Miss Scuba Manners....What's your unwritten dive etiquette rule?

[The Laconic]

My triggers have been covered:

Give other divers some space (both in the water and on the boat). It makes me nuts when I'm floating in the limitless plenum and someone (and not even my insta-buddy) is right on top of me. SPREAD OUT!

Respect the wildlife. Watching is privilege enough. For whatever reason, turtles have a special power to turn people obnoxious.

 

[Tony387]

Vacation divers...makes me feel a lot better about doing most of my diving locally.

 

[dmoore19]

Divers who think they are God's gift to the sport. Maybe they should just stay home, that way they can enjoy their local diving.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Next time I'm doing your torch trick

Not a smart call. Be pissed off all you like, but messing with someone else's stuff underwater can and should get you hurt.

 

[Festus]

I'm not Gods gift, My 55 year old ass will scuff the back of your head. If you deserve.

It would appear I am to far into this post and should just shut the hell up. Never start at page 5. or in the evening after beer.

 

[ajduplessis]

Don't touch my equipment.

 

[StefinSB]

Don't touch my gear ever
don't help me unless I ask for help
Photographers that think it's their right to rush ahead and butt in front of everyone to get their pic.
divers that crawl up your ass from behind and then complain they got kicked in the head.
divers that just have to touch everything
rototillers that stir everything before the rest of the group get to see anything.(it's not always new divers)
experienced divers that look down their nose at new divers (we were all there at some point)
taking too long to gear up and get off the boat ( I'm prone to get seasick)

How do you do a buddy check without touching somebodys gear?

 

[Storker]

While I appreciate that you get mucus in your nose or throat, please be sensible to others in the vicinity. I don't appreciate you clearing your snot into the water inches from me.

Wow. I never assumed that my snot-filled, running nose could be appreciated by anyone






(Sorry, but sometimes I just can't resist low-hanging fruit. Even if the joke's pretty bad... )

---------- Post added February 9th, 2015 at 10:52 AM ----------

Do not make constant noise.

If that bothers you, try a dive trip up North. With a snug-fitting 10mm neoprene hood on, you can hardly hear a thing. Even my own PDC's alarms are impossible to hear, so other peoples' gear beeping definitely isn't an issue

 

[Laurie S.]

Use your eyes for a buddy check, not your hands.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Many good replies here, and yes, books have been written about dive etiquette.

I think if I had to pick a Number One for me, it would be photographers. Digital cameras have made underwater photography accessible to even novice divers. They stick their pole-mounted GoPros not only across MY face but seemingly into the face of every animal they come across. Couple that with poor stability and control and it's a recipe for drawing my ire. Even experienced photogs can piss me off if they have an attitude that their goal of taking pics is more important than my goal of peacefully observing with just my eyes. If you're actually a professional photographer, then charter your own boat. If your plan is to mix with a group of non-photographers on a boat dive, then please respect those of us who just want to observe the animals in their natural state without anyone chasing them down or getting in our way. I'll never forget the once-in-a-lifetime trip to Lembeh, on a twilight dive to see mating Mandarinfish, and all I could see was the blinding light of photographers' strobes. I felt less sorry for myself than I did the poor Mandarinfish.