Dan, I don't disagree at all. The issue I have is how well you can ever truly know your buddy. What I'm talking about (and I think John is too) is that in-extremis moment... when bravery and willingness to self-sacrifice either shines through, or it doesn't....
I have had this happen to buddies I was with, that a catastrophic event occurred, and I had no thought whatsoever, about NOT helping them. While I have never had such a problem, I have an absolute certainty that Bill Mee or George would help in exactly the same manner.
Maybe on a baby dive, in 60 feet of water, you don't really need to "know" your buddy. It is pretty hard to get killed in 60 feet of water, open ocean...it is just so easy to dive in that environment. At 280 feet, you really DO need to KNOW your buddy, and have done plenty of dives with them before. If you don't really KNOW them, then they are NOT a buddy for a real tech dive.
---------- Post added February 14th, 2013 at 09:50 AM ----------
Part of it is the mission. Diving the Doria is not just about going down and looking around. It may be for some. But reality is it's often about artifacts. Locating, securing, and bringing them back to the surface. It is done in teams at times but often it's get there and you go this way while I go that way. The gas is planned for that. Not to get what you can and have enough for both of you to get back if it hits the fan. Selfish? Some would see it that way. Others do not. But when this is the objective everyone on the boat knows it.
And this is a principle reason for so many deaths on the Doria. That, and no comprehensive training that would have prepared the dead divers, for Chaterton's style of Every man for himself diving.
---------- Post added February 14th, 2013 at 10:06 AM ----------
I am reminded of the words written on a slate in a deep dark hole in South Africa: Dave's not coming back.
I don't think anyone in the world criticises Don Shirley for not descending to 900 feet to attempt a rescue. After that it is just a matter of degrees.
The DIR response to attempting a 900 foot depth dive, is that this is akin to driving a motorcycle at 100 mph over a jump, and clearing 40 busses, then landing on the other side. It is NOT a technical dive, it is a STUNT. It can not be planned with intelligence, on open circuit, or with the current technology in rebreathers--not in the open ocean. Deco is too long, there are too many contingencies you can't plan for, and there is no way a team will be able to make a smart plan for this---so the team will not GO.
An individual can choose to shoot for a crazy stunt. It won't prove anything important, maybe it is a daredevil thrill, I don't know. This is the type of thing that got Sheck killed, and George blamed this on the foolish ideas of those Sheck had been diving with at the time--their putting ideas of deep records into his head--this was a dangerous peer group, out for glory, with no more common sense than an Evil Kneival.
So yeah, on a 900 foot dive, the gas share and a buddy concept could never have been planned, because a smart buddy team will not be doing this dive in the first place.