What's your style?

[sea nmf]

I like to go slow. For instance, my last boat dive was supposed to be a drift dive. I was the last in the water and had to "swim" to catch up and swim to stay with the group. Pretty frustrating for me.

 

[scubaguy655]

It really depends on what I am looking for. My wife and I both like taking photos so on a 2 tank dive, we each take the camera on one of the dives.

As a rule, we are both relatively slow as we tend to see more if we take our time. I have been known to find a great subject and spend 15 minutes shooting from different angles with different lighting. If we are looking for something specific (turtles, etc.) we will move a little faster.

I have found it best to let others know up front that we are photographers and will be taking it slow. In most cases, we find that many other divers prefer it that way as well.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

A lot depends on the visibility. If it is less than 20 or 25 feet, then I tend to really slow down. If the visibility is like 5 or 8 feet, I can still have a good time looking at the macro creatures. Once you realize that the average size of organisms in the ocean is smaller than a flea, you can sometimes see more stuff by looking for the tiny stuff.

Night dives are usually slower. On a drift dive with a scooter in 90 feet I can cover over a mile when hunting for lobsters.

 

[TSandM]

It's interesting that the majority of the people answer say that they like to move slowly. Given that, why do the DMs who lead tourist dives move so fast?

 

[SeaYoda]

It's interesting that the majority of the people answer say that they like to move slowly. Given that, why do the DMs who lead tourist dives move so fast?

So they can get the next group's tips?

 

[Hoosier]

It's interesting that the majority of the people answer say that they like to move slowly. Given that, why do the DMs who lead tourist dives move so fast?

Because they should show the many points and large area in the given time.

I think it is the same as any group tour format. For example, when we travel with the guide (I mean the general tour, not specifically oriented event tour), the schedule is tight and itineary used to cover all major points in the given time. Can you believe that I could look at all Louvre Museum in four hours... LOL~~~

 

[Rick Inman]

It's interesting that the majority of the people answer say that they like to move slowly. Given that, why do the DMs who lead tourist dives move so fast?

Put me down for slow. I'm a good buddy for a photog 'cause I'm perfectly content to hang in one place while my buddy waits for the shot, waits some more, moves a few feet and then does it again.

OTOH, there's a place in our local pond where, it you make good headway, you can see the big canoe at 85', then the sunken pier at 55', then the wrecked tug boat at 45' and finally the barge at 20'. I have been guilty of dragging people on their first dive here on this little tour at full speed. I have a feeling that DMs feel obligated to give you the most bang for your buck in this same way.

 

[Cacia]

Rapiddiver, Dennis, me, only three trekkers. One more solo explanation?

 

[suthnbelle]

Put me down for slow. I'm a good buddy for a photog 'cause I'm perfectly content to hang in one place while my buddy waits for the shot, waits some more, moves a few feet and then does it again.

Same here. I'm not taking any pictures so I like to just take my time. While my buddy may be looking at something I may just hang back and hover. Practice keeping my trim and playing around with my bouyancy by just relaxing and breathing. I'm not so fortunate to get to hit saltwater that often so the majority of my dives are freshwater and crappy vis (20' on a very good day) so there is not much to look at anyway. I don't care though.....I'll dive anywhere.

 

[Cacia]

do you all move faster as the viz improves? Do you want to go as slow in 150 ft as 50 ft viz?