Open letter to boat dive masters

[rhwestfall]

Divemasters don't get a script in dive master school for this. The captain said,check every diver before they enter the water...Diver number 15 approaches swim step:

"Can I help you put your fins on?" "Do you need me to get your camera?" "Who is your buddy?" "Show me your SPG and take two breaths off of your reg, good... When you are ready, take a giant stride and then give me a big OK at the surface and enjoy your dive."

If air is off, have the buddy turn it on. If the buddy is in the water, ask if the diver wants help sorting out the problem-Tic toc... buddy is in the water and there are four divers lined up behind you.

$.02

WOW! Glad I haven't been diving there.....

guess life has treated me well......

 

[Herb-alaska]

Dear wookie

I deleted my post simply because sometime it is best to not agree with each other and just go back to our respective sections of the ocean and dive.

but I will ask more questions before I book a dive so that I can make an informed decision rather than a trust me one.

 

[antattack]

From we read here, it's pretty hard to see why anyone would volunteer time to help divers on and off a boat.

---------- Post added December 28th, 2012 at 07:42 PM ----------

<---- Doubling the tip I give on the next boat dive!

 

[Mitchell Teeters]

I agree. I would rather they didn't touch any of my gear either, but if their checking everyone's gear prevents one new diver from descending without their air on, I am willing to deal with it. On a small boat, it should be fairly easy to keep track of which divers to check, and which to leave alone, but on a larger boat it can see it being difficult.

I also agree that left and right valves should not be confusing, but it seems that sometimes it is.

---------- Post added December 28th, 2012 at 10:50 AM ----------




We recently had a tank with a vindicator handwheel that always showed green (whether on or off). I am not saying this is a common issue with the vindicator handwheels, it may well have been an improper installation issue (it was promptly replaced, and the old one discarded, so we will never know). My point is that I don't think the vindicator is fail safe, and is no replacement for a proper flow check.

FWIW I've had a standard knob come off in my hand in the fill shack. All man made items can fail.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[billgraham]

I come from Northeast wreck diving, the land of "Don't touch my gear!" It's actually uncool to do so around here-- unless someone asks for help, you're likely to get that reaction.

That being said, I know of one fatality and one could-have-been that occurred just that way.

In both cases, if the divers had taken a couple of breaths and looked at their spg, they would have picked it up before they jumped.

 

[koozemani]

I second Wookie's open letter. No matter what kind of diver you are, no one enters the water from our boat without me or my mate/DM (often both of us) insuring that air is turned on. If you don't want us helping you with your gear or switching out your tanks and you tell us we are happy to comply with your request. But, you must understand that as Master of the vessel I am responsible for your safety and to ensure safety there are proceedures that must be followed. I also see it as a moral responsibility not to let you do anything that will cause you or other divers harm despite your requests. The fact that you would stiff the DM/Crew because they are working to keep you safe does not make a whole lot of sense as that is their basic job.

My sentiments exactly. Ill handle my gear, but if you want to check my valve, go ahead. I will however take a few breaths and check my gauge before descending.

 

[drbill]

Speaking as one who has had a DM turn OFF his air after I turned it on and told her nicely not to touch my tank, I can understand how some divers get concerned when a DM touches their gear. On that dive I dropped down to 20-25 ft with no air flow coming from the reg and had to kick the DM in the water who tried to hold onto my legs as I kicked up to the surface (with nothing but surface supplied air in my lungs).

I don't take exception when a DM does check my valve. What I would take exception to is if they were NOT attentive. I recently had one DM sit in the cabin of the dive boat working on his own gear while four of us were doing repeated decompression dives to film for a documentary. Had something gone wrong, I doubt the DM would have even heard us.

 

[Searcaigh]

Open Letter to Boat Owners/Charter Owners:

Dear Esteemed Sirs and Ma'am,

Please hire some hot honeys to be dive masters. I don't wish to be pawed by fat dudes even though their intentions are entirely honorable.

These two Danish DMs in training (on the left) even helped with the washing up afterwards too

Back on subject, I don't mind another check, we are all human, and since I dive solo frequently another check is also useful, I have backrolled off a boat without my fins on earlier this year :blush: but my gas was on

I rarely dive in packed boats locally, usually max is about 6 divers but often it is just me and a really good friend who is a DM and she spots for me as her 30 year old eyes are better than mine at finding tiny critters to photograph.

Also in this part of the world you are left to do your own thing unless you want a private guide. but that depends on which operator you dive with. If you dive locally with the BIG one, then there could be 20 divers on the boat, not my idea of fun.

Where I normally dive, there is usually no DM, only the boat guy who is not a scuba diver, but he will check your valve, change your tank, carry all your extra sh!t out to the boat, (and back again - no jetty and usually chest deep wade out to the boat), make you a cup of hot tea/coffee during the SI if the weather is cold, help you in and out and out of your gear, hand your camera down to you with the port cover off (unless it is a dome), collect your camera from you when you surface, take your fins before you climb up the ladder etc, I certainly don't mind him checking my gear and making sure my gas is ON, I always check the SPG and breath from my second stage before entering the water out of habit

Oh and he always gets a tip.

 

[Akimbo]

… First the dm did not win my confidence by his inability to complete a basic boat handling task ( launch the boat) I was not wowed by his knowledge of scuba and the impression I received was not one of skill and knowledge but of a ( talker)…

It isn’t like a DM certificate is a reliable indicator of competence compared to a FAA certified 757 pilot or a MD (Medical Doctor). All three may have the personalities of a grapefruit, but at least we are reasonably confident the last two know more than we do.

… so where does a DM/shop feel that they have a liability concern when a certified diver …

Being sued. It isn’t a question of winning or losing because they only “lose less” by winning. The idea is to prevent the incompetent from hurting themselves. Failing that, have enough “CYA” practices witnessed to make the contingency-shysters choose not to file the suit because they don’t think they will win or get a settlement to go away.

… my irritation was I asked politely, " please don't do that, please don't touch my gear" at that point he should have backed off and we all would have been fine…

That is a customer relations and common courtesy problem more than a DM complaint. Dive masters that really like helping people are usually very good. Even if they are DM newbies, they learn fast because they care. The ones that are burned-out or lack that personality trait are often like the guy you describe. Trouble is, those of us that have had bad experiences like yours or observed a DM-newbie require them to earn our trust before accepting their “help”.

---------- Post added December 29th, 2012 at 09:24 AM ----------

...Diver number 15 approaches swim step:

"Can I help you put your fins on?" "Do you need me to get your camera?" "Who is your buddy?" "Show me your SPG and take two breaths off of your reg, good... When you are ready, take a giant stride and then give me a big OK at the surface and enjoy your dive."…

Granted, this is a logistics concern on a boat with one narrow transom door, but boats like that seldom carry that many divers. Higher capacity dive boats usually have two crew members helping divers in and out of the water, and two ladders. What you described is great service without risk that someone will accidently turn your air off.

 

[Laurie S.]

I just tell the DM or crewmember who approaches me as I'm getting ready to get off the boat that I've turned my air on. Never had a problem.