Thoughts on whole dive group surfacing when one of the group reaches 1000psi

[gypsyjim]

While I hate to speak up in crowds of strangers, I do not think I could have sat quietly through that pre-dive without making my case that I had already specifically cleared it with the op management that my dive would NOT be called in this manor. I am sure if just one person stuck to their guns during the briefing, the DM would have had a rebellion to quell.

 

[rhwestfall]

I'm so glad I have never dove an operation that mandated a DM/Guide...... My diving has always been me, my buddy, and a plan....

 

[Doubler]

The only person responsible for my safety in the water is me. A DM is a guide that's it. I would have ignored him and reminded him that all on the charter were certified divers and responsible for our own air consumption. So did you tip?

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I am a long time user of Lahaina Divers. I maintain my DM rating and insurance and so when we dive, I am the DM for my group of 2 ( sometimes 4 if we are with another couple. Lahaina divers works to group divers according to skill and experience on their nor challenging dives (back wall, Molokai, etc) but is not perfect. I do no't condone misrepresntation however. Nor do I thin AfterDark was right. That kind of attitude does not belong on a charter. My advice. Take time before the dive to clarify the plan. DO it while "realignment" of groups is still possible.
DivemasterDennis

 

[AfterDark]

I am a long time user of Lahaina Divers. I maintain my DM rating and insurance and so when we dive, I am the DM for my group of 2 ( sometimes 4 if we are with another couple. Lahaina divers works to group divers according to skill and experience on their nor challenging dives (back wall, Molokai, etc) but is not perfect. I do no't condone misrepresntation however. Nor do I thin AfterDark was right. That kind of attitude does not belong on a charter. My advice. Take time before the dive to clarify the plan. DO it while "realignment" of groups is still possible.
DivemasterDennis

I agree DD. I don't belong on any charter where somebody else thinks they are responsible for my safety while underwater.

 

[Darnold9999]

Had similar happen on a group dive in Mexico last year. Supposedly on a dive for "advanced" divers. Ended up being a 20 min dive - not happy. Only recourse was to not dive with this company again. Wish I had dealt with the group policy thing before as you did. I would ask for some portion of the charter fee as a refund. Didn't get what you purchased. However doubt very much you will get any relief.

 

[bbarnett51]

Group diving sucks

 

[drbill]

I don't understand imposing a limit for all when the first diver reaches 1,000 psi. Given the variability of air consumption among divers, this poses a serious constraint on divers with good air consumption. I'm glad tat we were allowed to suck our tanks dry while in Anilao earlier this year and that each diver was treated individually. I do understand imposing a time limit on all divers and think 60 min is fair. I've dived with a number of operators who did that.

 

[Quero]

No reason given for 50min dives? Generally diving the channels, a 60min dive time is the 'rule' so as to coordinate exits. If a diver or group doesn't surface in these potentially problematic dive sites at the pre-agreed time, some hands start to wring.

50mins is short. I wonder if this was to account for travel time? Or did you arrive comfortably (time wise) to the next site.

No, they never gave any satisfactory answer. It didn't seem to be travel time as we didn't travel at least some of the times that the short dives were mandated. I'm really not at all sure why. My group was all on nitrox, so even safe nitrogen loading reasons wouldn't stick, but even for the air divers, you know as well as I do that when you're leading a dive you can manage depths so that virtually all but the worst air hog can get a 60-minute dive and still be well within NDLs. To me it looked a lot like laziness. There were times on this boat (which had four dive staff and 15 divers), that rather than the usual 3 groups of 5 that we were having, they would clump us into groups of 7 or 8 while two of the dive staff stayed on the main boat napping. I hated this big-group diving. (I have to say that the boat itself was brilliant, but I was unimpressed with the dive management on this op.)

I'm not sure this is entirely off topic since the topic is how maximum bottom times are determined for a group of divers. I do think it's valid for a boat to establish gate times, and 60 minutes seems reasonable to me when a boat is doing 3-4 dives a day. We do 50 minute dives on some of our daytrips here on Phuket, but those are virtually all boats dedicated to student divers, so it's fine. I would never expect 50-minute dives on a liveaboard and have never experienced it before this.

 

[Doubler]

A lot of it has to do with DM "tours". How many times have you gone on a dive where the DM says "Stay with me and when the first person gets to 1000 we all ascend" He then hits the water and takes off like Michael Phelps. People burn through air in 15 and up we go. I couldn't keep up and got "lost" gee my bad, oops. I've been on dives with newbies who burned through a tank in ten minutes, sorry I didn't pay 85 bucks a tank for ten minutes and unless the DM is offering a refund I'm staying down. Sorry if people think this is a bad attitude but I spent hard earned cash and vacation time for a trip and some newbie and DM are not taking it away. They need to get a clue, some of us don't dive every day, it is not a job I get bored with everyday.