Do some of you divemasters know of some diving ettiquette list about such things that are not just common sense? Besides don't touch anything and stay off the reef, what are some others ? About tipping and Boat diving ettiquette?

I guess there are non then. I was just curious.I thought that this would be a good place for it to be discussed.

Lorraine, being from the midwest and not having much boat diving here, I find the most common sense thing that should be taught is to assemble your gear as soon as you get on board and then stow your other items out of the way. I'm constantly amazed how divers ever get in the water with such disorganization. They spend so much time topside trying to get ready to get in that they miss out on what's happening below.

Sorry Lorraine, I just noticed this thread..
Funny you should bring this up. I always wanted to create a speciality course on Diving Ettiquette, as some people are completely clueless. Have you ever been flailed by a passing diver?? I have in a totally open area of the ocean... Once when on a trip with a group of "Experienced Divers" my husband George took off his own fin and hit himself on the head just so he cold say that EVERYONE had smacked into him or caught him with a fin.. Come on People the Ocean is BIG!! While diving our local spot I couldn't tell you how many times I have been trampled on and bumped and gouged by other divers.. Don't they SEE??? Whatz up with that??

I agree wholeheartedly with Freddie. My other pet peeve are other divers with noisemakers that use them constantly. Okay, the Petersen shrimp are really cool, but when they're abundant in a particular locale, you don't really need them pointed out everytime some are spotted. Save the tank bangers for the really unusual critters.

Save the tank bangers for life and death situations. If you need to make noise, go to a topside sporting event.
#1 diving etiquette beef? Put air in your bc at depth, rather than fins up the sand. And while you're thinking about those fins, bend your head forward every once in a while and see if your finning is kicking up sand. It's fairly easy to learn how to NOT do that. After diving a couple of days in Cozumel with a group of dive nitwits, I decided none of them would ever be in front of me and my buddy in a cavern swim through (like Devil's throat) again, because I don't dive to get sand in my face.

Let me see, what else?
Don't giant stride onto the head of folks who have just got into the water.

When you hit something with your fin, figure out what (or who) it was.

Don't think of the divemasters as your personal servants.

Don't complain that "it's not like this at home" If that's what's important to you, then STAY AT HOME!

NO WHINGING! If you didn't see the frogfish/eagle ray/whaleshark it's because you're a bad person and the universe doesn't like you, so try to be a better human.

Lastly, I suggest everyone spend the $35.00 and buy a fish ID book, so you might have a clue as to what you're looking at. Heck, buy the whole set, then you'll know that that "plant" is a critter.


Freddie, George sounds like my kind of guy.

Let me make clear that I am not a divemaster, but I bet I could play one on TV.

(Message edited by seb on April 18, 2004)

On a dive boat, don't stay down longer than the briefing indicates. It annoying to the rest of the boat divers to wait 20-30 minutes past the agreed time for the last divers to come up. Many divers cut their time short (due to air or depth) so they are already waiting. It also puts a burden on the divemaster and boat captain to figure out if you are safe or if they need to start searching.

Seb, thanks, I needed a good laugh...especially your no whining statement...Freddie, my friend wrote a PADI course on California Sea Lion Diving, and got it accepted as a specialty course which he now teaches and is teaching others...I think you should jump on a PADI Diving Ettiquite Course and submit it...heck, maybe they will add it as an "addendum" to the Open Water Certification!

Linda's comment is EXACTLY why I prefer shore diving. No boat = no time limit imposed by others. Lets me plan the dive, and dive the plan. I like that!

May I add my two cents?

- Don't interrupt the divemaster during the briefing.. We get it.. This is your 4th time in the island and you always dive below 100.. You are annoying people, not impressing them.

- Apples and Oranges... Can't compare locations! Each place has a uniqueness that sets it apart. DM don't appreciate your putting down their reefs when comparing them to the South Pacific.

- You do not own the boat. No need to take that much room with your scattered gear.

- Always thank your DMs and reward them properly. If you have any criticism, SPEAK UP! but be tactful and constructive. It can only be for the benefit of everyone. Adopting the "I'm spending my money here so you have to put up with my condescending attitude and yelling" persona will definitely get you nowhere. From what I experienced, if someone is rude to you is because they are reflecting your rudeness.

- Unless your name is engraved on the rinse tank, please keep in mind that other people need to use it and leaving your gear soaking while going to the bar for a drink is a big inconvenience.

- If you are shorediving from a hotel/resort facilities, please notify the staff out of courtesy. If they require a fee, pay it or move on... there are plenty of other sites. Don't "crash" and use facilities meant for paying guests.

- Smile and have fun! Meet your boat buddies. Keep in mind that any one of them has the potential to be your rescuer on a distressful situation. Most divers make for a fun bunch and it is nice to stroll downtown greeting familiar faces.

- Didn't see the critter? Oh well! Now you have a good excuse to return!

Stay healthy! Coach Izzy

Non-photographers: Don't rinse your mask in the camera rinse tank (mask defogger eats O-rings). Don't rinse your wetsuit in the camera rinse tank. Don't rinse your reg in the camera rinse tank. Don't rinse anything that doesn't take pictures in the camera rinse tank! Don't put your weights on the boat's camera table.

Photographers: Don't lie on the reef in order to take the "perfect" camera angle shot. Don't hog the interesting critters -- there may be others in the water who would like to see it, despite their not having a camera (or maybe they have a camera too). Don't harass the living daylights out of the critter while trying to get its picture.

Divemasters: if your charges have a camera, you might want to find out whether they're looking for eagle rays or flamingo tongues. The former won't mind wandering the ocean looking for big stuff, but the latter is going to be really honked off if they have to do 30mph around the neighborhood when there's really cool-looking macro stuff within 10 feet of the anchor line.

Faith

Masha danki everyone!I'm glad we could discuss this here Maybe I won't be shaking my head at as many people ;). Anymore?

So Fred. Think it qualifies for a couse, this idea ? Think I could teach it and live gainfully in Paridise ? LOL

Don't cut in line getting onto the boat.
Don't have a conversation on the ladder.
Be considerate of people's body parts - heads, noses, feet etc.
Share community space for objects.
Listen to the DM's briefing.
Don't hold onto a tube sponge to take a picture.

Okay, here goes my contribution! Diving the Pacific NW I dive almost exclusively from boats. It's important to assemble your gear a quickly as necessary-sometimes our surface ride is only fifteen minutes long, sometimes an hour so you need to be ready when the Captain throttles back over the intended dive site. I thought it was obvious to be attentive to the DM's pre-dive, maybe I was wrong but then scuba is an inherently dangerous sport (heehee)so pay your money and take your chances.

Being on a boat is almost always a close contact sport so being courteous just makes good sense. On the surface on the boat you really should see yourself as part of a small but highly trained team. Helping each other (assembling & donning gear) to get the most out of what should be a wonderful experience. I don't know maybe I'm just too nice a person...

Ultimately though I have to agree with Philip, the reason why I return to Bonaire is because of the freedom the shore diving provides.

Time for my two cents:
Dive masters, don't stop in the middle of your pre-dive briefing to dip your hand in the rinse tank, wash your face, search for a towel, and then forget what you were saying.

Divers, don't blow out divers above you with your bubbles. One diver, Lester the Molester (who had NO respect for the reefs let alone other divers) came up beneath me when I was watching a sea horse. His bubbles nearly blew me and the critter off the reef. Wait your turn and do it politely.

Divers, keep in line! When the dive master shows you something, look at it, signal to the next diver, make sure he/she sees it, and move on. Think of a big bucket brigade. (For those of you who do not know what a bucket brigade is, before there were fire departments with big hoses with pressurized water, if there were a house fire, neighboring families would come to put out the fire with their buckets. A line would form from the well to the house. Someone would be at the well filling buckets and passing the filled buckets to the next person, who would pass it along to the next person, until the last person near the fire who would toss the water and then pass the empty bucket back down the line.)
There's no need to cluster around, it's a big ocean, spread out. And camera holders: just because you have a camera it does not mean that you are 'entitled' to spend as much time as you want to get your shot. Nor does it mean that you can push you camera into the nearby coral and break off a piece just to get your subject perfectly framed. If you MUST spend extra time with the subject, move aside and, after the last person has seen the critter, then you can linger. But, it is then your responsibility to keep up the the others.

Ohhhh it feels good to vent every now and then...
Mary W

Don't crowd in line getting back on the boat. The diver ahead of you may have his/her fins off, and shoving them out the way is a really bad idea. If someone has ahold of the ladder, let them get up and out of your way before you start climbing. You may end up getting a tank to your head. Accidentally of course.

Assemble your gear and get it out of the way. Change tanks immediately for a two tank dive, and get your stuff out of the way. Wait did I already say that? Did I already say that? No one wants to trip over your things.

In the water, in addition to watching who is close to you, in terms of horizontally, look above and below you also. No one wants you to lower yourself on top of them, or have you ascend right into them.

And lastly, when doing a safety stop with a rope to hold onto, do NOT bang into other divers. If you want to ascend, try to ascend away from the rope for a few feet, and then return to the rope if necessary, don't climb over others. It's too easy to get all tangled up that way.

I also would like to reiterate the comment about being friendly with your divemates, you never know when you might need him/her. If you have more experience, help them with getting their gear together and talk to them; they may be nervous about first boat dives, first ocean dives etc.

Have fun and dive safe!

Kelly

When offering someone your safe second in an out-of-air situation, extend both little fingers out to the side.

And when someone leaves the water and has a big slimey "mystery" glob hanging in the vicinity of their nose, it is impolite to tell them as this may be embarassing.

Jamie, Um, If you saw that I had a Jackson Pollack on my face, I'd like to know about it.
I think it would be more embarrassing letting it harden than getting it off of my face when fresh.
That's just the kind of girl I am....
Mary W

I believe, dive buddy etiquette requires you to tell your buddy about any nastiness leftover from ...um.. clearing your mask. In any case, we are safe Mary. Our guys would never let us run around with goo on our faces.

I agree, I don't mind the universal sign language from my buddy for "snoot" when removing the mask. I think it'd be more embarrasing to climb bag on the boat with a gooey mess hanging at the tip of the nose and the rest of the divers staring not knowing how to address the issue... Just my opinion! Coach Izzy

And don't forget hunters: no loaded spearguns on deck. Wait 'til you are on the bottom to load and then uncock them before heading back to the swim step. I have seen loaded spearguns go for a swim without their owners. I know this desn't apply to Bonaire and other resorts