation, but it's been "one of those weeks," and I've been escaping to the scuba world (at least in my mind) whenever I can. Cozumel is only 64 days away, and my decompression obligation is increasing exponentially. Have a good weekend.
