Focusing on Non-
Group-Related Interests
How about this? You sign up for a particular trip because the group leader is someone you know and trust. You’re not the world’s greatest diver and, having the group leader around is something that can provide a lot of reassurance. So, early in the trip, you ask the group leader if you can tag along with him.
“No,” he says, quite pointedly, “I’m taking pictures. You’ll scare the fish.”
A lot of dive instructors and group leaders are into underwater photography and video — and that’s fine, provided their primary purpose is taking along a camera is to enhance everyone’s enjoyment. Many group leaders use this opportunity to produce souvenir photos or videos for group members. This is generally appreciated.
A few instructors, however, are more concerned with taking fish portraits or doing macro photography than they are to seeing to the welfare of the group. That’s not good.
Here’s another example of the same sort of thing: An instructor puts together a group trip to the Florida Springs. However, when it comes time to dive, group members find themselves largely on their own — and limited to diving just those sites that do not require Cave Diver certification. Where is the instructor? It seems that he and a few cave-certified buddies are off diving the really cool stuff while everyone else is stuck paddling around a 20-foot-deep basin. (As a north-Florida resident, I’ve seen this one way too often.)
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