Reef Killers

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Location
New Orleans
# of dives
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To be a good diver (not great, but just good) all it takes is a LOT of diving and focus on learning the basic skills. Basic skills, you know, like buoyancy, gas consumption, mastering the basic kicks.
Unfortunately, VERY few people are actually good divers. Time and again I see divers who either have poor skills or super poor attitudes. I title them REEF KILLERS.
Last month, I was diving down in the Florida Keys. A couple of old guys were on the boat with us. We did a couple of dives that morning and both times I noticed the idiots standing on the bottom, right on top of coral. I approached and gave the OK signal thinking something had to be wrong. But, nooooo, they were 'OK', just idiots.
On the boat, I asked the guys if they liked diving and all the splendor they see. I then said, wouldnt it be nice if all who went diving after them could see the same splendor.
They gave me the Idiotic answer, "everyone leaves their mark"
First off, there is NO freakin reason to be vertical in the water and absolutely no freaking reason to stand or kneel on the coral. Hey, why not learn buoyancy and hover? Now, there is a thought?
Then this past week, I was diving in Bonaire. We were diving the reef just short of the Hilmer Hooker wreck. (I really love that reef, tons of neat, cool, little stuff poking out of the coral heads).
As we were hovering above the coral heads (I like to look at the fish as they interact with each other while my dive-buddy son likes to find micro this and that) a boat from one of the resorts pulls up and moors on one of the buoys. Then the REEF KILLERS hop in. It was like a seen from a movie with astronauts. Ten or twelve divers came swimming toward us. They were all vertical, swimming with their hands, moving through the water as if they were moving through space while wearing jet-packs.
My son and I moved away to a new spot and resumed our dive. A few minutes later, I noticed this guy kneeling on some coral. He was just there, not moving, not doing anything. I swam over and offered the "OK" sign. After a few moments he responded with OK and I swam off. I still wonder, what the heck was that guy doing?
And then another example. last week, early on Sunday morning, we were at the dive shop picking up full cylinders and checking the tanks and noting the chart set up for the Nitrox station. This guy approaches us and asks if he can dive with us since he had no dive buddy. We each said sure, come on.
In talking, we find out the guy just completed his DM training and was waiting for his DM cert card. He was from one of those frozen states where people only dive in quarries. He stated,, and get this,,,,that he did not know how to do a giant stride since all of his diving was in quarries. He did some boat diving before but he used the ladder since he did not know how to do a giant stride.
That seemed kind of nuts to me since everyone I know at least did giant strides off the side of the pool while in OW training. I mean, how hard is it to do a a giant stride? Just take a step and that is it, how is that hard?
Well, from experience, my son and I expect all quarry divers to pretty much suck. They about all only dive vertically because the quarry has little to know visibility and there is no sense swimming around since there is pretty much nothing to see except a bus, car and the one fish that swims around. Not to mention the water is colder than cold.
This guy was no exception, he swam using his hands, was grossly over-weighted and was just about fully vertical. Bicycle kicked the entire time. Had to fight with buoyancy (probably because his trim was so bad, each kick powered him to the surface and he was so over-weighted) He missed about everything we pointed out.
To his credit, he was at least 10-15 feet above the reef. But, I guess because he was not much of a ocean diver, he did not know the identity of the fish.
After the dive, we talked about some of the cool stuff and his questions were --- what was that yellow and blue one? What was the big one with the gold striping? And other similar questions. It was kind of cool for my son and I to try and identify the fish he asked about because it made for an exciting time --- like introducing the ocean and the animals to someone appreciative of them.
Anyway, my point is, while I never really considered myself to be a great diver (although my son is as good as anyone I have seen, and that includes the "nose-up-in-the-air" GUE divers that think they are too good to dive with anyone except other GUE divers, but after watching all the horrible divers, I must at least rate myself as good.
I can hover, stay off the reef and coral, do some kicks including helicopter, back-up, frog and my son and I have practiced some skills so we will be proficient if the need ever comes up for air exchange or rescue. Then again, my son and I have done 200-300 dives together so we are pretty familiar with each other.
Excuse me for my holier-than-thou attitude but when I get on a plane with 300 other people that are all going to some location that is only for diving, I think that at least 250 of these people are REEF KILLERS.
And it is not because some of us are skilled while others are not. The real issue is some people only dive 20-30 dives a year and at that rate, they will never acquire the skills to become good enough to just enjoy the dive without worrying about buoyancy and other basic skills necessary to protect the environment.
I could go on and on using other examples from just last week but I think we all get the picture.
People, practice, even if in a pool. The diving will be a whole lot better for you and for the environment if you gain the skills.
 
From a new diver's perspective, allow me to offer an observation or ten. I snorkeled for years before finally having the additional funds and time to dive. I much prefer to dive with those with the same experience level I have for a number of reasons:
a) no feeling of being hurried in the water...I actually have a few minutes to try to get my buoyancy act together before heading to the reef area
b) it's always a learning experience
c) I'm not the only one struggling a bit coordinating the act of multiple pieces of equipment and trying to get them all to perform flawlessly while trying to enjoy the beautiful work God has done below the surface that most will never experience
d) I DO know the name of most of the fish, coral, critters because after my very first dive I was so eager to learn about all that I had seen...fish behaviors are next on my list (and yes, I am amazed at how many experienced divers don't know the names of anything and look at me like I have three heads when I start asking "did you see the ____?")
e) I do cringe when see someone bump into coral (or a DM or other dive professional inadvertently kick loose a piece of coral off that took decades to form) but realize we are ALL human and awkward below at one point or another while trying our dead-level best to stay away from the reefs and wonder if all the critics out there think they were all perfect in their first 100 dives.
f) practice in the pool...lol...I DO! I wonder if you've noticed that there is a significant difference in salt vs fresh water, depth vs shallow, current vs none, wetsuit compression vs no wetsuit at all needed...the list goes on and on.
I love diving and have no plans to stop until I'm have the best buoyancy control ever and read, dream and study about it daily. Luckily I try desperately not to take your criticism to to heart but it is always there in the back of my mind when I'm diving with experienced divers. I often feel the need to apologize to them for my lack of experience with a promise to try not to get in their way. Unfortunately, nothing is a substitute for practice and not living near the coast and having unlimited time and travel funds limits my practice.
I will say though that I find it most amusing that the very people who complain about reef damage and abhor diving with newbies are also the ones who cannot bear going out on a boat with more than 4-6 divers. Where is their sense of conservation and reef preservation there? What about the waste of fuel, fumes, traffic etc when planning their dive trips. I have been on boats with as few as 4 other divers and more than 15. When properly managed, the dives with 16 divers were just as enjoyable, beautiful and efficient as those with 5. Flame me if you like but remember, my two cents here is based on my very limited experience. Luckily, the real-life in the flesh divers I have had the pleasure of diving with have been helpful, kind, fun and nothing but encouraging. Perhaps they realize that if you never experience what's down there you cannot appreciate the need to conserve it.
 
While I agree with you whole heartily about Reef Killers and DM's who shouldn't be DM's, I'll have to disagree with some of your comments.
There are plenty of quarry divers who are skilled divers, some of them are even "nose-up-in-the-air" GUE divers.

It is my belief, having dove both clear and murky waters, that low vis actually makes you a better diver in the case of trim and buoyancy, provided you're practicing towards that. If you don't believe me try holding a safety stop in 5ft vis, midwater with no references, and within a 5ft window. It's daunting, everywhere you look, all you see is brown-green.

And not all GUE divers are stuck up. Granted some recite DIR concepts verbatim and don't really do any critical thinking into the concept themselves.

But I can name at least 2 GUE divers who dive DIR kits, yet will gladly dive with other non-GUE divers. Even if those divers are in jacket BC's.
 
If you think divers are reef killers then you should see what cruise ships are doing to the reefs. :wink:

I hear ya dude, but this problem will never go away until the reefs are gone. All you can do is worry about yourself, stay positive, and try to set a better example.
 
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I am as quick as anyone to criticize divers who engage in irresponsible conduct. After all, I am a confessed Scuba Snob, as is clear from our book "The Scuba Snobs Guide to Diving Etiquette" which Carribeandiver will love; most (but not all) people do. (get it on amazon.com. ) But from exerienced divers to novices, we can all dive together. None of us needs to stand on a coral head, kick sand and silt up on on the coral, or otherwise "leave our mark. Not everone leaves their mark. Good divers leave only shadows and bubbles- we all know that. We just all need to live it. There are a lot of "reef kilers" out there, but they are not the majority of divers. Nor do Florda and Hawaiian and other warm water natives corner the market on proper diving. There are alot of good divers in Colorado, and some bad ones. By bad I mean destructive, intrusive, impolite, and sometime dangerous. I believe novice divers are good divers because they are likely to follow the safe and environmentally sound practices they were taught. They also take direction, and are likely to ask for help if they need it. I also find active divers to be good. It is the casual diver, the "couple of dives every couple of years" divers, that are likely to behave inappropriately, regardless of where they live or where they trained. So let's all you good divers lead by eaxample, and stay active and encourage others to be active. When you see inappropriate conduct, its ok to correct it gently, and in a positive manner. Read the book. Be a good example, be an ambassardor of our sport. Don't just bitch- be part of the solution.
DivemasterDennis
 
First, let me say that I will not contest your evaluation of a diver who says "everyone leaves their mark", as that is utterly untenable, and a "divemaster" who does not know how to giant stride should mean someone somewhere has something to answer to. A Divemaster must have excellent skills *and* experience in a wide variety of situations and environments before I'll even consent to *begin* their training. (They will certainly acquire and refine skills during training, but they don't even get to sign up until they have something to work with.)

*ANYWAY*, now that I have that out the way...
To be a good diver (not great, but just good) all it takes is a LOT of diving and focus on learning the basic skills. Basic skills, you know, like buoyancy, gas consumption, mastering the basic kicks.
. . .
People, practice, even if in a pool. The diving will be a whole lot better for you and for the environment if you gain the skills.
I certainly understand your frustration, but I'd like to think a bit more about the whole situation. I can't say that any of us can single-handedly fix the problem, and as your "everyone leaves their mark" incident shows, sometimes you may not even be able to address the symptom.

Obviously, we can all just stand back and point at poor training as the reason people dive poorly. Or we can say that if they'd dive more often they'd be better. Neither of these is useful, and either can be wrong. I got buddied up with a diver who hadn't been wet in *20 years* yet had great form, and another time I was diving with people with *vastly* more experience than mine yet positively *stank*. What's the important part?

A while back I read a very interesting interview in "The Wrong Stuff", a Slate feature by Kathryn Schulz:
Into Thin Error: Mountaineer Ed Viesturs on Making Mistakes. It's a fascinating interview, and I highly recommend reading it. At the moment, however, there is one sentence from it that I'd like to bring out:
When you're less experienced, you don't even know about the mistakes you're making.
Making a skilled-enough diver takes several things. First, they need to know that there's something to learn. Then they need a desire to learn it. And finally they need the practice/experience to acquire it.

The problem you apparently encounter often with divers from different locales is that nobody told them there was more they might need to learn. In your case, it's quarry divers coming to open salty seas and not having the skills and knowledge to dive around coral. In a quarry diver's case, it's warm water divers showing up without cold and silt-bottom experience and messing up everyone's viz. Everything looks obvious in hindsight, but how are they supposed to know what it is they don't know.

Ideally, everyone's dive instructors would have given them at least a good eye-opening by mentioning that there are things the students will need to learn for other types of diving (or even for basic competence). If that *didn't* happen, it often comes all the way down to fellow divers having to *diplomatically* (and gently, if possible) open the eyes of the divers that don't know what they don't know.
Whenever you're working around people's eyes, if you're not very gentle, they'll tend to react badly. Eye opening requires a certain touch, even if you may *actually* feel like dope-slapping them.​

Which brings us to the second part. Once they know that there's something out there, they have to have a *reason* to want to learn it. As a science nerd, I know there are *huge* swaths of information I don't know about nuclear physics, but since I have no reason to expend effort studying it, I'll likely never get a handle on which decays yield which neutrino flavors. In the case of divers, you have to give them some reason to want to learn the skills you can plainly see they need.

In some cases, such as not damaging the reef's coral or silting the quarry's viz, just gently bringing the issue to the diver's attention may be sufficient for them to realize they want to do better. Few people are callous enough to not care about coral or their own viz. (Those who are cannot be helped, although a captain can certainly berate them, if not actually flog.) In other cases, such as buoyancy and trim, there *isn't* any reason so obvious *to them* why they should improve. Sure, *you* know it's better, and on paper, they could likely agree with your justification, but you need to help them along until they can internalize "better" and turn it into "want".
With respect to buoyancy and trim, the opening I usually use is nothing more complicated than diving with them. When they see you hovering effortlessly, burning your air much more slowly, and exercising consummate skill, it's a rare diver who will not think, "That would be nice to be able to do." Once that hook is set, you can start with a bit of reweighting, move on to trimming, and so on *as they can take it in*. People can usually only usefully desire one skill at a time, I've found.​
Once they know that there is something to learn and have seen it or in some other way sparked a desire to have it, then it just comes down to the practical. It really doesn't take much to get a passable hang of things once they're actually thinking about it and wanting to get the hang of it. The early steps (at least after the first) are always acquired more quickly and more easily than later ones, and they are where the marked improvements are made. A completely stationary hover with no twitching may be *hard* for someone and take many, many dives of practice, but give me one hand's worth of dives, and basic horizontal trim and acceptable buoyancy can be had by anyone.

Case Study: Diver W.

I met Diver W down in the Caribbean. W was a pretty new diver (maybe a dozen dives or so), and had gone through a "standard" course. When I first dove with W, he was all over the place. I could see by the oscillating buoyancy and verticality that W was *very* overweighted.

After the first dive, I talked to him. He was tired out from the diving, needless to say, and he observed that it didn't look like I was having to do anything. *DING*, there I had my opening (yeah, this would be an easy one, woo-hoo). I commented that it looked to me like he probably was diving with more weight than he needed, and if we changed that up a bit, we could probably make it easier on him. I asked why he had so much and got the standard answer -- "because that's what they told me to wear."

We went back in for a weight check, ended up taking several pounds of weight off, and went on from there. The next dive was much easier (and much less bouncy), which made W quite happy. That made bringing up trim really easy, and moving some weight around made that better (but certainly not perfect). It *was* enough, however, to transfer the kernel of the skill. W now *wanted* good buoyancy and trim, and he knew how you adjust it.

W wasn't perfect by the time he went home, but he was certainly *much* better than when he got there. I saw him again the other day, and he was doing a little buoyancy and trim refreshing before his next vacation. I'm pretty sure that if you see him down there, while you may not mistake him for an old pro, you won't come up calling him a reef-killing idiot.​
So, there's really no way (short of acquiring a TARDIS and perhaps an extra heart) to completely prevent poor quality divers from being created by poor quality instructors. (I wish there were, but as Jayne Cobb said, "If wishes were horses we'd all be eatin' steak.")* What you *can* do -- what we *all* can do -- is to try to set an example. But don't *just* try to set an example. USE that example to snare unknowing divers into the trap of knowing there's a better, wanting to be better, and working to become better.

It's just like picking up litter. I know that I am not going to solve the litter problem single-handedly. And I know that no matter how much litter I pick up, there will always be more. But I believe that every little bit helps, and that if enough people believe and do the same, it can make an impact.

Anyway, there you have it.

*Yes, that's two different science fiction references in one paragraph, but hey, it could've been The Star Wars Holiday Special.
 
It's what I tell my kids. There is a difference between how people should behave, and how people actually behave. We tell our kids to talk to others with respect, share, and wait our turns patiently. How many times have we seen adults be rude (just read some of the posts here on SB!), not share or be charitable, and cut in front of others.

We should all be wardens of the sea as divers protecting the fragile and beautiful ecosystems that inspires our love of this sport. We can try and pass that on to others, educating whenever possible.

For those who just can't stay off the reefs, find some nice big fire coral and invite them to 'sit.' :D
 
It's what I tell my kids. There is a difference between how people should behave, and how people actually behave. We tell our kids to talk to others with respect, share, and wait our turns patiently. How many times have we seen adults be rude (just read some of the posts here on SB!), not share or be charitable, and cut in front of others.

We should all be wardens of the sea as divers protecting the fragile and beautiful ecosystems that inspires our love of this sport. We can try and pass that on to others, educating whenever possible.

For those who just can't stay off the reefs, find some nice big fire coral and invite them to 'sit.' :D

It's easy to tell people what to do, it's another thing to lead by example........in a Capitalist system it's not a wise move to be altruistic, you'll get used up mighty fast, by the greedy, lazy and unethical.
I'll stick to with dry and cynical of human nature, being happy in the fact that economic recession brings reality home in a big hard way to the "users"....and that some of them even "buy the farm" because of it! -Schadenfreude
On "our" way to 9billion, the gloves will come off sooner or later!
 
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Dear Carribean Diver...

Clearly there is a big problem with divers that have trim-buyancy issues (your called reefkillers). There is a clear relation between health of a reef system and number of dives done on that system, with the more dives done on a system the less healthy it gets. For example in Egypts Red Sea this is very clear and easy to investigate because diving tourism has been going on there for at least 30 years. If this is because physical stress on the reef (ie divers touching) or just because there is stress from tourism run offs (polution, hotels, etc) I don't know.

However having a "chip on your shoulder" like you clearly have is not going to solve this. You are not going to make any friends doing this. The only way you can really change is to change industry standards regarding training (focus on trim and buyancy). If you as just a diver wants to have an impact Clayars method is going to be much more productive. You can try to point this out in a friendly manner, or try to show them the benefit of certain actions, lead by example... etc. What you do... pointing a finger... making a lecture... doesn't help in any way.

Finally, I don't understand why I bothered answering your post. Your overly generalist remarks regarding divers (quary divers suck, gue divers have their nose in the air)... just classify you as a beginning diver who thinks he knows everything. Yes a beginning diver... you probably have more dives then me but I'm guessing most of them are warm tropical water. In my opinion you gain experience by diving in a variety of different circumstances (cold-warm water, good-bad vis, current, shore dives, boat dives, wreck dives, deep dives, quary dives, nitrox dives, trimix dives, cave dives, experienced buddies, dangerous buddies, new divers, ...) If you've had any of those you'd probably met very bad divers... you'd probaly met alof of average divers but you'll probably would have met also some very very good divers... some of which might have quary dived, or a man in black GUE diver who wasn't arrogant but a very pleasant guy to have a beer with and small talk. People who have a black and white vision on any topic most of the time don't have alot of experience in that topic.
 
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