Diving Etiquette: Diving In a Group

Claudio Di Manao continues his diving etiquette series, this time presenting the ten rules for diving in a group.

Don’t overtake the buddy team in front of you

You wouldn’t jump the queue in a supermarket or at a bus stop, would you? There is no reason to do it underwater. We don’t have an express lane beneath the waves. There may be exceptions: When the current is strong, you might find yourself in a fast lane of sorts.

Or maybe the buddy team in front of you stops to watch something, taking forever. Most likely it’s you though – you’re finning too fast without realising it. Not a big deal – just keep calm, swim back, and resume your position. It’s easy, really.

Respect the safety distance

On a crowded dive, fins, silt and bubbles tend to aggregate around the masks of the divers that follow. Good finning technique will help with not stirring the silt, but unless you are diving a rebreather, you’ll find it difficult to stop making bubbles.

Try to not go deeper than the buddy team behind you. Heavy breathers are usually in front, next to the guide, at a shallower depth. For good reason.

Don’t monopolise

Imagine a group of five buddy teams. If each team stops for ten minutes to watch a chromodoris quadricolor, it will take the group 50 minutes – an entire dive spent watching just one nudibranch. Photographers, here we are! Picture lovers should position themselves at the end of the line.

Even better, and yes, I know it hurts to pay extra, but have you considered hiring a private guide? The cost is a tiny fraction of what you paid for your equipment. There are also many dive centres that cater specifically to photographers. Maybe there is one in your next diving destination. That said, if you can’t get a private guide… follow the group and the rules.

Be on time

Even a small delay during the water entry can spoil the dive (But don’t get me wrong, you don’t want to crash down on someone else’s head either). Also, keep yourself visible to the DM – they often won’t move on unless they have a full head count.

Watch your buddy

Divers habitually look down at the bottom, but most of the dangers are at the surface. Imagine you’re third in a line of buddy teams. Your buddy suddenly becomes buoyant and starts heading up into raging propellers. The Divemaster won’t be close enough to help – you’re the one who needs to intervene. Both on the surface and underwater, “Where is your buddy?” is one of the top three questions asked by Divemasters. The most-common response is a wide-eyed facial expression, followed by a searching look from side to side. We’ve gone on and on about this issue – the buddy team is fundamental to dive safety. Please behave accordingly.

Thou shalt not harass

I’ve seen many a poor moray hiding from an onslaught of bubbling divers, and sharks bolting away in fear. Turtles… don’t get me started. Overly aggressive approaches by divers are bad for marine creatures, and they’re no good for divers either. Most marine life, including sharks, will try to escape when harassed.

Think of the divers who kindly agreed to stay behind you in the queue. Were they the ones that scared off the whaleshark? I rest my case.

Shakers, horns, and other noisemakers

They’ve fallen out of fashion, I know. Let me explain why: It’s not because divers’ ears have become more sensitive to underwater noises, it’s because divers have realised that noisemakers scare marine life off. Unfortunately, not everybody got the memo. If you own one of these hellish devices, please use it responsibly. Only a diver who’s in trouble, or maybe a nuclear submarine approaching at 50 knots, can justify the noise. Instead, just talk. Did you know that you can talk (and even scream!) through your regulator, and that other divers will be able to hear you?

Surface where and when you are supposed to surface

No one will ever blame a diver surfacing far from the exit point, or not at the planned time, if he/she ran low on air or got caught by a strong current. Nevertheless, popping up at the surface away from the exit point and/or at the wrong time is a first step toward a missing diver situation.

Waiting for the deco guy

Facing a long, unplanned deco stop? Don’t blame your computer’s conservative algorithm: Unless you’re diving in a wreck or cave where everybody’s profile is more or less the same, chances are that the problem wasn’t caused by your computer. Five minutes extra might be acceptable, half an hour is not. And when the sea is rough, the crew may treat you even rougher.

Be kind

As a customer on a dive boat, you have more opportunities to be kind than a Divemaster. Dive leaders have this nagging concern in their head, which is called safety. They’re in charge, and sometimes they’re liable. They have to be strict, and sometimes explicit. You, however, can always be kind.

This article was originally published in Scuba Diver UK #67.

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