Buddy in trouble---leave or stay?

[boulderjohn]

I'm sorry this is gnawing at you. And I can understand why, really we're not just talking about one scenario, but the combination of two.

What were you taught to do in zero vis?

I was taught that I was to get on the line and wait a few moments for the lead diver to make contact. After a few moments, if she had not come, go ahead and make my way to clearer water and wait.

I was also taught continuous touch contact if the diver made contact, but I know others are taught bump and go.

From the point where one made their way to clear water without the lead diver, it's essentially a lost diver drill. You calculate gas and wait.

Regardless, this is one of those scenarios that new buddies need to discuss before getting in the water. If you are the lead diver, and are expecting continuous contact because that is what you were taught, and your buddy was taught "bump and go," you may be in for a surprise when they leave.

I understand the procedure, but I guess the fact that two instructors and an experienced diver all made a conscious decision to do something else suggests to me that the last sentence in your sequence is not standard.

 

[TSandM]

I would take it very poorly if I were told I had to do a solo cave dive to pass a class. I don't solo dive, period, cave or open water. I know Rick Murcar calls cave diving "solo diving done as a group", and there is some truth to that. But I like having more light in the cave. I like having more thinking people in the cave. And I like sharing my cave dives with other people.

I find it deeply disturbing that two of the people who came out successfully were certified instructors, and I wonder why the natural tendency of instructors to feel responsible didn't kick in in those cases.

 

[boulderjohn]

I find it deeply disturbing that two of the people who came out successfully were certified instructors, and I wonder why the natural tendency of instructors to feel responsible didn't kick in in those cases.

I think that is the crux of my question, especially since I am told they are supposed to have been teaching their students to stay in situations like that.

---------- Post added May 2nd, 2015 at 10:19 AM ----------


Correcting some misinformation here:
I said a few posts ago that I had learned that the person involved in the most recent incident was a cave instructor. That is possibly and perhaps probably untrue. I got the information from another discussion on another forum in which she was identified as a NAUI cave instructor. It turned out that the information was INFERRED from her description on her web site. The wording of the description seems to IMPLY she is a cave instructor, but a closer reading shows that it does not actually say that. She is probably not a cave instructor.