I am new to the board and I hope I am not breaking the rules by changing the subject of the thread...... but the diving was fantastic. I did have a very strange experience on the boat which I will describe:
I got my OW in 2001 and have 15 dives logged. The last 6 have been on the west coast with my SO girlfriend who has been diving 16 years. We always shore dive in Pt Lobos or up at gerstle cove so the only time I have been boat diving was in Puerto Vallarta last year.
Anyhow, I went by myself this weekend and figured I would find someone to buddy with. The boat was nice and the crew was helpful but it's not like I expected. I thought it was a tour type of dive, but instead they haul you out there and tell you about the area and let you go on your own. So when there was no mention of buddys or pairing up, I asked the guy next to me who seemed to be on his own... He said people pretty much pair up on their own but he was going alone. Then he pointed to a guy who was very into photography and said "he just goes alone too and hangs out in one spot around the anchor". So when the captain finished describing the terrain and asked if there were any questions, I asked if anyone was single and wanted to buddy up. So the captain jumps off the bench he is on and gets right in my face and says "do you NEED to dive with a buddy?" I wasnt sure exactly what to say and he says "the answer should be quite apparent". So I said "no, I don't NEED to dive with a buddy" and he left it at that. Then another guy on the boat raised his hand and said he would buddy with me.
So we get talked for a few minutes and got in the water..... I described where I was headed and he agreed on the depth and timing, saying he would just follow me. So we start our descent and I decide to turn around and see how he is doing. We are at 40 feet and when I turn around he is totally freaked out and his eyes look like golf balls and he is waving and thrashing. So he motions that he is going up and he shoots for the surface.
So it was at this point that I started thinking maybe for my safety I really dont want a buddy today...lol.....so I finished my descent. I found the photographer guy hanging out by the anchor, so we made eye contact and then I took a bearing and headed off for about 40 feet, hung around for a few minutes and then headed back, made sure he saw me, and took another bearing and went off in another direction. I pretty much just stayed out of his way and had a great dive just checking out the scenery, but I knew where he was and I knew he knew where I was....so I guess it was as close to a buddy dive as I was going to get.
Has anyone else had this same experience on one of these boats? I think I will just schedule the trip when my girlfriend can go with me next time. I enjoyed the trip and it was worth the money, but I was a little apprehensive about what was going on at first.
BTW - I did ask the guy what happened when I got back on the boat. He said he was having trouble getting under so he swam real hard trying to get down and then he couldnt breathe for some reason..... I guess he over-exerted himself when he did that.
Brian :mean:
