I'm the Pariah again
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drrich2
Contributor
Because calling it experimentation seems to upset the patients.
Richard.
Richard.
Back to the OP,as opposed to beating up doctors.
I have a few questions, were lost buddy procedures covered in the dive briefing, and if not not did the OP discuss them with his insta buddy? Why redescend, if the OP were really that concerned, why delay getting search teams in the water? Now those questions asked, I commend the OP for being concerned for his buddy, but that said, in good viz, and it has been asked before, did he look 3 dimensionally? Once he surfaces, he makes it sound like he was in a near panic situation, and the non response he showed the captain, would get the crew's senses tingling. I do DM on boats locally, and having had to splash to get a distressed diver back to the boat, his non response is unacceptable. His buddy or boat crew are not blameless, as he was getting on the boat, did he tell the crew about the separation? If not why did they not ask where his buddy was? The captain questioning the OP the way he did, while not tactful, is understandable after not being signaled by this errant diver. I read a few times, what if the owner was on board, here's a different question, what if the captain was the owner, and thoughts of "reasonably prudent" boat captains, lawyers and court added to his adrenaline? He apologized when he calmed down, something the OP never did for his mistakes.
I have a few questions, were lost buddy procedures covered in the dive briefing, and if not not did the OP discuss them with his insta buddy? Why redescend, if the OP were really that concerned, why delay getting search teams in the water? Now those questions asked, I commend the OP for being concerned for his buddy, but that said, in good viz, and it has been asked before, did he look 3 dimensionally? Once he surfaces, he makes it sound like he was in a near panic situation, and the non response he showed the captain, would get the crew's senses tingling. I do DM on boats locally, and having had to splash to get a distressed diver back to the boat, his non response is unacceptable. His buddy or boat crew are not blameless, as he was getting on the boat, did he tell the crew about the separation? If not why did they not ask where his buddy was? The captain questioning the OP the way he did, while not tactful, is understandable after not being signaled by this errant diver. I read a few times, what if the owner was on board, here's a different question, what if the captain was the owner, and thoughts of "reasonably prudent" boat captains, lawyers and court added to his adrenaline? He apologized when he calmed down, something the OP never did for his mistakes.
You should have answered the professional captain's direct and specific question and not have tried to out smart him or second guess him. That said, you are hardly a pariah, I am a professional at pariah-ism. You are a mere beginner at pariah-ism. It will be okay, next time, answer the question asked.
One captain/crew made me so mad, about 20 something years ago, he told me to get off the boat, I did. He then spent quite a bit of time, after he realized I fully intended not to get back on and to swim back to shore, trying to get me back on the boat. By the time he did, with sugar and sweetness, we were nearly to shore. Now, that is professional level.
N
One captain/crew made me so mad, about 20 something years ago, he told me to get off the boat, I did. He then spent quite a bit of time, after he realized I fully intended not to get back on and to swim back to shore, trying to get me back on the boat. By the time he did, with sugar and sweetness, we were nearly to shore. Now, that is professional level.
N
CT-Rich
Contributor
tyesai
Contributor
Mantra
Contributor
What an entertaining thread.
Just to check my own understanding as a newbie:
Ok is a command signal. it demands a response (in this situation ok, or pickup needed (one hand raised) or in distress (waving)). I'm ok, so I give the ok signal.
Is there not then a signal for separated buddy? I was told that this was holding both arms up, separated. When diving yesterday, I confirmed with the skipper that I would be using that if I had a lost Buddy. I also confirmed with the DM a number signal system for us underwater.
It seems clarifying this stuff when discussing the dive plan is needed, and as I understand it, there *is* a 'separated buddy' surface signal.
Am I mistaken?
This dive op, by the way, also told us that we would not be performing pre-dive buddy checks before rolling nto the water on their small boats, but that instead the DM would make sure our air was on (after fiddling with our gear while loading the boat) and then we would backwards roll. I calmly insisted my buddy and I would do our usual check. It is the divers responsibility to set their expectations with the dive op, politely, before leaving the dock, right? I'd rather them think I'm a bit prissy than compromise my comfort and safety. I'm similarly experienced to the OP. just as well I insisted on the check too, as my reg had a leak issue - the purge cover was pressing too hard on the diaphragm causing a hiss and the loss of 20 bar on the 5 minute ride to the dive site.
Just to check my own understanding as a newbie:
Ok is a command signal. it demands a response (in this situation ok, or pickup needed (one hand raised) or in distress (waving)). I'm ok, so I give the ok signal.
Is there not then a signal for separated buddy? I was told that this was holding both arms up, separated. When diving yesterday, I confirmed with the skipper that I would be using that if I had a lost Buddy. I also confirmed with the DM a number signal system for us underwater.
It seems clarifying this stuff when discussing the dive plan is needed, and as I understand it, there *is* a 'separated buddy' surface signal.
Am I mistaken?
This dive op, by the way, also told us that we would not be performing pre-dive buddy checks before rolling nto the water on their small boats, but that instead the DM would make sure our air was on (after fiddling with our gear while loading the boat) and then we would backwards roll. I calmly insisted my buddy and I would do our usual check. It is the divers responsibility to set their expectations with the dive op, politely, before leaving the dock, right? I'd rather them think I'm a bit prissy than compromise my comfort and safety. I'm similarly experienced to the OP. just as well I insisted on the check too, as my reg had a leak issue - the purge cover was pressing too hard on the diaphragm causing a hiss and the loss of 20 bar on the 5 minute ride to the dive site.
diverdorr68
Contributor
I am yet to dive from a boat in the United States, but seems like you should have just given the okay. This is great info for me, my first thought would have been to react in a manner similar to yours. Not your fault your buddy's actions were inconsistent with what he supposedly learned during certification. But, you are responsible to know proper signalling to the Captain, and sorry I learned this lesson on your bad luck.
Your 'buddy', you should have given him an ear full in private. You screwed up trying to do the right thing, unfortunate. He screwed up because he is a moron, no fixing that.
Your 'buddy', you should have given him an ear full in private. You screwed up trying to do the right thing, unfortunate. He screwed up because he is a moron, no fixing that.
Here in Florida (or at least in Pompano Beach area) two arms upright.
Like this
Means... Pick me up.
Most captains/DM's are aware of buddy teams in their head, or by using a physical manifest list or some other diver tracking system.
When a diver surfaces near a dive flag, SMB, or what have you, and they are alone, and there are no other bubbles near by... The boat captain can usually surmise and probably assumes "Lost Buddy" right away. If the boat is so far away that you (captain) can't see bubbles, then generally, you have to go over an pick up the passenger/diver anyway.
There ARE some diving situations where it's not possible or desirable to do the buddy check immediately prior to getting in the water. Sometimes space on a RIB is too cramped, sometimes you're doing "hot drops" and have to get in the water instantly when the signal is given. In those cases, you do the checks earlier, on the big boat or even on land. But there should always be a check, and I have been on boats where we were given a bunch of static for doing them, even when they were appropriate in timing and location. I simply do not understand this at all -- so many problems are easily prevented by a simple head-to-toe equipment check, which takes about two minutes.
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