Wednesday 4 June 2014

How to be Unpopular in the Scuba Diving World

We have all been there, haven't we?

You have permission from the other half and you have managed to find a bargain on the Internet so you can get away for a week and its all about the scuba diving. Excitement reigns supreme as you look forward to a relaxing time and some adventure dives.

On arrival you unpack your slightly battered but highly reliable, freshly serviced dive kit and the dive guide introduces you to the person you will be buddied with today. New friends... well this is what it is all about! Until you realise that your buddy has no diving etiquette at all and has been buddied with you because nobody else wants to dive with them.

So, these are 4 things guaranteed to make you unpopular in the Scuba Diving World.

1. Tardiness

Many dives around the world have to be scheduled to fit with tides etc but even in places, like here in Cyprus, where we don't have to worry about these things, it is exceedingly annoying when everyone has to wait on one diver who thinks it is acceptable to arrive late.

As a dive guide, we give divers times to arrive so that they have ample time to organise their equipment and check it over with a "buffer" in case anything needs to be adjusted, mended or cannot be found. It isn't a guideline to get here around that time, there is a reason we said that time.

Equally, arriving late can mean you don't have the chance to do all your checks properly and you certainly don't want to be that diver that turns up late, makes everybody wait and then realise en route or at the dive site that something doesn't work or you have forgotten something (worse still if everybody is already kitted up).

2. Sprawling

Be you at the Dive Centre, at the Dive Site or on a boat, be aware that space is limited and precious.

Everybody needs a bit of room to kit up but try and use the minimum space possible. When you aren't using bits, put them back in your dive bag to conserve space

Oh and don't drape your wet wetsuit over another diver's dry clothes!!!

3. Bragging

We are divers and innately, we love hearing tales about other people's diving holidays, the things you see, the places you go.

However, continual one-upmanship of every other diver on the trip is almost as bad as the diver that insists on checking everybody else's air and depth gauges post dive before announcing how much air he has left and he went deeper than anyone else too.

4. Spatial Awareness

On land and under water, be aware of where other divers are and try to avoid running into them, hovering over them and kicking them in the face with your fins.

If you see something, be courteous and remember you are not the only diver that wants to see, so avoid barrelling in front of others in a bid to get there first. While we are talking about seeing things underwater and fin action, if you are first in line to see something exciting, watch your finning action. Others won't see so well if you have kicked up a storm.

Of course, there are plenty of other ways to become unpopular in the Scuba Diving world. We are a pretty accepting bunch of people that just require a bit of courtesy and good diving etiquette.

Let us know what you would add to this list

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