What Makes A Bad Dive?

[Tropicalwolf]

Thoughts and opinions on what ruins a dive experience. We have all had them, those charters, courses, captains, and DMs we would never dive with again. What causes that experience for you? Maybe we can learn from each other and the charters can learn from us as a group. Thoughts?

 

[diver 85]

What Makes A Bad Dive? .....


To me, winding up in the hospital or morgue-----anything else is AOK--& probably just a learning experience........

 

[akdeepdiver]

My two bad dives in 14 years of diving include

1. Being chased out of the ocean by a overly agressive sea lion the size of a buick.

2. Being partnered up on a dive boat with someone who on the first dive (wall dive) got confused on directions, and started swiming out to open ocean. She would not listen to my directions and insisted in swiming the wrong direction. Then trying to find the bottom in blue water ocean, started to decend and assend over and over between 100 ft and 20 feet. All without taking safety stops, or going a a relitively conservitive assent. After I called the dive, proceeded to be angry at me for coming up while she still had 700 psi in her tank. (I still had 1800 psi). On the second dive (Shallow Reef) dropped her weight belt twice, and her tank came loose from her BC once because she buckled it in wrong. Proceded to be mad at the boat crew for making her set her own equipment up.

 

[scubamarketing]

I haven't had a bad dive yet. I almost did, but then developed the mindset that if I learn something, ANYTHING from the dive, it's a good one.

But I would agree, hospital or morgue would count as a bad dive.

 

[robint]

Bad dives --- I always say I have never had a bad dive as every dive is a learning experience of some sort.

Dives I wouldn't want to do again?
#1. Doing the Speigel Grove/Duane/shallow reef 3-tank day with a dive op in Keys with a group of people I didn't like. They were arrogant, rude, laid all over the coral to take photos, and the boat capt spend the whole surface interval berating his DM, calling him an idiot right in front of the divers! Never again would I do that boat (as karma would have it, they are no longer in business).

#2. My first dive at Blue Corner in Palau. Current was ripping so hard that you had to hold onto your mask to keep it from getting ripped off. I tried to hook in my reef hook, couldn't get it and manage my video rig at same time which was also about to get ripped out of my hands. DM had to swim over and assist hooking me in. The current was so rough that the sharks even left! We finally unhooked and I went tumbling backwards at mach speed completely out of control. The DM caught me and held my video rig as we stayed together and went up for safety stop. I felt like a duffus, but at least there was someone there to help. We did Blue Corner again, a few days later and it was fine.

3. I have had a few dives with my video rig where the current was so strong that I had a hard time swimming at all. It was like I was dragging an anchor. I learned that if the current is bad, leave the video rig on the boat.

4. My very first night dive, 10+ yrs ago --- let's just say that "task loading" was an issue. I couldn't figure out how to read my gauges (I had a light in my hand but didn't point it at gauges!) and why my ears hurt. Duh! LOL

these are the only "bad" dives that come to mind right now.

robin

 

[Tropicalwolf]

I would have to go with a recent trip in which it the dive boat was dangerously overloaded andthe captain was rushing everyone to set up their equipment and get in the water. Diving is a LEISURE activity...I don't like being in a hurry.

 

[Tanked]

Thoughts and opinions on what ruins a dive experience.

Death?

 

[Tigerman]

Appart from as already mentioned a trip to the hospital and/or morgue for me or one of my fellow divers;

* Being pushed around in the water by a diver that then complain about you losing your temper and shoving him away after hes done the same thing to you 23 times and think (s)he can do it but you cant just because (s)hes got more dives.
Lets call it "people that go on my nerves". - Fortunately they are few and far between.

* Being rushed. Im not diving to break some kind of speed record.

* Jumping in with the drysuit zipper not entirely closed. Although itll be a fun story afterwards, it definetly ruin the dive

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

I have never had a bad dive. I have had bad people on the boat, poor operators, big waves... Even with zero vis, I have a good dive. There is always something to do and experience. The dive itself, good. The situation or people around it= sometimes not so great.

 

[spectrum]

Well a good dive is one where Nobody got hurt, all of the gear came back and I learned something. The latter may not be a revelation but there's always something new be it in technique, surroundings etc..

A bad dive is one that misses those 3 marks. The dive you get may not be the one you had planned or the outing a let down but the dives can still be good. When dealing with nature and loads of people individual expectations will not always be met. As it happens I hardly ever dive with a boat/charter or DM so I avoid those dynamics.

Pete