What makes a good guide?

[w ripley]

My buddy and I had been diving caves for many years and decided to hire a well-known (actually, world renown) guide for an 11,400 foot penetration in a foreign country. There was nothing extreme about this dive, other than it was long. It's the first and last time I will use a guide, unless local law prevents diving without one and, if it does, I will dive as if he or she is not in the water with me. And before I go on, yes we did our own dive planning before we got in the water, it was just that when you're following the "expert's" lead (the first time) you might be a bite stupidier than you should! Which is the point of this post to you "experts."

We made the mistake of assuming that the long-bodied DPVs the guide was providing - showed us in the shop and brought to the dive site the day of the dive - had actually been recently charged and that the batteries would last for the DVP legs of the trip in and OUT. We assumed that the guide was going slow on the guide's own DPV on purpose, and not needlessly burning our limited gas supplies because it wasn't running like it should. We assumed that the guide - who had done this dive so many times - wouldn't stop to re-run a line (not fix broken line, mind you) on our long pentration, further compromising our gas supplies. We assumed that we wouldn't be swimming out with marginal gas in our tanks and pushing dead DPVs in front of us. We assumed that this guide knew...well you see the picture - the guide ended up being sloppy in every aspect of the dive. Our own instincts kicked in about the time we turned or the dive might have ended differently.

Sorry, but when you hire a guide, especially one you've admired for years, you expect to follow his or her lead (at least the first time). That guide owes it to you to act like a professional and take the extra steps needed to make sure that everything he or she is providing is well planned, well prepared, and that he or she doesn't push the extreme edge on your dive - unless that is what the dive was about in the first place and then everything Im saying here doesn't apply. And if something is not going as it should that guide owes it to you to communicate that with you, rather than remain silent because of a huge image ego.

If you put yourself in the "professional's" role then you owe it to those trusting you to act professionally. Period!

We tend to trust divers we hold in esteem and follow their lead until we find out whether they really know what they are doing, having a bad day, etc. Until you find out that they are not what they say, you run the risk of doing stupid things. As a guide you need to remember that, and not cut corners that will have impacts on those behind you. There is no difference between a guide and an advanced instructor in my mind. You need to remember that those looking to you are in a different role on that particular dive.

I know now that I can not trust anyone, but myself, under water. As a guide you need to remember that not everyone has come to that conclusion when they ask for your help.

[Sludge]

Bill, I would be remiss if I didn't ask if you were scootering where you hadn't swum before. (I know, it's not a hard and fast rule, but my instructor would kick my head if he found out I had done it.)

John, I think I have a new project. Except I don't think Ginnie really needs an exposure suit - just the scuba.

[phillip1]

I prefer sidemount seeing eye dogs.

That's so cool.

[Line Squirrel]

My buddy and I...

I remember you and Jeff telling me this story in great detail (especially Jeff lol) around the campfire one evening. I also remember thinking it was pretty scary that a top notch guide would be so cavalier about a dive like that. Or maybe it was just piss poor planning on their part, not sure which, maybe a combination of both.

[Me]

What I expect from a guide:

Access
Logistics
(maybe lunch & )

All other is my responsibility whether or not I am "buddying" with the guide. If the guide takes me to a site and I dive it on my own with my buddy, the guide is not responsible for me. If the guide does dive with me, same story. It's my butt and I'm the only one responsible for it. Period.

[Sludge]

When I guided you at JB I didn't provide beer, but there was cake!

[mfascuba]

Just out of curiosity, was that in Europe, Mexico, or "other"? My diving is in north FL, I've taken folks to see stuff before but I don't "guide". That takes too much time and focus, and I don't feel that I'm "that good".

Mark

My buddy and I had been diving caves for many years and decided to hire a well-known (actually, world renown) guide for an 11,400 foot penetration in a foreign country. There was nothing extreme about this dive, other than it was long. It's the first and last time I will use a guide, unless local law prevents diving without one and, if it does, I will dive as if he or she is not in the water with me. And before I go on, yes we did our own dive planning before we got in the water, it was just that when you're following the "expert's" lead (the first time) you might be a bite stupidier than you should! Which is the point of this post to you "experts."

We made the mistake of assuming that the long-bodied DPVs the guide was providing - showed us in the shop and brought to the dive site the day of the dive - had actually been recently charged and that the batteries would last for the DVP legs of the trip in and OUT. We assumed that the guide was going slow on the guide's own DPV on purpose, and not needlessly burning our limited gas supplies because it wasn't running like it should. We assumed that the guide - who had done this dive so many times - wouldn't stop to re-run a line (not fix broken line, mind you) on our long pentration, further compromising our gas supplies. We assumed that we wouldn't be swimming out with marginal gas in our tanks and pushing dead DPVs in front of us. We assumed that this guide knew...well you see the picture - the guide ended up being sloppy in every aspect of the dive. Our own instincts kicked in about the time we turned or the dive might have ended differently.

Sorry, but when you hire a guide, especially one you've admired for years, you expect to follow his or her lead (at least the first time). That guide owes it to you to act like a professional and take the extra steps needed to make sure that everything he or she is providing is well planned, well prepared, and that he or she doesn't push the extreme edge on your dive - unless that is what the dive was about in the first place and then everything Im saying here doesn't apply. And if something is not going as it should that guide owes it to you to communicate that with you, rather than remain silent because of a huge image ego.

If you put yourself in the "professional's" role then you owe it to those trusting you to act professionally. Period!

We tend to trust divers we hold in esteem and follow their lead until we find out whether they really know what they are doing, having a bad day, etc. Until you find out that they are not what they say, you run the risk of doing stupid things. As a guide you need to remember that, and not cut corners that will have impacts on those behind you. There is no difference between a guide and an advanced instructor in my mind. You need to remember that those looking to you are in a different role on that particular dive.

I know now that I can not trust anyone, but myself, under water. As a guide you need to remember that not everyone has come to that conclusion when they ask for your help.

[Meister481]

I've guided a guy one time when the regular guide wasn't available. If they are all like that, I'll never do it again. I'm still wondering if the regular guide decided this guy needed to go away and I just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. The free boat ride wasn't worth risking my life.

[Tegg]

The few times that I have asked to guide, I have made it clear that I am merely a buddy who has dove that site a few more times then the person asking... as such, I am treated no different and I treat them no different. I may ask that we dive certain sites first, but then again so would any decent dive buddy...

Overall, I haven't had any complaints... then again not many people complain about "cheap" services... (beer and dinner)...

[CaveBuddy95]

If you look at today’s demand, fewer cave divers are hiring guides to take them diving which is, in some ways, understandable. When you consider the environment we dive in, a guide should be nothing more than a gate-opener or, to put it in another way, a facilitator. I say this, not to (as we say in France) spit in our soup, but we have to be realistic about cave guiding. A guide is really just a glorified buddy.

When my clients ask me what I offer, it is quite simple. Those who are here for, at least one week can have three full days of guiding, where I will introduce them to the Mayan Riviera, show them the rops. This is really a “how” to guiding experience, or cave diving in Mexico 101 guide. Then for the rest of their dive holiday, they can discover the many caves we have to offer, on their own. It’s that simple.

Providing logistics is one of the reasons divers like to hire a guide. This way the headache is someone else’s. However, that is putting a lot of trust into one person, who could be having a bad day and, wham, the trust is broken.

We are lucky to work in Mexico. It is a country where guides are not legally required. So why bother?
Why not take your own diving, into your own hands?

For me, it is important to restore trust into this sport/business. Cave divers are responsible adults and should be treated as such. I think by offering a “part time guiding” service, I can restore that trust. And who knows, gain some great experience in return! Friendship is built on trust, a community must thrive on trust.