Pet peeves of SCUBA diving

[CathyE]

My favorites are the once a year vacation divers who think they’re the shitz.

These kind of people are found on all sides. As the diving season here is short (without getting into ice diving) I see ‘once a year’ local divers too. Most of them are friendly and pleasant.
I take issue with anyone who thinks their way is the only way.
The earth is big enough for multiple paths of equal value. Chose what makes you happy, let others do the same.

 

[Wibble]

I would like to do more solo diving. I am certified and dive with an alternate gas supply. My wife hates the idea of it. I tell her I'm trained and have the right equipment for it explaining that I solo with a redundant gas supply and regs. She says "And do you also have a redundant heart and a redundant body?" She has a point. The greatest asset a buddy provides is not in just providing gas but in the ability to get you to the surface if you are incapacitated. While we can take appropriate measures to ensure our fitness, we can't rule out a medical event. Being an older diver it is a question that will bear more on my conscience as time goes on.

Did you die whilst writing this? Not meaning that in an aggressive way...

It's like Baldrick's bullet; we're all going to die someday, is it better to avoid all risk or seize the day? Perish the thought, but if you have a seizure or heart attack whilst underwater, you're toast anyway. What difference would a buddy make?

The number one principle of solo diving is don't be that idiot. You have to take responsibility for your actions; be careful. Practice. Properly check your kit and triple check before you jump. Whether or not you're solo, that's a good thing to do.

Go diving!

 

[EFX]

Did you die whilst writing this? Not meaning that in an aggressive way...

It's like Baldrick's bullet; we're all going to die someday, is it better to avoid all risk or seize the day? Perish the thought, but if you have a seizure or heart attack whilst underwater, you're toast anyway. What difference would a buddy make?

The number one principle of solo diving is don't be that idiot. You have to take responsibility for your actions; be careful. Practice. Properly check your kit and triple check before you jump. Whether or not you're solo, that's a good thing to do.

Go diving!

First. I never said or implied I am avoiding ALL risk. I still solo dive. As to your comment to avoid all risk or seize the day, only a fool would make such a binary choice. Risk assessment and its subsequent mitigation is not an all or nothing affair. Risk assessment requires an honest and careful evaluation of one's ability, health, and dive environment, and should be done throughout your life especially after health changes. Risk mitigation may require unpleasant compromises.

Not all medical events are fatal. For example, you can have a stroke that leaves you incapacitated but you are able to breath. All you need is some help. I dive solo in caverns so inflating my wing would not help me unless I want to add a head injury to the stroke.

Not being an idiot is important but that only works if you can do something about it. Strokes can happen without warning and without you doing anything to cause them (unless you're in the habit of not taking your meds).

 

[SlugLife]

My favorites are the once a year vacation divers who think they’re the shitz.

Meanwhile, they're ultra confused by your sidemount-rig.

I would like to do more solo diving. I am certified and dive with an alternate gas supply. My wife hates the idea of it. I tell her I'm trained and have the right equipment for it explaining that I solo with a redundant gas supply and regs. She says "And do you also have a redundant heart and a redundant body?" She has a point. The greatest asset a buddy provides is not in just providing gas but in the ability to get you to the surface if you are incapacitated. While we can take appropriate measures to ensure our fitness, we can't rule out a medical event. Being an older diver it is a question that will bear more on my conscience as time goes on.

I don't know your unique health-condition(s), so I cannot offer personal advice. Though if you're worried about a heart-attack, or anything else occurring while diving, perhaps get some medical checkups. That aside, I'm of the view that "we're all going to die someday." If you had a heart-attack during many other activities, like driving, or going on a solo-hike, it could kill you as well. If you had a heart-attack underwater, would your dive-buddy even know how to rescue you?

What's the point of living, if you don't actually live a little? That's no excuse to live recklessly of course. You can and should of course take reasonable precautions. I bring redundancy on EVERY dive personally regardless of depth, dive-buddy, etc. I already have it, it's good habits, and it's easy to do. I use a regulator-necklace as well, not because I've ever unexpectedly passed out, but it's an ultra-simple safety device. If you think you need a dive-buddy, that's fine. But the fact that you don't have a redundant-life is why you should live a little.

 

[Bill McDavid]

You call someone rude then insult their camera.

I suspect you overspent on a giant camera contraception and we’re blocking others from seeing the cool thing. I find it cringe when people carry giant cameras for their personal photos. Like, just enjoy the dive why do you have to capture everything on a camera?

My brain is my camera.

I also find it cringe when every live event has people holding there phone up recording. Just enjoy the experience.

You are talking to someone who was there. You were not. If you think repeatedly kicking up sand on a photographer's subject (one the photographer discovered) after barging in before the photographer has even shot a single frame is acceptable behavior, I hope I never find myself on a dive boat in your presence. Your brain is your camera. Congratulations. My camera is my camera and I use my brain to operate it. I find great joy in capturing scenes and subjects I find pleasing to my eyes. I am no better than you for it and you are no better than me because you choose to dive without a camera. I too cringe at every member of an audience feeling like they need to record every moment of an event. That is not the same thing. My bet is you have spent plenty of time admiring underwater photographs/videos. For that, you can thank all those who carry cameras and learn how to use them effectively.

My comment about the quality of his camera was only a reflection of the anger I felt towards this incredibly rude man from Brazil. I have seen some really great images come out of a compact camera in the hands of one who knows how to use it and I, on occasion, carry a ****** little camera. I really don't care what kind of camera a diver carries as long as they are respectful of everyone's fair share of time... which also applies to photographers allowing those without cameras their fair share of observing a subject. For someone who claims to just enjoy the dive, you seem to dedicate plenty of the diving experience to being annoyed by those who cannot just "enjoy the experience" because they carry a camera.

P.S. If you really think I was in the wrong, you should talk to the many guides at Atlantis Dumaguete who were all shaking their heads in disbelief watching this guy's behavior throughout the course of the week.

 

[boulderjohn]

You are talking to someone who was there. You were not. If you think repeatedly kicking up sand on a photographer's subject (one the photographer discovered) after barging in before the photographer has even shot a single frame is acceptable behavior, I hope I never find myself on a dive boat in your presence. Your brain is your camera.

I was not there, either, but I have been in similar scenes, so what follows is generic.

I was on a liveaboard trip in Thailand in which that exact scenario played out often, with the offender being my designated buddy. The difference is that he was the big camera guy who sold photos. He would push people out of the way to get his shots, take many, many shots while others waited their turns before giving up, and then leave the area too silted up for others to get a good look. It happened so often in the first couple days of diving that the skipper gave him an offer he could not refuse--the skipper would go off with him on special photography runs. The guy thought it was great the skipper was doing that for him, not realizing the skipper was actually doing it for everyone else.

Being his roommate for two weeks on that trip, I know very well that he could have made a post complaining about the people were interfering with his shots. I pretty much told him during that time that other people were not happy with him, but he just scoffed.

My generic comment is that it is sometimes hard to separate ourselves from a situation and see it objectively.

 

[Bill McDavid]

I was not there, either, but I have been in similar scenes, so what follows is generic.

I was on a liveaboard trip in Thailand in which that exact scenario played out often, with the offender being my designated buddy. The difference is that he was the big camera guy who sold photos. He would push people out of the way to get his shots, take many, many shots while others waited their turns before giving up, and then leave the area too silted up for others to get a good look. It happened so often in the first couple days of diving that the skipper gave him an offer he could not refuse--the skipper would go off with him on special photography runs. The guy thought it was great the skipper was doing that for him, not realizing the skipper was actually doing it for everyone else.

Being his roommate for two weeks on that trip, I know very well that he could have made a post complaining about the people were interfering with his shots. I pretty much told him during that time that other people were not happy with him, but he just scoffed.

My generic comment is that it is sometimes hard to separate ourselves from a situation and see it objectively.

Agreed. Here is another generic comment: Sometimes our subjective views are fully supported by objective observers. In regard to this event I experienced, they ultimately took the guy from Brazil on private dives which, similar to the experience you described, probably made the guy feel like he was special rather than detestably rude to other divers. Meanwhile, I was placed with other divers and photographers and we all got along fabulously with no issues... sharing time on subjects, etc. So, while I am always striving to see whatever blind spots I may suffer, I really don't think this was one of those blind spot incidents. I gave this guy the benefit of the doubt early on but it became outrageously offensive.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

I'm sure it's in here as a pet peeve, but my latest pet peeve is that facemasks should come dive-ready right out of the box even if that means enslaving little children in third-world countries to scrub a mask lens until their little leper fingers fall off.

 

[boulderjohn]

I'm sure it's in here as a pet peeve, but my latest pet peeve is that facemasks should come dive-ready right out of the box even if that means enslaving little children in third-world countries to scrub a mask lens until their little leper fingers fall off.

Take a look at the mask page from Dive Gear Express: Masks - Standard

Note the following instructions:

Don't use toothpaste as an abrasive cleaner on modern dive masks, especially those masks that have optical quality ultra-clear glass lenses, vision correction lenses or 'optical coatings' on the lenses. You will either damage the lenses, or needlessly waste toothpaste since most modern toothpaste formulations are not at all abrasive. The same goes for using a lighter to 'burn' the lens to prepare a new mask. Dive Gear Express will not warranty masks that have been treated with abrasives or burned with lighters.​

​

Most new dive masks do have mold release agents in the flexible skirt that during storage will migrate to the surface of the lens and cause fogging. These deposits can be safely removed with an extra application of a powerful surfactant like liquid dish soap, baby shampoo, SeaQuick or SeaDrops defog.​

I purchased a TUSA mask a few years ago, and I barely did anything to it before using it. It has never fogged.

 

[100days-a-year]

1. Other divers
2. Annoying sea life
3. Other boats visible
4. Reverse blocks