Right On or Rude?

[TheRedHead]

I do have a problem with sharing air with them just to continue the dive. Safe?

Yes, very safe. The diver hits 1000 psi ahead of schedule (he's not in any danger) and the DM shares air at that point so everyone can continue the dive. I think it is very fair to the other divers. Again, the diver receiving the long hose is not close to running out of air.

 

[Diver Dennis]

Yes, very safe. The diver hits 1000 psi ahead of schedule (he's not in any danger) and the DM shares air at that point so everyone can continue the dive. I think it is very fair to the other divers. Again, the diver receiving the long hose is not close to running out of air.

But with 2 divers? Did they not let buddies low on air surface before the rest of the group? Sorry but I haven't seen this before.

 

[TheRedHead]

It is? You know, as amazing as this sounds, some divers don't give a rat's a55 about these things. Maybe the DM had a problem with it but it could very be that the divers in question weren't really interested in improving. There are *divers* and there are people who dive.... Only the former care to improve.

You have a good point there and I'm sure that is sometimes the case.

I see. So you're saying that he's an over-controlling (mother hen) freak of a DM who can't distinguish between divers and under-water tourists (see above) and is unable to separate his roll as instructor from his roll as dive guide....

R..

I'm sure that's not the case. He is the type of guy who will go out of his way to help you in any way he can if you ask -- and sometimes if you don't. He needs to be a mother hen because he is stretching your limits. I think he enjoys teaching and seeing divers improve. And there's two ways of looking at it: you can see him as an over-controlling martinet and request another DM or you can see it as an opportunity to get some one-on-one with a very good instructor for the price of a two-tank trip. Maybe a little pricier than your average two-tank trip, but a real bargain if you consider the instruction.

People don't go to Cozumel to dive the shallow sites and that's what poor divers would be limited to if they didn't get extra help. The other scenario of leading an ill-prepared diver on a deep dive without concern for their safety is worse. The best case scenario is to help the diver improve so they can enjoy the best dives in Cozumel.

I personally think he would be more successful if he was less blunt and talked privately with people. However, I applaud him in his efforts to make his customers better divers.

 

[spectrum]

Assuming that he was moderately good natured in the way he did this that DM was a prince.

Sure it's easy to say he should have spoken to the divers in private but sometimes that sort of time and space does not happen. Adn besides the divers may well have gratefully declined.

The bottom line is that he made a huge difference in the ability of these divers.

Having seen how devoid many OW classes are of this sort of instruction I can appreciate what this guy did. Were it not for reading ScubaBoard and a few kind words form a mentor early on I could have been the third guy!

Pete

 

[TheRedHead]

But with 2 divers? Did they not let buddies low on air surface before the rest of the group? Sorry but I haven't seen this before.

No, this is drift diving and the group needs to stay together. The DM has to make sure the divers do their deco while drifting and get picked up safely. But, if you're an advanced diver with a bag and reel and he is confident in your ability, you can stay down longer and shoot your own bag and have the boat pick you up after the group has surfaced. You can make those arrangements in advance.

 

[Diver Dennis]

No, this is drift diving and the group needs to stay together. The DM has to make sure the divers do their deco while drifting and get picked up safely. But, if you're an advanced diver with a bag and reel and he is confident in your ability, you can stay down longer and shoot your own bag and have the boat pick you up after the group has surfaced. You can make those arrangements in advance.

Thanks. When drift diving in a group, I'll stay down until we reach an agreed upon time limit, say 60 minutes and then come up. I had never seen them sharing before.

 

[markfm]

It sounds really rude, public pronunciations. Professionalism involves tact, which anyone who is a pro should know, and be practicing, particularly if the person is really active, doing DM stints. As to those who say variations of "I'd be thrilled", your reality check has bounced.

 

[bluewatertoy]

When we do drift dives in Cozumel everyone surfaces at different times depending on air consumption. The DM shoots his bag, you do your deco, surface and the captain will pick you up. He continues to follow the rest of the group until the last person surfaces. Air hog or 1hr. dive on an 80cf. Everyone gets their $ worth.

 

[MoonWrasse]

I was diving for a week in Cozumel with a very good DM/Instructor who tries to improve everyone's diving - no matter what level. There are a couple of people on the boat who are diving overweighted and hoovering 120 cf tanks in 30 minutes. On the 2nd day we're crusing to our SI spot and the DM says to these folks that he feels that as an Instructor he has an obligation to his drivers to try and help them. Then he says that obviously they know how to breathe, but it is time they learned how to breathe like scuba divers (one of them had been diving for 10 years).

I think I would have been mortified if he had said that to me in front of other people. I would have probably skip-breathed on my next dive and passed out just to show him.

One of the hoovers tried to justify it by saying he was a big guy and used a lot of air. The other one looked kind of sheepish. Yet, the DM kept working with them, taking weight off and tweaking their gear so by the time our trip was over, they were able to keep up with the rest of the group in air consumption and were diving more or less horizontally instead of vertically.

Do you think the DM did the right thing? I personally think he should have had a talk with them in private. And yet I think he did them a huge favor by making them better divers.

Talk about the express train to being a DM/Instructor

I agree with you - that would be the mature thing to do, and the DM obviously acked that maturity.

 

[countryboy]

This being the second day, I am thinking he has taken the time to get to know the diver's a bit.. He made the statement that he felt was appropriate, to benefit all. Let them know they have a chance to improve, while letting the group know he was trying to do something...

If he was successful in both counts, seems like he knew what he was doing.