questions per private divemaster/dive guide

[hdndrgn]

Many of you gave me a lot of good information at my very first post, thank you!, and here I'm, again, trying to get into the groove of diving.....

I have a plan to go to Florida in April, and either finish my open water diving there, or if I manage to get my certification before that, dive a couple of times while I'm there as a newly certified diver. Now I know the powers of sea and don't plan to test her; I also know I'm no longer the kid who swam in ocean currents with nothing but her swimming suit; so this time I would like to find myself a private or semi-private dive master or dive guide, just in case, sort of speak. I don't want a group guide. I want someone to take me exciting places and push my limit if my skills aren't as rusty as I imagine, or keep me in safe haven if I'm that lousy. No. I don't want this person to be my nanny, but I do want this person to be able to judge and help me decide the direction we are taking. This will be my very first few dives after twenty years of hiatus, and I am to be honest, excited but quite apprehensive...

Never ever hired a dive master or dive guide before, what should I expect? What are the differences between a dive master and dive guide? Cost? By hour, by dive, or by anything else? If we do boat diving, apart from paying for his or her time and effort, do I pay the boat for him/her to get on board as well, or my being there kinds of give them a pass on the boar as well? Do I pay to get their air filled? Is tip common courtesy? If so, how much?

 

[Benign-Chaos]

I'm in a similar position, and would also like to know what is the best way to find a good divemaster to buddy with. Should it be the boat you're diving on or a local dive shop?

 

[brrrandi]

Never ever hired a dive master or dive guide before, what should I expect? What are the differences between a dive master and dive guide? Cost? By hour, by dive, or by anything else? If we do boat diving, apart from paying for his or her time and effort, do I pay the boat for him/her to get on board as well, or my being there kinds of give them a pass on the boar as well? Do I pay to get their air filled? Is tip common courtesy? If so, how much?

Hi hdndrgn,

I'm new here and a relatively new diver. I was perusing these boards because I'm learning myself but I just happened to have an anecdotal answer to this question. I recently travelled to North Carolina and wanted to take the chance to dive their amazing deeper wrecks. I booked a place on a dive boat for two days of diving and told them, "I'm coming with no buddy and I'm a new diver who has [at that time] never gone deeper than 60 ft." They were doing 120 ft dives most of the time and so there was a very warranted concern (by both of us) about my level of experience and comfort at those depths and currents. The person I spoke with said the easiest solution was for me to pay for a dive guide to come with me on my first day (two dives/dive sites). The guide was a very experienced diver who knew each of these sites himself and would ensure that I was handling the new challenges well. If we were both comfortable, then I could dive with any old buddy arranged by the boat captain on the following day. I readily assented. The guide cost an extra $50 for the day (payable to the company) and I gave him another $40 tip in cash. There were no other charges - he brought his own gear, was a welcome addition on the boat, etc. - all because he was an employee of the organization, so to speak. As to my experience? It was very welcome to me to 1) know I was diving with a highly experienced individual who knew the area keenly and 2) know that I would have an independent assessment of my ability to handle the new challenges looking forward. I think it's one of the better decisions I have made, frankly. He gave me some good advice, helped me get comfortable with the transition to the new depths and the currents (as well as the style of diving off that boat - is it just me or do they all do it a bit differently?!) and gave me the confidence that I could handle the next day myself, which I did just fine. So, for the record, my advice (based only on this one experience) is to seek a guide with the resort/org who is running the boat.

Hope this helps!

---------- Post added March 13th, 2013 at 08:02 PM ----------

I'm in a similar position, and would also like to know what is the best way to find a good divemaster to buddy with. Should it be the boat you're diving on or a local dive shop?

Faith, I'm still trying to figure out how to find dive buddies in my local quarries/lakes on a regular basis. Let me know if you figure it out!

But if you're on a boat, never worry about being able to find a buddy. Just do inform the dive organization when you reserve, when you arrive that day to check in, and when you embark on the boat (remind them!) that you need a buddy. It's always been my experience that they'll hook you up with someone. However, it probably goes without saying that reviewing communication and the dive plan with your brand new buddy is really really important. Sorry, enough soap box.

 

[MarineResearch]

There are a lot of DMs, instructors and insta buddies on SB that would be willing to help you as well.

 

[koozemani]

Let the shop know that you want a private dm I'm sure they can find one. The $50/day sounds about right, my wife and I were set to use one on a deep wreck before our plans changed. We were to be charged $25-30 a head.

or,

start a thread here asking for one. Same thing with your search for local dive buddies. I married my buddy so I'm kinda stuck with one.

 

[g1138]

Divemasters by agency definition are dive guides. In some agencies they're a step above Assistant Instructor (AI), which makes them put in that additional role as such. Some agencies however put them below the rating of AI, in which case they're just dive guides.

Hiring a private DM from a shop you're looking at just paying for your own gear, tanks, and the DM guide fee.
My shop charges $75; DM keeps all that.
DM gets his/her air from the shop.

This does not include tips which in general are the way of saying "Good job, I liked you" or "Thanks for saving me!"
No tip leaves us wondering what we did wrong. On rare occasions if a friendship really clicks, a post dive beer, meal, or even a hug would suffice. But if it even gets to that point, a monetary tip would feel awkward for both sides, so it's really the only logical step there.

Private independent DM's are hard to find in my experience. You could pay for their air or you couldn't, depends on how they operate (though most likely you'll pay for their air via their guide fee). You're most likely going to encounter the former, unless you look up a DM on your agency websites, pursue them privately, and assuming they decide to go through the process of designing their own waiver. Most likely if you find one, he/she is going to have an instructor rating and be an independent instructor (no shop affiliation; not a bad thing).

Tipping? Say $10 per dive, or 15-20% of the DM fee. Same as boat tipping etiquitte.
If you had a bad experience, don't tip. But if that's the case, I personally prefer up front criticism and suggestions for improvement. Other DM's might take offense to that. You can usually gauge which DM is which by talking with them prior to diving.

This varies slightly of course depending on region, as I can see comparing my response to others.

 

[Craig66]

$75 plus a tip seems a little high. It would seem from my experience that around $40-50 is about right and a tip on top of that. If I was paying $75 directly to the diver (with the diver keeping all) I am not sure that I would tip as well.

 

[g1138]

$75 plus a tip seems a little high. It would seem from my experience that around $40-50 is about right and a tip on top of that. If I was paying $75 directly to the diver (with the diver keeping all) I am not sure that I would tip as well.

Like I said, depends on the region. You're ballparking that price range here in Monterey and Santa Cruz.

 

[iluvtheocean]

most of the dive boats in florida will provide you with a Dive Master that's for you -- usual going rate is around $50 plus tip.

many of the dive shops/clubs will do your checkout dives well. Which part of florida are you coming to? I would recommend at least 1 beach dive while down here too

 

[DivemasterDennis]

In Florida, if you are diving with a shop, they will have divemasters for hire. $50.00 for a 2 tank outing is about right, maybe a little more (In Hawaii, it's $100 to $150). This is IN ADDITION to the shop or boat fee for the dive outing. You will want a currently certified AND INSURED divemaster. A divemaster is a credentialed professional. A dive leader is whoever is leading a dive, whether a person with professional credentials or not. Tipping is always appreciated. Tip at least $10.00 per tank, more if the DM did something special, like retrieve a piece of gear, take your picture, find neat things, etc.
If you are not going with a dive operator, but are hiring a DM to go diving with you, I think the same numbers and tipping should apply. DO ask to see their credentials and current insurance card. If they have insurance, they will have a card, just like you have for your auto insurance.
DivemasterDennis