Here’s a list of some of Scuba Diving Pet Peeves as well as some not so intelligent advice from us, on how to overcome them.
Know-It-All Divers who think they’re better than the Dive Master
Isn’t it annoying when you have that one know-it-all diver in your group that’s probably only got 50 dives under his belt, and acts like he’s the one leading the dive? The diver that constantly interrupts the dive master’s briefings, tries to take over the dive underwater, brags about how deep he’s dived and the swashbuckling tales of how he spent a month on a liveaboard exploring the waters of Komodo Island to discover new species of fish! There’s almost one of these annoying divers on every trip, and the urge to sock him in the face is sometimes overwhelming.
Aquaviews Recommendation:
Don’t let these guys get to you! Ignore the Know-it-all or listen to his stories as a source of inspiration for your post dive happy-hours, as an interesting tale to make fun about with your friends. Follow your DM’s lead on the dive, and just remind yourself that the best divers are the ones that are humble enough to know that you never stop learning.
People who flail about underwater
A common pet peeve for most divers is often the one individual in your group that is as graceful as a Llama underwater. This is the diver that despite getting his/her AOW certification, never bothered to practice perfecting buoyancy and thrashes around like an octopus with epilepsy often bumping into everyone, scaring away the fish and disturbing the sea bed causing hurricane like destruction and clouds of silt everywhere he/she moves. As a diver you can just about resist the urge to duct tape his hands and feet or slit his wrists and let the sharks get to him.
Aquaviews Recommendation :
As an experienced diver, try offering the defaulting diver some practical advice or tips to improve his diving, he’s probably not even aware of his actions. If the fellow diver is unwilling to take up the advice then, try and take up position in front of the llama for your next dive, so at least you get better visibility and the non terrified fish!
Gear heads/ Dive Gear Salesmen
Some divers just never shut up about their latest scuba gear acquisition, and seem to spout nonstop about how one brand of gear is better than the other, and how the make you purchased just doesn’t compare. Often the gear head will try and recommend you the dive shop or website he purchased his stuff from, almost as if he worked there! The Gear Head is also the only diver around carrying so much stuff with him that there isn’t a single clip on his BCD free, from shark rattles to spit in a spray bottle, the gear head is the Swiss army knife of the seas.
Aquaviews Recommendation :
Ignore the gear heads rants, we all know LeisurePro.com is the only place to buy your dive gear from! Listening to the gear head sure beats spending hours researching the internet for guides. I’d stay close to this guy underwater, who knows when you’d need that high tech boat finding gizmo he’s got stowed away in his BCD pocket.
Photographers who tread on coral to get their shot
Our biggest Scuba Peeve goes to scuba photographers that have no regard for their surrounding or the marine ecosystem. In order to get their shot, they end up treading on or grabbing chunks of fragile coral, causing irreparable damage to the reef. It never fails to amaze how a diver taking up photography refuses to perfect his/her buoyancy first.
Aquaviews Recommendation:
Refrain from bonking the photographers head with his camera. If you have a camera yourself, take a picture of the diver destroying the reef and let the diver know that you were ashamed of the destruction he caused to the reef. Most probably he/she would get defensive but in most cases would be a little more careful next time. If he/she doesn’t seem repentant or repeats the offence despite the advice, report him to the resort manager, dive shop or if the reef is protected then the necessary officials can have the diver banned from diving the reef again.
photos from flickr by Saspotato, nao-cha, torbenator, Travis S.
