DevonDiver
N/A
Questions like this come up a lot here on Scubaboard, so I put my thoughts/strategies down into an article for easy reference:
How to Dive with Insta-Buddies
Problems diving with other dive buddies
- Thread starter WhiteSands
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Questions like this come up a lot here on Scubaboard, so I put my thoughts/strategies down into an article for easy reference:
How to Dive with Insta-Buddies
Just last week, I was diving at around 60' shallow reef. My second dive, I could hear hissing from near my first stage. I'm familiar with what this means and watched my air guage carefully. Still did the full dive but consumption appeared to be greater than usual. I made a casual remark, once back on board, about that having been the worst consumption of the week. The dm just shrugged and said it was because of the o-ring leak. I'm not saying that is what happened to Whitesands, only thst it may have been.
Being a divemaster does not make people perfect. Life is not always easy either. If one diver is thumbing a dive, and the others are out there --> then what are you going to do?
Last edited:
Kharon
Contributor
The last time I dove with a buddy (Roger's Rock, from his boat) I had the opposite happen. I was diving a LP tank and my SPG is a bit different. The red area starts a bit above 1000 psi and stops at 500 psi. I never thought to mention it to my buddy because I normally dive solo and watch my gas very closely. Anyway he got a look at my SPG, saw it was approaching the top of the red and called the dive. I went along even though I had plenty of air. He called it - time to go - end of story. Back on the boat I explained and apologized for not having tipped him to the way my gauge read. Oh well.
We had a funny experience that was somewhat similar. Peter was diving with a divemaster in training, who was supposed to be "guiding" him. Peter was using a set of LP72 doubles -- they are old, very low pressure tanks, which are full at 2200 psi. 15 minutes or so into the dive, the DMT asks Peter what his pressure is, and Peter indicates something like 1800 psi, so the DMT panics, thinking Peter has used almost half of his gas already, and moves the two of them up into very shallow water. It wasn't for a few minutes that he remembered that they were very low pressure tanks . . .
poomero
Contributor
I dive LP95's and make sure everyone I dive with knows I am starting out with less air then they are for this very reason. I don't want anyone to think I am running low and call the dive when I still have enough.
84CJ7
Contributor
Here's my uneducated rambling thoughts.
I would only fault someone for calling a dive if it was a chronic problem, or a continuous string of new problems, at which point they would be replaced as a buddy and not berated for what is ultimately a safe and necessary behavior.
Calling a dive is for the most part a preventable failure of preparation either technically, mentally or physically. I have the expectation that people have identified their weak points during training or practice dives and either corrected them, or applied duct tape such as a larger tank than everyone else to make up for consistent abnormal high air consumption.
Sometimes it can't be prevented, like a sudden change in water conditions or a fluke technical failure on an otherwise well maintained item, most times however it is something where being in better physical condition with properly inspected high quality gear and the proper training and mindset would prevent the need to thumb it.
On the topic of people misunderstanding your gauge, the pressure at which the dive is called, based mostly on what it would take to get back to the entry point, is always to be agreed on before the dive as part of even a half A'd "lets just go exploring" plan. At that point it would be impossible for it to go unnoticed since you would have to agree to a number that would be different than everyone else.
General buddy gear familiarization is also a required pre dive check. The only time an instructor or DM should have to question air remaining is during open water training when people are not certified and can't be fully trusted to remember to check it yet, and in theory everyone is diving the same rental tank size for those. It's up to you and your buddy to manage air and inform someone if there is an issue.
EDIT: On the topic of OP's issue, because he was leading the group is was probably best if all thumbed it at the same time, but in reality you dive in assigned buddy pairs for a reason and any others are not required so on a normal dive only you and your buddy would bail and the rest would carry on. The herd mentality is for people that never passed open water training properly.
I would only fault someone for calling a dive if it was a chronic problem, or a continuous string of new problems, at which point they would be replaced as a buddy and not berated for what is ultimately a safe and necessary behavior.
Calling a dive is for the most part a preventable failure of preparation either technically, mentally or physically. I have the expectation that people have identified their weak points during training or practice dives and either corrected them, or applied duct tape such as a larger tank than everyone else to make up for consistent abnormal high air consumption.
Sometimes it can't be prevented, like a sudden change in water conditions or a fluke technical failure on an otherwise well maintained item, most times however it is something where being in better physical condition with properly inspected high quality gear and the proper training and mindset would prevent the need to thumb it.
On the topic of people misunderstanding your gauge, the pressure at which the dive is called, based mostly on what it would take to get back to the entry point, is always to be agreed on before the dive as part of even a half A'd "lets just go exploring" plan. At that point it would be impossible for it to go unnoticed since you would have to agree to a number that would be different than everyone else.
General buddy gear familiarization is also a required pre dive check. The only time an instructor or DM should have to question air remaining is during open water training when people are not certified and can't be fully trusted to remember to check it yet, and in theory everyone is diving the same rental tank size for those. It's up to you and your buddy to manage air and inform someone if there is an issue.
EDIT: On the topic of OP's issue, because he was leading the group is was probably best if all thumbed it at the same time, but in reality you dive in assigned buddy pairs for a reason and any others are not required so on a normal dive only you and your buddy would bail and the rest would carry on. The herd mentality is for people that never passed open water training properly.
Or people diving in Cozumel. 
low on gas we go up -taint a point of discussion.
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