I don't know how to pick an answer to the "poll" questions
Over 75% of the time, I dive with one of a group of about seven people. I have one person in that group that I think of as "my buddy", and that's Kirk, with whom I have done so many training dives and taken several classes. But I also dive with people I've never met before -- People who've come up at dive sites and asked if they could join us, people I've talked to on SB. Given the right site and conditions, I'll dive with almost anybody once.
The advantages of having a regular buddy, if that regular buddy is somebody you get along with and like diving with, is that you can get almost telepathic in your communication with one another. Diving becomes like dance -- You're not quite sure how it all happened, but one thing just smoothly led to another. My husband dove with me and Kirk in a recent workshop, and he was telling people at dinner that night, "They were communicating with each other, and I couldn't even tell how they were DOING it!" You DO have to be careful not to become codependent (my buddy is good about that. He always makes me do the things I don't like doing ).
The advantages of diving with a wide variety of people is that you can learn something new from almost anybody, even if it's only how you DON'T want to do something. You also get a keener insight into where you might be a little weak if you dive with people who aren't as experienced as you are. It's really fascinating to find out how much diving with a strong, steady buddy makes life so much easier, and when you have to manufacture that steadiness and stability for yourself, you find it's a lot more tenuous than you thought.
Over 75% of the time, I dive with one of a group of about seven people. I have one person in that group that I think of as "my buddy", and that's Kirk, with whom I have done so many training dives and taken several classes. But I also dive with people I've never met before -- People who've come up at dive sites and asked if they could join us, people I've talked to on SB. Given the right site and conditions, I'll dive with almost anybody once.
The advantages of having a regular buddy, if that regular buddy is somebody you get along with and like diving with, is that you can get almost telepathic in your communication with one another. Diving becomes like dance -- You're not quite sure how it all happened, but one thing just smoothly led to another. My husband dove with me and Kirk in a recent workshop, and he was telling people at dinner that night, "They were communicating with each other, and I couldn't even tell how they were DOING it!" You DO have to be careful not to become codependent (my buddy is good about that. He always makes me do the things I don't like doing ).
The advantages of diving with a wide variety of people is that you can learn something new from almost anybody, even if it's only how you DON'T want to do something. You also get a keener insight into where you might be a little weak if you dive with people who aren't as experienced as you are. It's really fascinating to find out how much diving with a strong, steady buddy makes life so much easier, and when you have to manufacture that steadiness and stability for yourself, you find it's a lot more tenuous than you thought.