Buddy positioning - GUE/DIR/IANTD practice and rules

[Storker]

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

Puh-leeze... This thread is about buddy formations and buddy communication. It's not about solo diving, mmkay?



Agh, this board is frikkin' worse with the "ain't no such thing as a buddy, just go solo" mantra than with the splits vs paddles or jacket vs BP/W stuff...

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Puh-leeze... This thread is about buddy formations and buddy communication. It's not about solo diving, mmkay?



Agh, this board is frikkin' worse with the "ain't no such thing as a buddy, just go solo" mantra than with the splits vs paddles or jacket vs BP/W stuff...

... we all have our axes to grind and our crosses to bear, I suppose. The thing is, we all live in different environments, surrounded by people with different approaches and mindsets, and there's always a tendency to want to rationalize why our preferences should apply to everybody else.

It shows up in a dozen or more different ways on ScubaBoard. Just let anyone ask a question about a BCD and within one or two replies you'll see the inevitable "get a BP/W". While I use them, and own several of them, it's not a universal solution to all kinds of diving ... and it usually doesn't do squat to address the reason why the person started the thread in the first place ... but it does make a nice fence ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Storker]

there's always a tendency to want to rationalize why our preferences should apply to everybody else.

Yup. Maybe I should start threadsh!tting every thread about solo diving. "OMG no buddy, OMG, yer gonna die!!!111!!!"






















Or maybe not.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Jim Lapent's post above is exactly my view on this. With someone new, always side by side within finger tip touching distance, close in very low viz ( under 3 meters). Ove the years my wife and I have developed a "formation" in which she is about 1 foot above me and to my left side. She says that keeps her out of the video and camera field. She also is excellent at maintaining that proximity. I think what Jim's post emphasizes is that buddies are buddies, not master and servant, and each needs to be able to see and communicate with the other at all times ( which is what he and I do, sometimes on a much longer leash with an experienced dive buddy with whom we have a lot of experience). Buddies who know what it means to be a buddy never get separated. They are close to AND AWARE of their buddy's location, position and condition at all times.
DivemasterDennis

 

[Freewillow]

+ 1 with Jim and Denis. Except that my wife is on the left, or the right, depending on the reef profile. I am always closest to the reef, and she is on the outside, a small meter above at a body lenght. The exception is when we are at the end of a non deco dive @ less that 25 feet, where we are much more appart, looking at small creatures :blinking:

 

[diver 85]

So, All I can say is-------'have you ever tried it??'....Try it----you'll like it........

Yup. Maybe I should start threadsh!tting every thread about solo diving. "OMG no buddy, OMG, yer gonna die!!!111!!!"






















Or maybe not.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

So, All I can say is-------'have you ever tried it??'....Try it----you'll like it........

I dive solo quite regularly ... and really enjoy those dives.

But I still don't buy into the assumptions that some solo divers make on ScubaBoard that "every dive is a solo dive". It's quite easy to dive responsibly with a buddy ... all you have to do is (a) decide that you want to, and (b) follow some easily learned techniques. It isn't difficult at all ... much less the onerous task that some on SB make it out to be. In fact, diving with a responsible dive buddy can be pure joy ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Michael Guerrero]

I agree. Every dive being a solo dive is BS. If you're diving with a trained, competent buddy whom you're familiar with, you're better off. If you're diving with an insta-buddy and there's a large skill-mismatch one of you is probably diving solo-ish.

I dive solo a lot, and enjoy it. But by and large, if you have a highly capable, competent buddy (or teammate, whatever word you prefer) you are in most instances better off.

And of course, in typical SB fashion, this has nothing to do with the original post.

 

[Storker]

And also in typical SB fashion, any post talking about the advantages of buddy diving must be preceded by an apology to the solo crowd.

--
Sent from my Android phone
Typos are a feature, not a bug

 

[boulderjohn]

Any solo dive I were to take would absolutely put me in very grave danger of imminent death.

My wife would kill me.