Buddy checks - formal v. informal

[Michael Guerrero]

I dive in a culture where this is supposed to be established procedure.

Drinketh thy Kool-Aid!

 

[lowviz]

... For us it's air on, computer set and on, mask (defogger) and fins. ...

Yes, while sitting on the bench.

I've never splashed in tandem with a dive buddy from a dive platform. Therefore I am most aware that I always start any dive solo.

Solo is no joke. Nobody has your back.

Mantra:
Index finger in the air. Signals "wait" to the guy/gal wanting to push you off the platform while they are looking at the next in line.

Three slow deep breaths from main secondary reg while watching your SPG to see if the needle moves or the number changes.
Three slow deep breaths from backup secondary reg. Quickly "Puff" your wing or BC and feel if it inflates. Same for drysuit if you are diving one.

Look at your feet. Fins?

Yes is the 'trigger'. Hand on mask, hand on reg in your mouth. Time the wave, giant stride. Whole world turns green and white. (OK, Blue for you...)

Surface, bop head with fist. (nobody is looking, but I do it anyway.)

-you are on your own, girl...

 

[DENLASCUBA]

I dive solo/same buddy 99+ percent of the time. For us it's air on, computer set and on, mask (defogger) and fins. Once he got irritated with my checks, especially when I asked air on. He went in for a solo dive that boat trip with the air off. No kidding. Thankfully he handled it no problem (or so he told me when he fessed up to the error) and he no longer gets irritated with that question.

I follow the same check list as above, and this is what we would perform when I was working on the live-abaords, what I practice with experienced divers, and what I see most experienced divers who still do checks perform. Two things I would add one to this list is weights, and SMB. I have seen many divers who ended up grabbing their belts or weight pockets (if out of the BC) after saying weights.

When I am with newly certified divers I try to do the full safety check all the time as I noticed if they are a little nervous the full BWRAF helps reassure them a bit.

 

[DaleC]

I dive in a culture where this is supposed to be established procedure. I am often nonplussed and thoroughly annoyed at seeing it omitted.

I feel the same way but come at it from a different perspective.

Shortly after certifying I began solo diving in earnest and doing a reliable self check became a pretty important SOP for me to develop, as no one was going to correct an error after the fact. Apart from understanding the conditions, exits and hazards, I also check BAR:
Bouyancy: Test BCD, Drysuit. Actually test them by adding air and locating dump cords etc...
Air: Breath both regs while watching SPG and deploy longhose or octo. Check pony if I have one. Again, actually breathing and deploying to catch trapped hoses, resistance etc...
Releases: Check weights and rig releases and cutting tools. This I do by locating by hand. IRL you can only release by feel so you need to build in a sense of where the releases are located and how they feel to open.

There are some people I dive with that I don't share this activity with, mainly other experienced divers who choose to operate as autonomous units. We have a strong sense of self reliance and do not expect others to resolve our issues as mutually agreed upon beforehand.

Newer divers, club divers or those that want to team dive, I share this with and will make a point to take the time to run through it. A few try to blow it off but I pretty well insist. If we are buddies we buddy - otherwise, forget the pretense and we will just be same ocean divers. I'm good either way but don't like to pretend it's one when it's the other.
The buddy check, however you do it, demonstrates your capacity to function as a team before you hit the water. If it ain't there... it probably ain't there.

 

[freewillie]

Usually if we are ready to go and in our BC's sitting next to each other ask a quick "ready to go?" But not very formal. By this point we've been checking as we go along. Tanks straps, weights, tank pressure. I always check that the tank valves are in the open position before we get into the BC. Once I got into the BC and was all set to go when tried to take few breaths off the regulator only to discover air wasn't on. Had to sheepishly ask the crew to turn it on for me. Haven't made that mistake twice.

i feel comfortable that we've done the buddy check as we go along and in stages but just not like we did in OW class.

 

[KeithG]

Three slow deep breaths from main secondary reg while watching your SPG to see if the needle moves or the number changes.
Three slow deep breaths from backup secondary reg. Quickly "Puff" your wing or BC and feel if it inflates. Same for drysuit if you are diving one.

Agreed that these are mandatory checks.

But if you wait until just before you splash and end up holding up the line, idiots like me will start to yell at you to do that sh*t before you leave your seat.

NOTE: I always do 1 last final big breath check on my primary just before i splash to make sure the boat monkey helping me launch did not turn my air off.

Surface, bop head with fist. (nobody is looking, but I do it anyway.)

Agreed. I mostly see the back of their head as they are now focused on their next victim. But every once in a while i get a smile and a wave.

 

[lowviz]

Not everyone will get your sense of irony. Most amusing.

Go ahead and yell. Reality check. My life...

---------- Post added December 4th, 2014 at 02:35 AM ----------

Note to the casual reader: 15 seconds when done correctly...

 

[Storker]

Still doing formal buddy checks, it's an integrated part of my pre-dive routine. With my regular buddy it's more like going through the checklist (BCD/suit inflate - OK, weights secured - OK, clips fastened - OK, report tank pressure & test breathe primary + secondary, look over each other and sort out anything that's not quite right). With an instabuddy, I also make sure to point out how my weight release system is operated, check how my buddy's weights are secured and released, and point out the location of the secondary reg (long hose or conventional octo). I also make a point of asking him/her about tank pressure and report mine. The only modification I allow myself is to just breathe in, not out through the regs if it's below freezing, to avoid frost in the reg and freeflowing. One of my clubmates likes to do a long hose deployment once we're in the water to make sure it isn't stuck anywhere, and I like that.

No reason to make a big deal of the buddy check/final checklist, but for me it's a nice way to go over my gear and make sure that everything checks out OK. It's happened more than once that I've forgotten something while rigging - typically my suit inflation hose - but the final check helps me discover such things before I embarrass myself And if I'm diving diving with someone else than my regular buddy, I want to make sure that both of us at least have a theoretical knowledge of how to ditch each others' weights if SHTF.

 

[lowviz]

... I always do 1 last final big breath check on my primary just before i splash to make sure the boat monkey helping me launch did not turn my air off. ...

Yeah, exactly. I replaced the "one big" with "three slow" to deplete the CO2 in me. That way if I have a problem upon entry I'm not air starved.

Try replacing your "one big" with the freediver thing...

 

[g1138]

Formal or informal, as long as it's effective. Outside of classes, I'll do a self-buddy check while my buddy mimics in cue. Or vice versa.
That would be a second check after I've set up and Self-Checked my gear.

One will lead and call out what they're checking and we'll both check it. I wasn't taught BWRAF, but I was a taught another adequate version. If you keep your self-check (when you set up gear) and your Buddy Check in the same order you'll limit missing a step.