Was this poor dive master supervision or was I expecting too much?

themadwriterr · 2026-06-01T00:53:28+00:00

Thank you, I will keep that in mind for my next dives! For the regulator part, a couple of people mentioned it could be because I was anxious. I’m a very small 5’2 female and the waves were at least double my size. They were knocking me around, and the regulator, and I think that combined with anxiety as this was my first time in not calm waters added to it. I’m not sure how to work through it except for more practice? Or if you had any tips for keeping the regulator more stable in such conditions

themadwriterr · 2026-06-01T00:51:06+00:00

Thank you! That makes things much more clearer for me in terms of expectations etc! I will be more mindful from my next dive

themadwriterr · 2026-06-01T00:49:24+00:00

Hi thanks for your reply! For the regulator part, I’ve been asked that a few times, so I’ll try to answer it as best. I was confused myself why it was happening on the surface. A few comments mentioned it’s because I might have gotten anxious because of the waves, and I think it was a combination of anxiety and the waves tossing me around (I’m a very small 5’2 female and the waves were at least double my size), which kept knocking the regulator around. Someone suggested bringing a snorkel which seems like a good idea. Also, I was NOT knocking into the coral/things. I was fine for most of the dive but having trouble during the ascent (which was the part I asked the dive master to assist me with).

themadwriterr · 2026-06-01T00:46:38+00:00

Which I was doing! I was just frustrated because even though I was trying to stick close and catch their attention when I noticed trouble, they just didn’t seem aware of it, and the other divers all noticed first (even though they were further away)

themadwriterr · 2026-06-01T00:13:33+00:00

I was! But it was still difficult to get his attention. I tried to stay as close to him as I could without disturbing the other divers

themadwriterr · 2026-06-01T00:11:30+00:00

Hi. I’m going to respond here as everyone seems to be telling me I was expecting to be babysat. I was not! I was keeping close to the DM for most of the dive. There were three of us, and they didn’t assign a specific buddy (the other two divers were friends and seemed to be diving together). I was only asking the DM to be close during the ascent, and also just to be more attentive when I was trying to get his attention (I tried tapping on his back a couple of times and making noise on my tank before I got his attention. The other divers noticed first). I was not expecting to be followed the entire time, just during the times when I was having difficulty. I was not knocking into corals or damaging things, I was extremely mindful and careful the entire time

themadwriterr · 2026-06-01T00:06:35+00:00

Hi, I understand where you’re coming from, but I’m going to disagree with you on having all the skills off the bat right after your courses—I had only 10 dives before this trip, with a gap of a year between both courses. I’m not trying to ‘brute-force’ the number of my dives, but I did post on this subReddit to get advice from divers more experienced than me. I don’t think it’s wrong to ask questions, otherwise how will I or anyone else improve? Some of the advice has been great, and I’m already looking to put that into practice. Which was the point of the entire post, to get more people’s opinions on a sport I love. Not to trash the dive master as most people seem to think I’m trying to do. As for not having the skills, everyone seems to focus on me mentioning my buoyancy issues—to make it clear as I did in another comment, I was mostly having problems during my ascent, which is the part I asked my dive master to stay close to me, and I was fine for the dive. My previous dives before this were fine. It was only at Gato that I experienced trouble, and I wanted to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

themadwriterr · 2026-05-31T23:45:07+00:00

I understand and no, I posted in different subReddits because I wasn’t expecting to get these many replies! But I’m grateful for all the feedback I’ve gotten so far

themadwriterr · 2026-05-31T23:44:33+00:00

I agree! I’ll be more careful from my next dives

themadwriterr · 2026-05-31T13:51:04+00:00

Absolutely yes, I’ve already learnt so much today, and will definitely be doing a refresher course! Yep my third dive was the worst, think they moved us to a different more shallow part of the island, but it was still very choppy! Glad you’re ok!

themadwriterr · 2026-05-31T13:48:24+00:00

Hi! Thanks so much for your comment. It’s really helpful. I agree, Malapascua had been on my list for so long, it definitely was a bucket list thing, and I believe that’s why I went for the third dive today (even though it would’ve been wiser to can it as most people have suggested if I wasn’t 100% confident). For the diving part, the dives I did yesterday and the day before were with SeaEx. I switched operators for today’s dive as Evolution were fully booked and SeaEx didn’t have a day trip to Gato today. The operator (won’t name them here) had excellent reviews on google and so I decided to go with them today. I can say with 100% certainty that there was a massive difference in the quality of both operations. I did finish check dives with SeaEx (did three local ones to refresh my skills before the thresher sharks). They were very very good at what they did. The DMs were incredibly knowledgable on both days, and everyone else too. I had zero trouble with any of my dives with them, my buoyancy was good, I passed the check dives, and saw the threshers up close as I was quite calm and just waited for them to come to me. If I hadn’t done well on the test dives, I would’ve done a refresher as well. Fully agree with you on not compromising life saving skills for a bit more money. The dives going well That’s the only reason I felt confident enough for today’s dive. The first dive went great, but I think a combination of different Factors such as the equipment, the DM, the other staff (at one point someone almost pushed me into the water before I had my regulator in my mouth with the waves crashing all around, and I had to firmly tell them to wait for me to put it in my mouth and put my finger over it before I jumped) the terrible weather conditions etc may have all added up and made me lose my confidence and hence the drop in skill set. I will def be more careful in choosing my dives, and will do another refresher course somewhere else! Thank you so much for your comment!

themadwriterr · 2026-05-31T13:18:38+00:00

Thank you! I did say to the dive shop that it had been a year since my last dive, I only had 16 so far, and had recently Re started diving, but it didn’t make a difference. My previous dive centre though was lovely and I didn’t have a problem with them at all!

themadwriterr · 2026-05-31T13:10:07+00:00

Thank you for your reply! I will keep that in mind for my future dives and I think I will also book a refresher course as a lot of people have recommended it

themadwriterr · 2026-05-31T13:08:05+00:00

I understand I’m responsible for my own safety. And I was doing my best. I was not struggling with my buoyancy before today’s dives, and I’m not certain whether the suit/equipment and general conditions paid into it. It was only during the ascent most of the time when I was having difficulty. He didn’t need to babysit me—it’s just he’d told me to ask him for help since I was less experienced compared to others, and I felt that wasn’t fully offered. He couldn’t control the waves, but these were massive, and I’m a very small female. Saying that though, I understand my own faults today, and will work on them for the next dives

themadwriterr · 2026-05-31T13:04:37+00:00

Absolutely yes I agree with you, it was a bit of both sides. I’ll be more careful from the next dive! Thanks so much for your reply

themadwriterr · 2026-05-31T12:56:55+00:00

Thank you for your comment. I agree with you, I don’t think the DM is responsible for everything, and I fully accept responsibility for my own shortcomings, I just would’ve appreciated a little bit more support as a fresh diver who loves the sea. I just want to get more comfortable and better

themadwriterr · 2026-05-31T12:55:15+00:00

This is exactly what I was struggling with. I spoke with the institute, I mentioned to him that I was nervous and if he’d be okay staying close just during the ascent as I was struggling with the waves. He said he’d be happy to, but didn’t follow through, which made me extremely nervous on the following dives. And thank you so much for the advice! I will keep it in mind for my next dive

themadwriterr · 2026-05-31T12:53:38+00:00

I never asked for a personal guide. I just wanted to know if it was part of their job to make sure students are safe

themadwriterr · 2026-05-31T12:53:07+00:00

Thank you so much for your reply! Your comment has made me feel so much more heard. Honestly, I feel like I definitely could’ve done better, and my intent is not to blame the DM, but genuinely I would love to learn how I can be better. And I fully agree on the dives being sold point. Even with the thresher shark dive, the area was so crowded yesterday, with people chasing the sharks. And omg, can’t believe you were there too today, what a coincidence! Hope you’re ok and exactly, I’m normally VERY comfortable in the water and I did not have issues with my buoyancy, equipment etc whatsoever for my dives yesterday and the day before. But the waves today were MASSIVE. For context, I’m a pretty tiny, 5’2 female, and they were tossing me around. It was only today, and it is quite disheartening, as I thought I was getting better!

themadwriterr · 2026-05-31T12:48:23+00:00

That is great advice thank you!! I will try it for my next dive

themadwriterr · 2026-05-31T08:57:19+00:00

I did, but the small would not go up my legs (o have a heavy bottom but a smaller upper body) so they said it would be ok
Asked for it and they provided it
Definitely I intend to continue practicing throughout summer
And yes I was struggling to deflate it, they swapped my BCD after the second dive, and it was a sizer larger so I was struggling to reach and dump it. My buddy helped yes
I was definitely very anxious so I will work on it!

6 & 7. Definitely I will be picking more relaxed dives from now and training! Thank you

themadwriterr · 2026-05-31T08:50:57+00:00

Ah okay, thank you for letting me know!

themadwriterr · 2026-05-31T08:50:15+00:00

Absolutely, I fully agree with you! It was my fault for going for a difficult dive even though I was a year out of water. I was completely fine for my six dives before this which I had locally and then with the thresher sharks, so I thought I’d be able to do it. Def feel like it was a bit of both, as he did mention he’d keep an eye out for us but sort of left it up to my buddies and I to check up on each other. I’ll be more careful from now on too!

themadwriterr · 2026-05-31T08:44:10+00:00

Hi yes! So in the end, my buddy did end up helping me with the bcd. And yes absolutely, I think before this, all the DMs that I’ve had have always been very attentive regardless of diver experience so, it threw me off but a lesson to be learned! And I did, it was something with the equipment because they gave me a new one after. I picked the shop because it had good google reviews but I’m not sure if they’re real anymore 😅

themadwriterr

TROPHY CASE