Responsibility to insta-buddy

[Eric Sedletzky]

I am leaning more to this one: My safety comes first. Which means - stay close to my source of air. Which is not a photographer. As he will not be paying attention when I am out of air.

Staying close to "your" source of air??? How does the air on his back become "your" air supply?? You have your air, and he has his.
Yes, your safety comes first. That is why you should be monitoring "your" air supply (on your back) and make sure you don't run out. Nobody is responsible for you not paying attention and running out of air but yourself. What if both of you have the same attitude and run out of air at the same time by not paying attention to your supply, then what? Who do both of you turn to?

Sharing air should be a last resort alternative in case of a catastrophic failure, not for someone that forgets to keep track of time, depth, and air supply.

 

[Mopar]

It was in the boat

All right. You are all correct. If I had my d**m SMB, I would have been more likely to be a better buddy. Crazy DM zig zag from one clump to another, so drifting was not really drifting. It was kicking cross current. That is where the guy burned air.

There was no excuse on punishing the photographer and held him to our agreement.

I would be terribly saddened and guilt ridden if he had died or become injured from the OOA situation.

How many people are trained in deploying an SMB at depth? I would dare say none, even after achieving DM or instructor status. I do not think it is an agency requirement at OW, AOW, DM or even higher levels.

You would be suprised how many people practice deploying a SMB. I just bought a finger spool and will start practcing soon.

 

[Scotttyd]

Not sure why all the photog bashing, some of my best dive buddies are avid photographers - it is not hard to keep track of each other, even when taking pics - provided you have adequate dive skills and situational awareness. I agree it you are not paying attention, you can get yourself into trouble, but this can happen with or without a camera. I have probably carried a camera for 50 or so of my 150 dives, and have never felt it made me less than adequate buddy, sometimes with instabuddies, but usually with someone I know.

Also, SMB use - everyone I dive with has practiced this many times. The statement "How many people are trained in deploying an SMB at depth? I would dare say none, even after achieving DM or instructor status. I do not think it is an agency requirement at OW, AOW, DM or even higher levels" is completely false. none? again, even if it is not part of the written curriculum you owe it to yourself to make sure you have the skills needed. If you are going on a drift dive - I would think the captain would make it mandatory, here in NC if you do not have a SMB of 6 feet or so, you are asking for problems.

 

[Acanthurus]

I am usually a fairly good buddy for my instant buddies. However, I was matched with an older overweight man, with a camera.

Not to hijack the thread but what does his age or weight have anything to do with his ability to be an adequate buddy? On a liveaboard last year was a very overweight man who was the most skilled diver on the boat. He dove effortlessly and had superb buoyancy skills!

 

[farsidefan1]

I'm puzzled by your being trapped into being his "buddy (I use the word loosley). When I began diving I was single and my first several trips were with loose groups I knew only from internet connections (zen divers). I was always able to make the buddy deal with the divemaster. Now I would be the first to admit that I could never catch up to some of them as they seemed to have a goal to stay well ahead of the group but I was never stuck with an "insta buddy". Since those days I married my dive buddy and we work extremely well to gether. Drift dives are not a big dangerous deal. I think your problems are more related to the fat American photographer attitude. And not daring to ask for his air pressure??? Good grief, buddy buddy buddy. Tell the divemaster that you are not going to be his buddy so other arrangements can be made. Oh, and deploying your smb from depth. Why is that necessary? Were there dozens of boats on the surface racing around? It is pretty easy to avoid boats, surface and then deploy (yes I have been diving in Coz with the currents and the boats above, no biggie, red sea is much more current driven as was Fiji). I guess my point is that you should have made your arrangements clear from the outset. Not having done so you should have accepted a "bad buddy" for one dive then abdicated so the divemaster could plan on your dive plan. You could easily have surfaced, deployed your smb on the surface and had no problem whatsoever and then bailed on the guy. Maybe get a nice skinny non photograper Scandanavian or Brit for your buddy next time around. I mean you are clearly easy to please and I'm sure they would be lining up to be your buddy.

 

[ameneon]

I've been told one of the benefits of getting your DM cert is no more insta buddies. You're a professional and you ought to know how to dive.

Why would there be no more insta buddies? If the guides do a proper job they will make sure everyone get buddies instead of everyone playing "follow the leader". They wont let you dive solo just because you are a DM.

I've heard the opposite is more likely. If you do a search you will find a thread with a poll about what cert. card people show when on dive trips. Apparently alot of people feel that when they show rescue or higher the guides will more likely try to buddy you up with the less experienced divers to keep those safe.

 

[Diver Deuce]

When I dive with my cam I try to stay ahead of the pack. However, as a photog I prefer to go solo. I know that in the dive community that subject is a grey area.

 

[rcs9250]

The high majority of divers really do suck. Any dive operation can tell you a C card doesn't mean a damn thing. How many times have you seen a buddy team in single file rather than shoulder to shoulder. Watch how many times they look back to see if their buddy is OK. Even if they look back every 5 minutes that is completely unacceptable. When my wife and I dive it's side by side period no other option. Being she is less experienced I stay on her left so that I can see her SPG with out her knowing it. If she isn't paying attention to it I get her to look at it.
I dislike being buddied with a pinhead that's got an unearned C card. That goes for DM's too. Way way to much in the scuba industry is payment based. On a Black Beard trip once the DM told me they don't consider a diver advanced unless the have 500 dives. They've seen it all, and if you've been diving very long and are half way observant you have seen your share of slob divers.
Plenty of divers expect others to everything for them. I was at a resort once that set up your gear for you on the boat . All you had to do was hang a tag by your gear and they would have it on the boat for you all set up. I get on the boat , we head out and I check the SPG and the tank has 500 psi. Stellar just stinking stellar. Do you think the divemaster said here use mine ? Hell no he had his job to babysit the divers.
Then there is buoyancy control. Don't even get me started.
Trim and proper weighting. Most divers haven't even a clue what trim is referring to. How many times on a dive boat have you heard, as a diver is gearing up "how much weight do you think I need ?" Then the DM gives them 15# more than they need just to get them out of there hair. The diver then doesn't do any kind of buoyancy check. No big deal that's what a BCD is for is the typical mindset. I always tell a person that isn't quite sure if they have enough weight to put a 2 pounder in there side pockets so that during the safety stop they can pull it out and hand it to there buddy to see if the weight is not needed. Does anybuddy do it ? No, the mindset is " it kept me down for the whole dive it must have been right". I crewed on a dive boat that required you to bring everything, weights tank, everything. Most divers are so overweighted it's not funny.
Unfortunately Pine Nut you got hooked up with a slob. There everwhere.
In the U.S. buddying up with someone , friend or stranger , leaves you wide open to legal ramifications. Maybe there should be a contract that a buddy signs to agree to certain conditions that will be followed. If during the dive the buddy violates it you are able to tell him to get lost. If you put your hard earned dollars into cost per dive on your vacation it's pretty high. I sure don't want to be hooked up with some lying sub-skilled diver just because I have gone to the trouble and expense to learn scuba and diving skills. Will the charter guy reimburse you for watching over that slob ? No.
Just like there are crappy divers there are crappy drivers. We see them all the time on the road.
A lot of divers that are DM's or instructors or whatever rating often claim open water or maybe advanced when they sign up for a charter. They try to avoid being assigned a slob. It's like musical chairs though you might be the one to get the slob.
And just because you claimed open water or advanced doesn't free you of implied legal obligation, in the United States anyway. If anyone on the trip gets hurt they will go through the list to see the qualifications of everyone to see if someone should have rendered assistance and didn't . They look to sue anyone ,anything because the victim was a complete idiot. When I was skydiving there used to be a document the customer had to sign when doing a tandem jump with a certain manufacturers equipment that said that by signing you agree not to sue. If you did decide to sue you agree to reimburse the defendant for all legal costs. All legal costs. So even if you win you loose.
Just try your best to avoid being buddied and then be responsible to the safety of all and be observant for the idiot, he/she's out there. You never know though the person you may get buddied with may be the best buddy in the world and can form a life long relationship. You can only hope.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I dive solo when possible, when not possible, I still dive with the same self reliant mentality including a pony if needed. So the only downside to an instant buddy is the need to call the dive early if he is a hoover. It is not really an option to bail on your buddy, instant or not. I have been paired with some real Darwin contenders and also some really wonderful, skilled divers. It is all part of the fun, you are along for the ride, you might as well enjoy it.

Regarding buddy air monitoring, as part of the dive plan I am pretty insistent on both of us informing the other when we hit 2000 and 1000PSI. If they do so, I assume they are monitoring their gas. It is enough information to guesstimate the turnaround and ascent times. If they blow past the 2000 mark, it is pretty clear early enough in the dive they are novices and to become more proactive and resort to see me gauge, show me your technique.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I guess my point is, most buddy pairs seems to work out well, except those with photographers. These folks are very self centered, and do not make good buddies. But why should a non-photographer be a dedicated baby sitter for them?

If I had my options, I would prefer to be a solo diver in these "groups".

Interesting comment ... and a bit broad. I did an 87 minute dive last night with four other divers. Four of the five of us had cameras. And yet we all stayed together and stuck to our dive plan. Why? ... because we decided to. How? ... by discussing the dive plan in advance of the dive and deciding to stick to it.

There are good buddies and bad buddies ... and which you will be is pretty much determined by your attitude. Nobody can be a decent dive buddy if all they care about is their own dive.

In order for ANY buddy pair to work, BOTH divers have to decide they want it to. Sounds to me like you decided before the dive even began that you didn't want to be this person's dive buddy ... in which case you should have said so. There are always other options. The worst option of all is to agree to do something you've already decided you don't want to do ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)