What are the Diving Protocols at Dive Resorts?

[qdvuu]

Hi All,

I've never taken a dive vacation at a resort and I'm thinking of going on a dive excursion internationally so I'm doing some research and planning. I've heard there are two kind of dive protocols for places that take a boat full of divers out to a dive spot:

- In one, you have a buddy and finish your dive when you or the buddy are out of air.

- In the other, they call in the entire group when the first person in the entire group (say of 20 people!) has used up his air. That is, the length of my dive is determined by the least skilled person on the boat. Is this true? If so, what is the term for this so I can avoid it!

Thanks!

 

[Lorenzoid]

What you heard is indeed true. A common way to phrase the question to the dive operator: "Do you permit each buddy pair to dive to the limits of their computer and air?"

 

[Damselfish]

There are lots of ways boats work. Often they will be between the 2 extremes you mention. Some people will dive with a group with the dive master and some will go off with their buddies. Some may start with the group and split off later - good to let the DM know - when they're low on air, cold, or just want to go another direction. It's also common for everyone to hang around near the boat for awhile checking things out near the end of a dive and come up when it suits them.

@Lorenzoid gave a good way to phrase the question. Just reading the dive site of an op, or asking in vague terms, may not get you the info you want. . Reading reviews of a dive op here or some other sites will also often tell you what you want to know, and more. So once you have some idea where you're going, you'll of course want to do that. (Scuba specific sites are usually best for this. Reviews of scuba diving operators on general travel sites, good or bad, are often from more casual divers who tend to have different preferences in operators than more active divers.)

You will sometimes see the term "cattleboat" for a boat with a lot of divers that get herded around in the water. Not everyone agrees on the precise definition of cattleboat, but it's not a compliment and something most folks on this board will try to avoid. However, bigger boats with lots of divers aren't always bad, and their routine under water may not go like what you're concerned about.

Note that diving routines and conditions vary worldwide and diving with a guide is not always a bad thing. If there are strong currents or tricky navigation they are useful to very important. In some places, or places you're unfamiliar with finding the local fauna, a good local guide is the best way to find many of the critters in an area. This tends to be especially true in the Indo-Pacific. Ideally in these cases they have small groups. There is currently a little discussion of this here.

Note that the person who uses the most air is not always the "least skilled." It's true newer divers tend to consume air faster than experienced divers, but there are other factors that affect air consumption.

 

[Magnus Lundstedt]

The diving I done with resorts it have been small groups, from me and a guide/divemaster often 2-4 seldom 5-6.

When someone in the group needs to surface, the group surfaces.

The only times I dived with more than 4 in the group all the others where instructors or divemasters.

Usaly thet try to get the group somewhat balanced so that its about the same level in the group.

 

[DeputyDan]

Your question is a key reason Bonaire is popular you don't have to do either - just do your own thing.

A good choice for you might be Cocoview.
Four dives a day from the boat - two guided and two unguided.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

It depends on where you go. The places I go allow solo diving. Even when diving in a buddy pair they allow one diver to surface before the other.

 

[scubadada]

Some resorts allow you to dive independently with your buddy, with or without set time limit, generally no stop. Or, you can dive with the group. Often the guide ends up somewhere near the boat before the "end of the dive" and you may still finish off the dive with your buddy. Some resorts allow solo diving, some do not. Even without solo diving, some will allow you to finish your dive alone in the vicinity of the boat once they trust in your skills.

I generally communicate with the operator before the trip so that there are no big surprises. This is a good time to work out any certs that may be required for certain dives. This also includes solo diving and equipment.

There are actually many permutations and combinations you will encounter

 

[outofofficebrb]

Some operators, depending on conditions and set up of the dive, will also let individuals surface earlier if those people are low on air. They may have backup DMs or they may have a dinghy or boat available to pick those people up as the others continue, especially if the water is shallower and conditions are favorable (e.g., not blue water, not strong current, good viz, etc.)

I have had this happen even when my own buddy was continuously low on air before everyone else. I was not going to call my dives with half a tank after going halfway around the world and paying that much to dive somewhere remote!

 

[drbill]

So many variables depending on the operator that it is best to talk directly to the ones you are considering. I once arranged to becable to solo dive with the main office before a trip but was told by the dive master on board that I couldn't. Several of us protested to the main office and the DM was let go.

 

[boulderjohn]

As most people have already said, you will find pretty much every conceivable policy somewhere. You have to check ahead of time to find what operation has policies you like.

The one thing I will say is NOT going to happen is one that you mention. I have never heard of anyone anywhere doing groups of 20--not even close.

You should also realize that when you go to a resort, in most cases diving is an option they offer to their guests, like a massage at their spa, but if you like the resort but don't like their diving policies, you are free to use a different dive operation with a policy you prefer. I have used the dive operation located in the place where I stayed on only a small minority of my vacations. Here is a story to illustrate that.

Years ago my wife and I got a great deal on a stay at a resort on Grand Cayman. I was still relatively new to this sort of vacation and assumed there would not be much difference among dive operations. I decided I would just use the in-house dive operation. We arrived, and I immediately went out for an afternoon dive. The DM announced that we would be following him on a 35 minute dive. We followed him in a line, like rats following the pied piper, and we surfaced at exactly 35 minutes. No one was remotely low on air. I expressed my dissatisfaction to another diver, and he suggested I check out a different operator nearby. I got back to the room and gave them a call. For the rest of that week, they came by the resort, picked me up, took me diving, and brought me back. I had a great week of diving.

Even now more than 15 years later they are still one of the best operators I have ever used (Ocean Frontiers--don't know if they are still the same quality). They were highly regarded and well known--it would have taken me no more than a few minutes research to learn enough to choose them. During that search I would have learned that the dive operation I used for that first terrible dive was part of the Red Sail Sports network, which owned half the dive operations on the island and ran dives like that in every one of them.