Night and Day, Black and White

[AnotherNWdiver]

I was one of the other folks who took fundies with TS&M and Rick a couple of weeks ago. Started with 16 dives under my belt and shakey buoyancy at best. I was also the person who couldn't tell when TS&M was out of air and had to finally be shocked into giving Steve my hose. I have no excuses; I s*cked. But after humiliating myself totally in the class I left for a previously arranged trip to Maui where I had three two tank dives scheduled with a commercial dive guide service (I won't name it, because I understand there all like I'm about to describe or even worse). That's when I learned how the real world dives.

Now when I was in NAUI and PADI classes they certainly talked about the buddy system and always set me up with a buddy when we weren't strictly demonstrating skills to the instructor. It seems that this dive company never heard of the concept. We either had six or four (for night dives) divers per dive master. There was no attempt to buddy the divers up. We were told to let the dive master know when we used up half our tanks and again when we were down to 700 psi. When we got down to 700 psi the dive master would point us to the boat and we would make our way to the surface. The dive master would look at his charges every minute or so and would spend the rest of his time looking in holes in the reefs for creatures to show to the paying divers. They would also let the photographers and videographers spend all the time they wanted shooting away as they kept swimming.

Let's just say, this was not what I was expecting or hoping for. I immediately realized that I was basically doing solo dives the whole time. I did try to stick to the dive master like glue and it seemed like I was always the closest diver to him. I faithfully let him know my air situation and was obsessive about keeping track of my air and my depth. It seemed the least I could do, but still, I backed out of the dive on the Back Wall of Molokini because I didn't want to be down at 100 ft. on air in a good current and a bottom about 200 ft. below and having to be looking out for myself.

Now the question I have is, is that the way most people dive? Nobody else seemed to mind. In fact, they seemed to expect it. I only got one minor comment on my long hose, which came from a dive master about strangling myself with the hose around my neck. No one seemed to have even heard of DIR. But after diving with this company I have an even greater appreciation of the philosophy behind DIR. But with this going on, I don't see why people have such an issue DIR. Sure everything isn't perfect, but having somebody watch my back is certainly reassuring. It sure makes sense to me

 

[TSandM]

I've only done two resort diving trips, but my first one was in Maui (with a different company) and was pretty much exactly what you describe. I had 10 total dives at that point, and was panic-stricken trying to decide whether to stick with my husband, who was wandering about shooting pictures, or follow the divemaster, who ostensibly knew where we were going. My husband was sent up alone when he got low on air, and I didn't know enough to object to that or go with him.

In contrast, the operator in Australia made sure everybody went down in buddy pairs, and no one was sent up alone. The divemaster kept a weather eye on us, but was able to spend most of his time seeking critters, because we were in buddy pairs. I still had the problem of trying to follow the guide AND keep track of my photo-shooting husband, but you know what? Fundies taught me what to do about that -- prioritize.

I'm with you, though. The meticulous procedures and intense emphasis on teamwork of DIR struck a tremendous chord for me. I can understand why someone who dives this way routinely would be reluctant to dive with other divers . . . not because they're viewed as "inferior" or "unsafe", but simply because this approach has become so comfortable and understood that anything else seems discordant.

PS You didn't get the signal, but I didn't give it very well, either. We were both pretty doofusy . . . a common experience in Fundies, as far as I can tell!

 

[Kevfin]

Apparently, there are a number of operators that conduct their dives in a strange manner. Skill has nothing to do with the opeartion, it's your dollar that counts.

I remember one of my dives off of Maui, doing the Cathedral and the little boat I was on (we had to do back rolls off of it) had an eclectic group. They did pair us up, but my buddy wasn't a buddy --- he was off on his own ---laa dee daaa... not a care in the world... Chasing your buddy all over was not how I was taught to dive with a buddy...

During surface intervals I was the only one looking at dive tables between dives and I was getting the strangest looks.

Granted, this was a number of years ago, but it sounds like things haven't changed much in some places.

 

[gcbryan]

Keep in mind that the way boat operators organize dives in the topics and the type of divers they have to deal with is not the way boat operators or most divers conduct themselves here or elsewhere.

In other words most non-DIR divers aren't like the divers you typically observe on those boats. Most vacation only divers are as you observed

 

[TheRedHead]

Group diving is common in the Caribbean, particularly with drift diving. 130 ft dives, swimthoughs, currents ripping your mask off, making it impossible to stick with your buddy without a line. I've never encountered any group of divers on a commercial charter where the majority were actually planning dives and diving any plan other than the DM's.

Dive defensively...

 

[Jerryg]

I'm fast approaching my 100th dive and all but about 10 of them have been resort dives. Initially I was fooled into believing that the "follow the leader" approach to diving was the way people dove. Then I started visiting some of the midwest quarries with my son and realized that my skills for diving were very suspect. I felt like dive planning wasn't required, let the computer do that, and that a dive buddy was just somebody who happened to be in the water the same time as you. THEN I started researching and found this board along with DIR. While I still haven't taken the DIRF class(Spring,2006) I have refocused my efforts on dive planning, and buddy awareness. I've actually written notes on my slate to my son about his lack of awareness. I'm heading to the Caribbean tomorrow, and I know that what I have been reading on this website has and will significantly change how I dive. I know I have a long way to go and a lot of work to do, but as confusion says "The journey begins with the first step"

 

[Tollie]

I think the boat practices that have been described are not uncommon. I think that an operator of a tourist boat has some obligation to model safe diving practices and to give assistance pre dive and briefings, which encourage safety and comfort of the guests. With that said, remember that as certified divers you also have some responsibilities.

Keep a dive log and note you weight requirements for the exposure protection you will be using. If you don’t know tell the DM you will be doing a weight check before the dive begins and would he or she be ready to pass you an additional 2 lbs. On a boat you need to look after your own gear and to kit up in an economical space with reference and awareness of other divers. Be on the look out for potential buddies as the trip gets under way… that is divers with similar likely air consumption and whom you might share a plan with. Spend a few minutes casually talking with the other divers on the boat… past experiences and check out their level of comfort (not bravado) with the dive to be conducted. Agree on a surface together or surface separately strategy should one of you run low before getting back to the boat. Couples typically don’t have a problem with this but it’s the ladies that typically come up with 1500 while their mates are sucking the tank dry. The problem is with the same day buddies.

Be sure to do your own pre dive check be it BWRAF or a DIR top to bottom, SADDDD. Best if you do it with your buddy. If you are DIR no problem with doing a modified s drill… just tell your buddy that this is the way you will share air. Decide on team formation… go slow. Discuss and decide on a plan for buddy separation.

If the dive is deep keep to your rock bottoms that you calculate or the absolute minimums… 600 psi for a dive to 60 feet or less and 1000 for a dive to 100 feet… and stick to them.

You need to calibrate your desire to have a rock solid DIR team member with the real challenge of the dive. For a comfortable 40 foot, clear water, limited current dive you can be more comfortable with a non-DIR buddy than if you were diving a 120-foot wall. In all cases however it’s the attitude towards safety that is what you are looking for in a buddy.

You are responsible for yourself. If a dive does not feel right stay out of the water.

The idea is to have fun... stress is the enemy of fun. Anything you can do to reduce stress will pay off in more enjoyment of the dive.

 

[Meng_Tze]

I have stopped all together of being 'buddied up' by an operator. The few commercial operator trips I do, I do with one of my select few buddies. The reason for this is that in the past when 'buddied up' we ran into some issues. Even though predive planning was done in detail, the 'buddy' decided that he had enough and ascended on his own, leaving me at depth to also ascend alone......... he got bend from bolting to surface and tried to blame me for not sticking with him..... go figure. It was not a gas issue (like running low), just experience, and he felt uncomfortable.

Since then I simply refuse to be buddied up with total strangers. Not because I feel superior, but because I do not know how someone is going to react, behave and stick with a plan (or be able to adapt to a changed plan). Diving with people you know (have dove with) at least gives you that insight into their mindset.

While operators have an obliation to maintain a safe dive trip, buddying up strangers is inherently dangerous. This is where for me DIR is the differentiating factor. The buddy system is (or should be) ingrained in the divers and we all should at least expect a minimal performance out of each diver.

my two BAR

 

[piikki]

Welcome aboard ANWD! Congrats on surviving your DIR-F experience with Rick and TsandM, we know you must be made of strong stuff now!

I wonder how much DIR-F will (at least temporarily) add to one’s fears – like open up the eyes with all the knowledge of all the shortcomings/must-do-better/s before some more skills and hopefully confidence sets in? I consider myself defensive diver (I might come across as scared diver but that’s just a women’s issue I hope…) but I hope not to regress to intimidated diver when I have kind of sensed assertiveness being one trademark of DIR-divers and a valuable thing to strive for in diving.

By gut feeling I have been wary of charters all season to a point I consider a bit exaggerated. I read these stories here, and they totally spook me because they all seem quite similar – people are all over the place and despite agreements too. I had a pleasure of having an instructor who stuck his forefingers together quite often, and emphasized not dumping your buddy. I’d me mortified if I’d agree on a plan (and I can be quite controlling running a plan if buddy didn’t take a lead at that stage), and something like Meng Tze described happened. From where I come from “if you’re silent, it means YES”. I think I better throw that in the basket in diving or I’ll be putting myself in danger.

 

[Brian Gilpin]

Your experience is one many of us have had and most of us had the same reaction. Group diving is common even among very experienced divers in some settings. Funny thing is it didnt bother me at all before DIR-F. You should expect this type of experience at all the warm water tourist areas around the world unless you bring your own buddy with you or make prior arrangements with the operator.

You are going to need to network with other like minded divers here on SB and some of the DIR boards in your area to find a good supply of buddies.