What are your expectations of a guide

[paul madox]

I have 300 and some dive's give up logs but i'm still only a holiday diver not as fit as i'd like but ok . They must think we are stupid we ask for three dive but always the second dive end up being a reverse drift dive ;to me drift diving is go with the flow not against it



Do they do this just to do our air in??? ;thing is every time we ask for three dive on the boat trip second dive is always against the flow after that most people don't wish to do the third dive we did the saddle in sharm against the flow if i'd could of got hold of the guide i would have ripped their regs out; it was like hyper ventilating for 40 mins



At no time did they look round to check on us;if i had a smb i would have aborted the dive; all they said at the end of the dive was ; think your self lucky not many people have done that against the flow and i know why i was; no we where ffcked after that but hay still did the three dive's just to prove a point.

From that moment i realised how in portent your buddy is my point is stay close to your buddy because your guide is sometime's just a guide and would not miss you as much as you miss them belucky stay safe look after your buddy
I must say most of the guide's are the best but just one bad egg ; well??? and we see nothing it was like doing a marathron before the 100 metre sprint

 

[Garrobo]

Get me back to the boat.

 

[paul madox]

What are your expectations ???

 

[tstormdiver]

Sorry you had such a bad experience. The first thing I look for in a good guide, is one that knows the locale & the general conditions of the area in which the dives are to take place & be able to give a good briefing of the dive & what it will entail. The guide should know the general experience of the group he/ she is leading & the dive should be conducted to the level of the least experienced diver. If it is to be a rather advanced dive, then it needs to be advertised as such & the divers screened for experience before the boat even leaves the dock to weed out those for whom the dive may be dangerous or beyond their capabilities. The guide should maintain contact with the group they are leading, but I do not expect them to be a baby sitter. I am a certified diver & should have enough knowledge to get my certified buddy & myself to the surface safely, if needed. As a certified diver, I am ultimately responsible for my own safety. Their main job is to help keep the group together (especially during a drift dive) for the current conditions of the dive & to point out interesting animals & sights & get everyone back to the boat. Personally, any time I am ocean diving I carry at a minimum this emergency equipment:a SMB (that I can deploy whilst still underwater), a whistle & a CD to use as a reflective device.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I expect them to tell me where things are, give me a compass heading and then leave me alone to dive my plan. Unless I am specifically paying them to guide me personally (never saw the need for this yet) I expect them to stay out of my way. In fact it's better if they just stay on the boat.

 

[idocsteve]

A competent guide will know the area and the most interesting features, and where the resident aquatic life tends to hang out and check out those areas, and using a dive light point out things for you to see, and give you time to take a photo if you're so inclined, before moving on.

 

[Walter]

What are your expectations of a guide

To guide someone else and leave me alone.

 

[Buoyant1]

When I first got certified I used to hire the guides to A. show me the way to and from, and hopefully some highlights. B. Let me worry about the task at hand, and not have to worry about navigation. and C. so I didn't inconvenience someone else with my "hoover-ness".

My expectations then were to get me safely from and back to the boat, and show me some sights (and not complain because I only had a 35-40, minute dive)

That happened my first several ocean dives after certification.

Now.. I don't hire a guide, there are a few operators I use that puts one in the water, and I have, at times, followed them (out of pure laziness) and they did give us a good tour of the dive site. (and it was good so I could focus on taking bad pictures, and not worry about getting back to the boat.) But usually I end up branching off and going my own way, once I acclimate myself to the site.

Last October, I was assigned a "guide" on my Spiegel Grove dive, mainly because I was the only other diver other than a group of four that was diving together. Had I not been assigned a guide, I would have just followed the other group around, and they mostly spent their time outside the wreck. Which would have been a satisfying dive itself.

I was given the $100. tour, spent most of my time inside, and got to see the Spiegel Beagle. I would never have attempted that dive without a guide, but was thankful that I had one for that trip! So that was great!

SO to sum this up...if they are going to take you somewhere that you would normally NOT see unless someone that knows the site, (either hired or otherwise) THAT would be an effective guide, and I would welcome that sort of guided dive. (and it would meet my expectations) If they are going to "rush you around the coral and get you back to the boat quickly" then no thanks! I'll take my own route... (well as long as I have my compass)

(and here's a hint...if you find yourself on the Eagle, and Walter's on the dive...follow him! hahaha!)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I don't normally use a dive guide. When I do I have the following expectations ...

- find me cool critters to take pictures of
- give me all the time I want to take pictures
- find me more cool critters, etc.
- we go up when I'm ready ... or if you need to go up before I'm ready, let me know and go ahead ... I'll be up when I'm ready

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[jbtut]

I don't normally use a dive guide. When I do I have the following expectations ...

- find me cool critters to take pictures of
- give me all the time I want to take pictures
- find me more cool critters, etc.
- we go up when I'm ready ... or if you need to go up before I'm ready, let me know and go ahead ... I'll be up when I'm ready

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

X2.

A boat dive into a current is just to burn up your air unless there is something unusual that requires it. On my last boat dive we were at an area that has mixed currents. The DM jumped in at the first spot we stopped to check it out. Current was going the other direction from the day before so she got back in and we went to the other end of the location and drifted back to where she first checked conditions. That is how it should be.

I have been where the currents are mixed and you'll go into a current for the first part of a dive and then cross a zone into a new current going the other direction. In that case, if you want to see what's there you'll end up into a current from either side. But if it's just down a reef with a continuous current, they probably wanted to burn your air and make a shorter dive.