Lets see what happens with this statement

[pants!]

Be prepared to manage your own challenges as a solo diver to become the best buddy should you have one. It is folly to *rely* on others for such an activity. A competant buddy or a team should be just a bonus and not a requisite for your own safety.

--Matt

Underwater is an unforgiving place... I want and will take all the bonuses I can get down there.

If a competent buddy acting as a teammate is a nice bonus, I see no reason to dive without said bonus!

 

[CIBDiving]

It's not in the DIR forum because it's how the DIR guys get to post their BS without censer.

 

[aranea]

I think the example given on how not letting the passengers to drive is not a fitting one. From what I understand buddy/teammat is not a passenger. He/she is a driver too with his/her own car. It's more like following/being follwed by another car. You don't let other one drive your car but still keep a contact with them.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

It's not in the DIR forum because it's how the DIR guys get to post their BS without censer.

Now that's an interesting perspective ... it is here so that you get to post your viewpoint without censor ... which would not be the case if it were posted in the DIR forum.

But I'm curious ... why is this, or should this be, a DIR issue at all?

Team diving practices are not unique to DIR ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I think the example given on how not letting the passengers to drive is not a fitting one. From what I understand buddy/teammat is not a passenger. He/she is a driver too with his/her own car. It's more like following/being follwed by another car. You don't let other one drive your car but still keep a contact with them.

That is (IMO) a better analogy.

On the highways we follow rules. The real purpose of those rules is to provide a measure of predictability in terms of what one driver can expect another driver to do. Accidents often occur because someone acted outside the limits of that predictable behavior.

Team diving (as opposed to buddy diving) is all about predictable behavior between the buddy team.

It is a concept which is not essential in typical recreational diving ... although with a bit of practice it does make diving with your buddy much easier and more relaxing. However, as one moves into more advanced levels of diving, I believe it becomes increasingly important ... at least for those divers who choose to stay within dive buddy style of diving. As your dive planning becomes more complex, and your dive profiles more aggressive, knowing what to expect from your dive buddy becomes increasingly vital to your safety, as well as to your buddy's.

So the real question is what are your diving goals, and what level of safety are you comfortable with ... (OK, that's two questions)

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[lamont]

When I drive my car I control the accellerator, the brake, the clutch and the steering wheel. I don't relegate those tasks to any of my passengers. When I dive I take the same approach. If I have a buddy with me, great. If not, that's OK too. I see alot less when I am constantly watching a buddy.

that's buddy diving. team diving done right is more like having a wingman. he doesn't try to fly your plane, you don't have to constantly watch him, but he's always got your back.

 

[redacted]

that's buddy diving. team diving done right is more like having a wingman. he doesn't try to fly your plane, you don't have to constantly watch him, but he's always got your back.

Good analogy. But I would have described buddy diving as like having a wing man. Team diving is more like a cockpit crew - all working to fly the same plane.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Good analogy. But I would have described buddy diving as like having a wing man. Team diving is more like a cockpit crew - all working to fly the same plane.

Except that in practice, buddy diving is often more like having two planes in the same general vicinity at approximately the same time.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[airsix]

Or to carry this analogy train another step further than it should have gone... Diving should be like formation flying. Each diver is a pilot. Whether there are two planes or 12 it doesn't matter. Before leaving the ground there is a briefing. There is a plan. There is an objective. There is a charted course. And above all there is a squadron leader. It doesn't matter what distractions you see along the way - You don't break formation. Formation flying doesn't work when the players 'do their own thing'. Course-changes, speed, heading, and altitude are determined by the squadron leader. You can radio the leader and make suggestions (Lets go look in that patch of kelp) or report a problem (Captain, there is a Great Saltwater Beaver closing on your 4-O-clock), but the leader always directs the activity. If divers want to change rolls durring the dive, that's fine, but no two people can be the leader at the same time. Divers who don't keep continual peripheral buddy contact are usually a case of two people both trying to be the leader at the same time. It's selfish diving when you are only a team player when the team is doing what you want. I like the team concept. It implies a higher committment. "Buddy" just sounds too much like "Sure, I'll help you out if I happen to be around and it's not too inconvenient, of course." In the water you have to act like a dog even if topside you are more like a cat (it's just an alalogy - I don't have either and have no species-bias, so please don't go there).

-Ben

 

[SDAnderson]

Great Googly-Moogly. This thread reminds me why I sometimes dive solo: sometimes I need relief from the incessant cackling that often permeates the topside world.

Military sub-references and machismo semantics aside, what's the point of this thread? Whether you agree (and mostly I do) or disagree with the opening statement, this quibbling about the distinction between "buddy" and "team" is like finding your wingman fiddling with his joystick. Please don't forget to wash up when you're finished and no, we won't be doing an S-Drill today. :11:

Your basic sport diver needs good buddy skills as much as he sucks at them - we all know that SOB's are as common as copapods. Fortunately, they're just about as dangerous, if you accept the DAN figures. Nonetheless, I see very little in this thread that could be considered constructive: WHAT makes a good buddy and HOW do you learn to be one? :idea3:

Technical divers should have this stuff mastered. No excuses, no exceptions. If you don't, you need to back up and fill in the blanks in your training before your next tech dive.

As to the quote that started this thread, it sounds an awful lot like JJ but I couldn't find it in the Little Blue Book.