Keep your dive buddies closer...

[The Chairman]

Actually, twenty feet is about the max unless it's really quiet. The underwater world is not as silent as Jacques would have us to believe. Most who have dove with me will tell you that I have exceptional buddy skills. Staying within 15 seconds of your buddy is something I teach in my Scuba class (and yes, I do time them). How you monitor your buddy depends a lot on your comfort level, your skill set and of course, the environment you are diving in. Quite often, I am asked to guide divers here in Key Largo. Usually, I am in the lead and actively looking for critters for my divers to see. Being able to track and herd kittens and show them the fun stuff requires skill, patience and determination. I listen hard to how my charges are breathing since my eyes are occupied elsewhere. Tracking six sets of breathing patterns is challenging and worthwhile.

However, if I have just done a deco dive with someone and we are on our deco stop, then that's a horse of a different color. I might nod off and close my eyes, but my ears never close. I can tell precisely how my buddy is doing by their breathing pattern. Of course, if you haven't tried it or developed this as a skill, it's importance will be lost on you until you master it. Its just a matter of paying attention.

Listening to them implies being within a reasonable distance, though, doesn't it? If the OP is comfortable with no more than 7 feet, how well can you discern breathing at distances of 20 feet? I think you're not likely to be that far from a buddy based on what I've read of your posts, but I think that was the OP's point. At least the way I read it... he would have been fine if the buddy didn't look at him, if the buddy had also stayed reasonably close.

 

[TMHeimer]

TM...concur with some aspect. Distance has to do with vis, depth and redundancy on the part of all team members.

In 100 ft and 20 ft of water, you could afford having a bit more distance between buddies as the surface still represents a viable option in case of equipment malfunction. As it has been mentionned in a previous thread, it should still represents a breath away from an air source. As the vis reduces, the distance has to shrink as well and at times you may have very little choice but to swim within one to two arm spacing and even shoulder to shoulder.

A friend and I discussed the buddy separation aspect wrt depth during my last trip and we both agreed. The deeper you go, the closer you get because the surface quickly vanish as a viable option (we valled it the V model)...unless all members of the team carry redundancy which very few do at the basic level.

CONSTANLTLY...A bit strong as a word. I would use periodically, regularly, frequently instead.

Yes absolutely. A better/more detailed explanation than mine. I used "constantly" because sometimes I obssess (sp?????) about my duty to keep together with the buddy, feeling he may tend to look at me less than I would like.

 

[3D diver]

Sounds like a communication issue to me. If 7 feet is important to you, you need to say so & decide what you're going to do if your buddy doesn't agree.

7 feet seems a bit tight to me, but I do find myself backtracking occasionally to re-establish contact. A plan for what to do if you get seperated is also something to discuss with your buddy.