25 replies to this topic

[DOCJASON]

I wanted to share my experience with a buddy I had while in training for AOW....

We were to follow a horizontal rope line across Lake Whitney....It was cloudy...the kinda clarity 5 fingers in yur mask couldn't see...clarity... I manuvered over the line and thought my buddy was following...my leg wrapped around the line...and I was next to a vertical bouy line...that was 30 feet up to the surface......I tried to cut the line...but couldnt get untangled...my regulator was fouled..and I managed to get my octo...no buddy!!...afetr a 360 spin...I managed to pull myself to the surface...and inflated my BC to Max...as the line was still wrapped around my ankle...attempting to pull me down...The instructor came back....after about 5 min...and cut me loose....I went to shore and after cussing the buddy off...I left...I felt my buddy wasnt...so now I get to know my buddy before a dive...and their equipment...as well as training...

[VADiver]

Yep...a unified buddy team is extremely important.

http://www.gue.com/?...ning/index.html

[pmarie]

I'm in the Keys!!! Had to get that little bit of excitement out there. I have had "instabuddys" this weekend and I declined diving with someone since I felt it would not have been a good experience. I also met a gentleman that after many bad experiences with "instabuddys" pays for a divemaster to dive with him.

I completely agree that knowing your buddys gear and their experience helps determine if you want to dive with them.

[NJBerserker]

This mentality will get people killed. The moment you rely on anybody for anything you are as good as dead. The bottom line is you should have been able to cut yourself free with one of your (you should have at least two) cutting devices. If you can't see your hand in front of your face how can you expect your buddy to know what is going on with your leg??? The main flaw with the buddy system is the false sense of security a lot of the people who use it get. Just because you are diving with someone else doesn't mean nothing can happen to you and that your "buddy" will always be there to bail you out. I do believe in the buddy system. However, I thank the gods that from my OW my instructors didn't try to get us to drink the proverbial Kool-Aid and hammered a little self sufficiency into our heads. The only person who you can constantly rely on to save you is yourself. Your buddy is only there to help you do what you are already capable of doing.

[weescot]

It never ceases to amaze me the variance in how the buddy system is interpreted. Ultimately we take responsibility for our own safety in everything we do, not just diving. The beauty of the buddy system however is that we are there to look out for each other and seek help if needed. Most divers will do what they can to help out fellow divers, but I was astonished to read this tale of apparent abandonment - although I rarely experience poor vis I don't have a permenant buddy so rely on diving with my self reliance and strangers. On Friday I dived with a French guy with limited English so there was no way of me evaluating his experience/skills except through my limited French. Turned out he was an excellent diver and we had two wonderful dives. I later discovered he was a doctor with the French emergency services underwater recovery team and has dived all over the world.

Hope this experience doesn't put you off diving too much. Something like this is bound to give you a fright but the best thing to do is get back underwater

[Solitary]

About my 20th dive, shortly after I got certified, I was paired with a DM from a local shop in Southampton since I was traveling solo at the time. In an unfamiliar and high current channelized canyon zone, he left me behind to escort the other buddy pair (cute girls) in to shore. No sooner had he left than my mask strap broke and my reg seized up. Now I'm underwater, blind and unable to breath, and thinking very carefully about whether or not I can hold my breath long enough for somebody to come back for me.

I found my spare reg and fumbled about until my neoprene clad hands found my mask, practiced that all important mask-clearing skill I had just learned, held it on with one hand while making my return to shore and practicing the choice words I was going to have for my "buddy" when I got back. I never went back to that dive shop. In fact, I never again went diving in that whole country. To this day, it's the only time I've ever had significant equipment failure on a dive, and it happened to a brand new diver when his buddy wasn't around to help.

People do stupid stuff. Having a buddy is great; depending on a buddy is foolish. (Even a supposedly experienced one.)

[Latitude Adjustment]

I manuvered over the line and thought my buddy was following...

It doesn't sound like you were looking out for your buddy either, it's a two way street.

Me, I prefer to dive solo.

[shadragon]

Me, I prefer to dive solo.

I have the Solo course as well. Pull one scallop from the murky mud on the bottom of the Bay of Fundy and POOF your buddy is gone. While a well tuned buddy team gives you a lot of options, being self-reliant gives you even more. Last, discuss a separation plan before getting moist.

[drbill]

The OP is not ready to solo dive based on my interpretation of the situation. It sounds like he is still taking classes. I would certainly question diving under those conditions, since it sounds unrealistic to expect a buddy to be able to stay close when the visibility is that poor. Of course I'm fortunate enough to dive in waters with decent visibility compared to many freshwater quarries and lakes.

I dive solo (and have for five decades) because my incident rate solo is 1/20th that of when I'm diving with a buddy (whether one of my regular ones or, most frequently, an insta-buddy). However, I do not recommend solo diving to anyone else since I really have no idea what their skills level might be or, most important in my mind, how they react to problems. In my mind no diver is ready to dive solo until they know how they react, and that takes at least an incident or three to determine. And you usually have to have a few hundred dives to incur those kinds of incidents.

[ScubaDadMiami]

A buddy is an added benefit and there for fun and enjoyment of the dive. However: "Only you can swim for you. Only you can think for you. Only you can breathe for you." Tom Mount (possibly paraphrased not exactly as the original quote was stated)

[shadragon]

You need 100 dives minimum before you can take the SDI Solo Diver course so you probably have a few incidents under your belt before that.

Solo Diver Course

Love that quote SDM...

[VADiver]

WOW--I guess I'm outnumbered by the solo divers, although I still believe its nonsense. But, then again, diving with an idiot for a dive buddy is nonsense too. The buddy team needs to be squared away and on the same sheet of music to be effective--that’s why I won't randomly jump on a boat and get paired up with someone I don't know.

A buddy is not a substitute for poor diving skills and I would advise people not to dive with an unsafe diver; however a buddy with the correct attitude and skill set is important. I was told by some guys that all deco diving is basically solo diving because, as he said, everyone is on a different schedule depending on what deco computer/tables they use. To me this is a silly notion and indicates the team didn't plan the dive correctly. The team should enter together, dive together, begin their ascent together, and hit their deco stops as a team (before the dive assign a member to run deco).

Poor viz is an annoyance, but no reason for a proper team to become separated. If it is, there is an underlying problem with communication, equipment (i.e. primary light), or dive skills.

[NJBerserker]

It's not really about solo diving. I would definitely have to agree with Dr. Bill that our friend in question here is a ways away from even considering splashing alone. It's all about not relying on others to save your ass if something goes wrong. I believe in a system of complete, 100% merciless self-reliance. I flat-out REFUSE to drown while I wait for someone else to come help me. It's an attitude that can and does save lives. This doesn't mean that I personally do not dive with a buddy. I do, but not all of the time. I would say that you are more outnumbered by the non DIR divers. It is very much a small niche in the diving community.

[pmarie]

WOW--I guess I'm outnumbered by the solo divers, although I still believe its nonsense The team should enter together, dive together, begin their ascent together, and hit their deco stops as a team (before the dive assign a member to run deco).

Don't feel bad, I completely agree that divers/teams should stay together throughout the entire dive. I recognize that buddys are important and should enhance a dive rather than detract from it. When you don't know your buddy it can be a bit of a crapshoot. I would have done my dives this weekend solo if the boat Captain and DM were comfortable with me diving solo.

I do think in the case of the diver that started this though, that checking for your buddy or being within touching distance would have been a better choice. I have to ask myself, did his buddy have an issue and this was not mentioned in the post?????