9 replies to this topic

[shadragon]

Went for my first five in 4 months on Saturday. Was DM'ing with a group of 11 students and two instructors. I ended up being the monitor on the surface and had to shuttle students back and forth to shore from the float for gear issues, being cold, etc.

An hour drive out to the dive site, organizing 11 students with rental gear and tanks. Then mass convoy to the beach.

My DC recorded two dives. The first was 3 minutes at 15 feet. Second was 4 minutes at 12 feet after a 1:12 SI. Pretty sure I was out of the DECO zone, but I never checked my tables... 7-8 foot viz as we were down current of a salmon hatchery.

Then back home to spend an hour rinsing and hanging gear to get rid of the seaweed and fish excrement. Somehow it was not as rewarding as I thought.

Still a nice day on the water and decent group of students.

[KeithT4U]

The worst day diving is better then the best day working. Sorry you didn't log more bottom time. I was at Lake Tahoe and the water temp at the surface was 57 degrees and at 70 feet was 46 degrees. I was able to get in 2 dives and we had fun but not a lot to see. Did see an 8 inch crawdad which looked more like a small lobster but that was it. So you helped show 11 new divers the great sport we enjoy and I saw a big crawdad. Who had the better day?


Keith

[WreckWench]

Being a dive pro takes a special gift and YES many of your dives are as Simon suggested...WORKING DIVES with most of the emphasis on the WORKING part and not on the diving part.

And then to make it even more ....DM's are always volunteers and so never paid and even more rarely compensated. Sure sometimes a student buys them lunch/drink/dinner but usually they don't realize the volunteer component and therefore they are oblivious...otherwise I think they would do more.

Instructors tend to think...it was that way when I was a DM and it didn't hurt me....or hey its all part of the training/gig and shrug it off not worrying if the DM even got to dive or not. And while I'm sure some instructors would have worried he didn't get to dive...there may not be much that could have been done differently. But again it goes with the territory of being a DM.

So for today...accept our thanks for the sacrafices you make to help others enjoy this sport. And if you are in a position to help affect change...this is a great area to do it in!

[NJBerserker]

Shadragon I feel your pain. Yet it was a good dive day for me. MY STREAK OF BAD LUCK HAS BEEN BROKEN!!! For the first time in eight attempts I was not blown out and got to splash in the North Atlantic. Sure I got seasick (ain't no shame in it), and sure I wasn't able to do the second dive to to an equalization issue but none of that matters. I got the dive in on a cool wreck and had a great time while breaking the curse. Now I'm off for ice cream as in the tri-state area we only have two seasons. . . Too Cold or Too Hot. It is almost nine o'clock here with a temp of 90 and a humidity of about the same.

[ScubaDadMiami]

Welcome to the world of the dive professional. Pretty glamorous, eh?

[divzac]

Sounds like a great dive to me! ...echo SDM and WW about the "glamorus and work" thing but I want to say that DM is a rewarding expericnce for different reasons than bottom time. I'll bet you had a smile on your face while washing your "barely wet" gear lol. IMHO bottom time in general is given too much leverage while "rating" the fun-factor but I will save my rant for another thread. Way to go Simon!!

[weescot]

Oh Simon! I also feel for you. But take your bow in how much you contributed to helping the students build their confidence. All background stuff maybe, but with a long term impact. DMs really are the unsung heros of the diving profession

[diverdeb]

They're right Simon, my most rewarding moments as an instructor have been in the pool, not in beautiful clear water in the ocean. I say you had a great dive day! You had more of an impact on those students than you realize.

[scubafanatic]

....hey, it beats a sharp stick in the eye, doesn't it ? ....MAYBE, huh ?


...I'm not an instructor, or DM, or anything really, but I've mentored a few new divers on dive trips....and loaned more than a few 'toys' (dive lights/computers/reg sets/tanks/spare parts/minor field repairs/etc.) on many a trip too....and done everything up to and including pretty much saving fellow divers dive trips......and those moments can be very rewarding/memorable...especially being' adopted' by newbie divers and spending considerable time discussing gear/dive strategies/etc.....if you're open/friendly it's amazing how they sniff one out and want to discuss gear configuration/features...they do have their antennae out for experienced-looking fellow divers who treat them as equals...and they are like sponges, soaking up a lot more than you might think...it's pretty cool when that happens !

Karl

Edited by scubafanatic, 09 June 2008 - 10:46 PM.

[Capn Jack]

I know the feeling - but the fact is we're in the water, we're doing something we like, and we have great company.

My daughter and her two friends got a pre-dive trip scuba refresher May 31st in the crystal clear, spa-warm waters of Lake Travis near Austin.

We went down to the platform, and it was 60F at 52'. I arranged the three of them in a semi-circle facing me. With my flashlight, I could read my gauges, and I could actually see all of them!!! They could see me, and the person next, but not the person across... great stuff.

Gas RT from Keller to Austin - $125
Fills from my friendly LDS that I "work" for - $8
Lunch at Thundercloud Subs - paid by my daughters friends - (-$7)
50 minutes of bottom time and 3 completed scuba reviews - Priceless