Max Gilbert PADI IDC Staff Instructor

Those of you who know me best will readily agree that excessive tact has never been one of my burdens, but in this article, I’m going tell you as nicely as I can about some things I’ve seen divers doing WRONG… and we’re not talking about diving techniques.  We’re talking good old-fashioned manners.  I’m sad to say that every single item on the list below comes from something I’ve actually seen divers do.  Most folks that I’ve run into on my diving travels are wonderful, interesting, considerate people.  This article is not for them, it’s for THAT PERSON who needs to be smacked.

I got the basic idea for this list from this article by Stacy Amberson. 

DO – Be on time.  Showing up at 9am for a boat that’s supposed to leave the dock at 9am means you’re late.   Your tardiness causes stress for everyone else on the boat, especially the group leader and boat crew.  A slightly early arrival gives you time to check & stow your gear, or to socialize with your dive buddies, plan the dive, and get relaxed so you can have the most fun.

DO – Practice good buoyancy control.  Seeing you crash into the reef or silt up the bottom makes the rest of us cringe.  If you can’t yet control your buoyancy well enough to take macro shots of cleaner shrimp, then wait until you can.  Spend some time with an instructor or assistant instructor taking a Peak Performance Buoyancy class.

DO – Look where you’re going.   If you are in motion, it’s your job to make sure you don’t crash into anything else - divers, reefs, boats, etc.  Look up when you’re going up, and look down when you’re going down.  Look around all the time.

DO – Respect the marine environment.  Do not take anything from the dive site except trash & pictures.  Leave only bubbles.  Kill nothing but time.  It’s trite, but it’s true. 

DO – Help out the less-experienced divers you brought with you.   You have 500 dives and your wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend/daughter/son has 3.  Encourage them to assemble their own gear, and encourage them to dive safely and responsibly.  Don’t just let them paddle away from you on the dive site, wreaking havoc.

DON’T – fight with, argue with, belittle, berate, or otherwise unpleasantly interact with anyone on the boat, especially your significant other or children.  We didn’t pay for that show, and we sure don’t want it for free.

DO – Bring what you NEED to the boat and nothing else.  Some O-rings and a spare mask strap are probably all the extras you need.  Spare fins, spare mask, spare regulator, spare wetsuit can all be left in the car.  The boat may be crowded, and all that extra stuff is in the way for people getting on and off the boat. 

DON’T – push an underwater photographer out of the way or try to crowd in so you can take a picture of what she’s shooting.  She found it, she has dibs.  When she’s finished, she’ll move on and you can take your shot.  If the photo subject is something that a guide or divemaster pointed out, move in, take your shot, and move out.  If you’re going to linger taking lots of photos of that frog fish, wait until the other photographers have moved on.

DON’T – stay in the water for an extra half hour when everyone else is back on the boat.  We’re all proud of you for having gills, but we really don’t want to sit in the sun waiting for you to decide that we can go.

DON’T  - Mess with anyone else’s gear, especially mine.  If it’s in your way, I’m sorry.  Ask me to move it and I will.  This rule includes gear left underwater.  Some diving disciplines involve leaving lines and slates on the bottom at some dive sites.   Move one of these slates or cut one of those lines and you might get your nose busted.  Tanks left hanging on platforms are there for tec divers to use for decompression.  “Find” one of these bottles and remove it, and you just may have given a diver decompression sickness.

DON’T- hog community resources.  One dive site I go to provides hand trucks for divers to use.  Put such items back when you’re done.  Don’t leave them where you finished with them.

DO – come to the dive site or boat fit to dive.  Tossing your beer bottle in the trash as you board is not going to endear you to anybody.  Being drunk or hung over endangers you, and it endangers us.  If you couldn’t say no to that last margarita, do us all a favor and sleep in.  You can dive when you feel better.

DO – wear swim attire that’s appropriate.  Divers aren’t usually too shy, but there’s no need to be an exhibitionist.  Men, no Speedos.  Ladies, no thongs or postage-stamp bikini tops.  If you do wear that kind of swimsuit and the rest of us snicker, stare or take photos, don’t be mad.  You asked for it.

DON’T – dive off a “headless” boat if you know you’ll need to do a No. 2 before the boat returns to the dock.  If the morning dive is the same time as your daily constitutional, take the afternoon boat.  We all have unexpected urges from time to time.  If you do find yourself in distress, tell the captain or dive master that you need to get in the water and “check out the bow”.  Ask that you not be disturbed.  I don’t have to tell you to make sure everyone else is already on the boat, do I?

DON’T – swim off from the group without telling the dive leader you’ll be doing so.  The leader is there to help everyone have a good time and stay safe.  Worrying him is rude.

DO – call things what they are.  Flipper was a dolphin in a TV show, and scuba divers wear masks, not goggles.

DO – tell folks when they have something icky stuck to their face or hanging out of their nose.  Just letting them sit there with gobs of snot on their face is only funny for a moment.  After that moment passes, it’s just gross.

DON’T – stick your nose into a class if there’s one going on.  Let the instructor instruct.  Your interruption slows things down and distracts the students.

DON’T – act like you are the best thing to happen to diving since Jacques Cousteau, even if it’s true.  Mentor less experienced divers by your example, and offer kind advice when you can nicely do so.

DON’T -  be a poser.  Pretending to have more experience than you do won’t fool anybody.  

DON’T – use too much gear for the dive or your experience level.  Even if you are a trimix diver, bringing your decompression bottles to a 40’ reef dive makes you look like a self-aggrandizing fool.  Showing up with steel doubles the week after you got certified for open water lets the rest of us know you have more money than brains.

DO – ask questions, but at the right time.  When a tec diver is already sweating in his dry suit, don’t ask about his fins.  He’ll be glad to talk to you – after the dive.  Likewise, cut your conversation with the divemaster short once the boat is moored at the dive site.  It’s time for the dive briefing, so hush and let him brief the dive.  After the dive is plenty soon to find out about the best steak on the island.

DON’T – slam the dive site, boat or dive operator.  We know Panama City Beach isn’t Fiji, but some folks on the boat in Panama City Beach might be taking all the dive trip they can afford.  Don’t tell them how crappy the dive they just paid for was.  I guarantee you, that there is something to enjoy on every single dive.  Talk about those things instead, and let everyone have fun.

DO – be respectful of other people, their cultures, and their sensibilities.  Don’t complain about the differences between where you are and where you came from.   Enjoy the differences, rather than seeing them as negatives. 

DON’T – torment someone who is seasick.  Let them suffer in peace and quiet.  It just may be your turn tomorrow.

DO – keep quiet underwater, unless you need help.  Scuba diving at its best is a foray into a relaxing alien environment.   Quackers, tank bangers, rattles, and shakers all take away the serenity.

DO – tip the divemaster and captain.  If you’re the sort of person who doesn’t tip, go bowling.  These folks work hard to keep you safe and help you have a good time.  Show your appreciation.  Buying them a beer at the end of the day is also a nice touch.

Whatever  you do, be nice!  Act as you would have others act, and treat them as you would have yourself treated.  Some good manners will go a long way towards making your next trip a success!

See you soon ~ under water…  watching my manners!

max