Buddy positioning - GUE/DIR/IANTD practice and rules

[Lorenzoid]

All of this doesn't sound like that much fun. When I have the flag on a drift in SE FL, all I expect is that the group stay loosely with me and ascend on the flag when indicated.

It's "fun" in the sense that eliminating anxiety over where my buddy is lets us relax and have more fun on the dive.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Yep, but then your light signaling protocol is interrupted by what we primarily bring our lights for: To look beneath rocks and inside crevices to discover critters.

I've not found that to be a limitation, as I can generally see enough of the "halo" of my buddy's primary to know where they are, even when they're using their light to look around for the critters we're going down there to see. Same goes the other direction where they're using my light to keep track of where I am. But this does work best in conditions where it's fairly dark or turbid, as there's less ambient light to interfere with the effects of the dive light.

What I train my students to do is every few seconds just pass your light somewhere on the ground where your buddy can see it easily without having to turn their head. When they detect your light, they know you're there. You only have to leave it there for a second or two ... then resume using it for its primary purpose of finding cool things to look at. The other use for your light is to signal your buddy when you find something. We do this by a slow back and forth sweep in your buddy's field of view (which means "look at me") followed by a steady circling motion around the subject you want them to see.

Unless I'm teaching, I often carry a camera. So communication, particularly that using my dive light, is an essential part of keeping the buddy team together. Once I find something I want to take a picture of, I'll use it to signal my buddy ... then I'll go in for the picture. My buddy will often also have a camera, so once I'm done I'll back out so they can go in and take pictures as well. Our rule of thumb is "finder goes first" ... but without the communication, we'd each end up missing a lot of photo ops of things our buddy finds ...

... Bob (Grateuful Diver)

 

[TSandM]

My dear friend HBDiveGirl summed it up, a long time ago: Dive to stay found. No matter what the conditions are, or the formation you have chosen, it is incumbent on all of the divers in a team to remain mindful of the need to keep the team together. If nobody takes off in an unpredictable or unplanned way, almost any formation will work. I am reminded of a day a year or so ago, when I went out on a charter boat with a fellow photographer friend. Kathryn and I had a fairly general dive plan, to follow some terrain the captain had described, but obviously, we were typical photographers, and could be distracted quite out of the planned route if something interesting presented itself to be shot. I'm not even sure we HAD a formation, except during the periods where we were actually swimming and covering ground. The rest of the time, one of us would find something to shoot, and the other would cast around in the vicinity for something else. Each of us was aware of the firing of the other's strobes, even though we might at times have our backs to one another. When we finished our set of shots, or when the other person's strobes ceased, we would look up and make eye contact, and if it was clear that that particular area was done, we would move off together.

It worked, because neither of us was going to leave without checking in with the other.

While covering ground, though, we stayed roughly shoulder-to-shoulder, with the lights swooping back and forth in front of us, where both of us could see them.

It's actually fairly difficult to describe how it works to someone who hasn't dived this way, but once you have developed awareness of where you can be seen and where you can't (and the behind and shallower, or "death from above" position is horrible!), and you have placed team cohesion as a priority, it really isn't very difficult. Storker, if your buddy is diving DFA, he probably doesn't realize that he's invisible in that position, because he sure can see YOU. Either that or he may, as my husband does, stubbornly maintain that he is NOT either above you. Peter didn't admit that until a tech instructor had us all wear Sensus Pros, and he plotting our positions and showed us where we were. Peter was consistently about 3 feet above the rest of us. He just honestly didn't believe it.

 

[boulderjohn]

It worked, because neither of us was going to leave without checking in with the other.

While covering ground, though, we stayed roughly shoulder-to-shoulder, with the lights swooping back and forth in front of us, where both of us could see them.

It's actually fairly difficult to describe how it works to someone who hasn't dived this way, but once you have developed awareness of where you can be seen and where you can't ....

Yes.

If you and your buddy are exploring a daylight reef with no current, you both end up poking around, looking for items of interest. There is no reason to be elbow to elbow. There is no reason to be front and back. You just have to be aware of each other, which simply means glancing at the buddy from time to time to make sure you are close enough to be able to come together in an emergency. I have put the key word above in bold--awareness.

 

[Dhboner]

My sons and I dive as a three man team in most cases with the designated dive leader in the centre and slightly in front of the remaining two. That way we can see him and he can see us in his peripheral vision and most definitely can see our light beams. The other critical point is position in the water column...it is very important that the team stay at the same depth. There is nothing more frustrating than glancing around to locate a team member only to find he is beside you but 3 feet above!!!

 

[Michael Guerrero]

My cave instructor preferred that my buddy and I were side by side, with single file as needed. I prefer single file.

At all times we keep our lights in each other's field of view, unless we aim them to look at something. We make sure to sweep back into our buddy's field of view regularly. If I'm in front, I look for my buddy's light. If I want to make visual contact, I don't turn my head, I just dip it down a little to look behind me. I don't do this much though, as we use our lights to keep contact/communicate.

You stay with your buddy and your buddy stays with you.

 

[Steve_C]

I frequently am "lead" for a small group of 2-3 divers. sometimes regular buddies, sometimes not. We have an agreed on signal. (Pointing down and circling the finger). It means we are going go poke around this spot. I may take a couple photos. Nobody is to leave this area because I am not watching you. Stay within visual distance. After checking out whatever it is, we regroup, indicate we are moving again, and continue in formation.

I have built up a number of buddies who are quite happy to just follow along at my leisurely pace checking out things as I go. Instabuddies are usually happy with the arrangement since I get them back to the anchor with air to spare.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I posted this video before, but it shows typical "loose" buddy diving while spearfishing in a strong current. The videographer (with the head camera) is also pulling a surface float which makes me the burdened diver and somewhat of the leader, even if I am behind sometimes.

There are three divers in the group, but one of them had a "hot mix" (like 34% or something) for the deeper edge, so he was trying to stay out of the deep. We do a decent job of staying together (max depth around 135) except we lose the third diver for a while. At t = 5:15 I realize one diver is missing. I am trying to help the one buddy get rid of his fish before the sharks come in, but I am also looking for the third guy.

He is hanging way above us, which is a terrible place to be.. as TSM says the worst place to be. I signal with three fingers meaning where is the third guy and my buddy's body language is "screw that, take the stringer from my chest and help me"... We kinda blow off the third diver and then a while later, the camera finds him hanging way, way above us.. watching and not helping at all..

[video=youtube_share;JIN1uz94HNQ]http://youtu.be/JIN1uz94HNQ?list=UU1utDku8vJRJYgBZImLyLJQ[/video]

 

[PfcAJ]

There's no 'rules' other that dive in a manner so that you know where your buddy is and he/she knows where you are.

 

[diver 85]

So,--- there's another reason for diving solo-----ie NO 'increases in (your) stress level'................Stress can kill a fella???.....

EDIT..:Random pics here----just finished uploading this album tonite, look thru them & find my buddy(that one with the gal--unknown name--in pink fins just happened by)--- both these (2)dives were stress free......

https://www.flickr.com/photos/80825593@N08/sets/72157649051736997/