Scuba etiquette 101

[JustJules]

I agree with a lot of the posts in this thread, but I had to add my comments on a couple things.

First, I agree with Walter... captains/DMs that say "be back in 40 minutes' drive me crazy. I will talk to the captain and see what his schedule looks like (hey, I know they may have another trip to make after this one, and it's fair that they are able to keep to their schedule), but don't treat me like I don't know how to read my computer. It seems like a lot of captains in Florida will limit the length of dives not becuase of their schedule but becuase divers refuse to buy a computer and won't look at tables. Don't limit my 60' nitrox dive to 40 minutes just becuase you have to spoonfeed divers who won't take responsibility for their nitrogen time. There are several well-regarded boats in the area that I now won't use for this reason. Instead, I have chosen to build a good relationship with a charter boat that will treat me like an intelligent human being.

I also have major issues with divers who beat up the reefs. Having been on a boat with an instructor who took his entire class to the bottom and had them all stand on the reef, I think this is sometimes a training problem. I have to admit, though, that no approach I have tried has worked better than any other when divers seem to have no regard for the fragile nature of the reefs. Either they understand that beating up the reefs is a bad thing and they try not to, or they continue to think that it's ok to grab, bang, step, etc. on reefs. Doesn't matter how nice or angry I am in my explanation of why they shouldn't.

But my number one pet peeve among divers are divers who "got certified three years ago and haven't dived since.... but I remember how to do it so I'm not going to spend money on a refresher." I have learned my lesson the hard way with this one, and they can find another buddy. If I could make them find another body of water, that would be even better. If you have a total of two logged dives and they were three years ago, you DO need a refresher, becuase I guarantee you don't remember everything from your OW class. It's too dangerous to yourself (and other divers around you) to think you know it all.

 

[JimC]

Mine is easy.

Silt. I HATE it when people silt up the place!

Come on people, fluter kicks suck and hands are not propultion devices!

 

[Mart]

I'm really new, done about 15 dives now.

The other week I went diving. Fining along looking around when another diver hit me from behind.
When I turned around he was shaking his head and waving his hands at me.!
What did I do wrong.? Was it also wrong to give him the finger.!

 

[chrispete]

I've really only run across one thing that just completely floored me with diver behavior. I was on a boat with 5 other divers (one from my LDS, the other guys out of towners) and after I had started to gear up in a corner of the boat, one of the out of towners (one of the macho-diver, hyper-overcompensating, cock-of-the-roost, I never ever get seasick but I just hurled over the side types) walked over with his gear bag in hand, looked at me, looked at my open bag (that I was obviously gearing up from,) raised his gear bag to about waist height, and dropped his bag right on top of mine with a sickening crunching sound (c'mon, there were open deck spaces all around and my regs are probably pancakes now)...then proceeded to gear up out of it while looking at me as if I were the one with the problem. I waited for him to get both hands busy then reached out with my foot and kicked the crap out of his gear bag, rolling it off of mine. Needless to say, we weren't much of friends for the rest of the trip.

 

[Cave Diver]

chrispete once bubbled...
I waited for him to get both hands busy then reached out with my foot and kicked the crap out of his gear bag, rolling it off of mine. Needless to say, we weren't much of friends for the rest of the trip.

You shoulda 'accidently' dropped your cylinder on his toe. Wanna borrow my doubles for next trip?

 

[artw]

JimC once bubbled...
Mine is easy.

Silt. I HATE it when people silt up the place!

Come on people, fluter kicks suck and hands are not propultion devices!

LOL - I know what you mean.

Art

 

[Rockhound]

most of all I hate whiners.....
(so I"m not whining, okay?)

Pet Peeves on the boat:

a)People who complain about the food, the boat, the weather, their gear and location when the diving is really good (heck. They are there to dive. So, Shut up and dive!).

b) People who make judgements and openly criticize your gear. Much of my gear is old, some of it 25yrs. old, but ALL of it is well cared for and in perfect working order. My 15yr. old Delta regulator goes in for a checkup/overhaul every year, my 25yr. old Scubapro has been upgraded and it too, goes in for an annual EVERY year. Every other piece of gear is checked out before EVERY trip.

c) People who don't police their "space" by allowing their gear, their candy wrappers, what-have-you, to metastize all over the boat. Boats can be crowded, so keep all your stuff together AND out of the way.

d) People who don't gear up until the last possible instant, then block everyone else from getting in the water as they make last minute adjustments at the exit point. Gear up and get in the water. Don't mess around.

e) People who don't do a gear inventory until they get to the boat (or worse, the dive sight). "Oops! I forgot my mask! I'll just be a minute...." Aagh.

f)Rude or unfriendly people. This is a minor peeve. I was born and raised in the South. Like many Southerners, I am gregarious by nature, although I also realize that not everyone appreciates such an approach. A I try to temper my enthusiasm for meeting new peopleand I try not to have what one of the Brits on this list called a "Big American Mouth", but I am curious about other folks.

However, I was raised to say, "Please" and "Excuse me" and "Thank You" and to answer unintrusive questions politely. I have little tolerance for those who do not practice those most common of courtesies. I understand these standards don't apply in all cultures, or even within regions of the US, but I still find inconsiderate or rude people to be very annoying, especially within the confines of a small boat.

Along the same lines, I might just have to put a little whoopass on the next smart aleck that hears my accent and calls me a Hick. I am not a Hick. I am a Yahoo, and "dontcha fergit it".

During the Dive:

a) "Silt Kickers". I REALLY hate those bottom crawling, silt kicking divers who can't seem to manage even the most rudimentary bouyancy control. Not only do they damage the reef, they mess up the vis for the rest of us. As a photographer, I really like my vis, thank you.

b) "Lloyd Bridges" buddies. I don't need to swim at 20kts everywhere I go. Slow down and LOOK! I can't tell you how many sharks, mantas and nudibranchs have been missed by buddies that just swim around at high speed, suck down their tanks and then complain, "That dive stunk. I didn't see nuthin'!"

c) DM's that try to herd the group around and then make everyone surface at the same time.

d) Similar to "c" and already discussed in this thread, I also take umbrage at being told "your dive time is limited to 20 minutes" or similar, " be back on the boat by 3:30". I understand boats are businesses and must meet schedules, but if they must shorten the dives of their paying customers to meet a schedule THEY set up, then their BUSINESS PLAN needs adjustment, not my DIVE PLAN. Certainly, I understand the need to make all dives "No Deco" on trips where decompression diving was not set up or planned for in advance. But for no DC dives, I resent having a DM jump in to bring me up on my safety stop (been there, done that).

In that case, I wasn't told the dive had a time limit, only that the other divers were "complaining". Well, kiss my britches, I paid to DIVE.

e) People who are "Takers" or collectors without a cause. Hey, don't touch it, don't mess with it and most of all don't take it back to the boat unless you are going to eat it.


and after the dive:

Anyone who sees that big wad of snot in my beard and doesn't bother to tell me about it...well they are "on my list".

 

[MSilvia]

Amen!

I hate discovering mystery beard boogers a half hour after the dive.

Rockhound once bubbled...
Anyone who sees that big wad of snot in my beard and doesn't bother to tell me about it...well they are "on my list".

 

[Paul168341]

Sorry, Matt. After our last excursion I wasn't sure if those were boogers oruke:

 

[KZMAN]

EGO'S