What sets off your alarm bells?

[Frosty]

Hey folks Im just wondering what triggers you to be extra cautious with a new buddy/instabuddy?
For me its the guy with all flash and fancy new gear.hes usually busy saying to anyone who's listening just how experienced he is

 

[clownfishsydney]

Brand new gear. However, I once worried that someone might think I am a new diver when I purchased a new wetsuit, booties, fins and BCD within a few months of each other (I had over 3,000 dives at the time).

 

[koozemani]

I try to stick with known buddies.

But,

the guy whose sole dive plan is to go deep and get narced.

The guy who hasn't been diving in a few years but guarantees he knows what yes doing.

the gaggle of new ow divers on a guided dive who are having issues putting their gear together.

the same gaggle diving the Blue Hole. We sat that one out.

the stumbling drunk I met the night before who's going to be on the same boat.

 

[Diving Dubai]

Brand new gear. However, I once worried that someone might think I am a new diver when I purchased a new wetsuit, booties, fins and BCD within a few months of each other (I had over 3,000 dives at the time).

I think that would have been a great opportunity for a wind up - pretend to fumble about putting your gear together etc let yoru buddy give you a lecture thinking he/she is more experienced and then see the surprise at the end of the dive when you have more gas left and through out the dive you've been a better diver - or perhaps I'm just a bit wicked?

---------- Post added April 1st, 2014 at 01:29 PM ----------

Actually very little sets off my Alarm bells - I'm quite chilled. All though to be fair 80% of my dives are club dives with people I know and my G/F is my main buddy. Bit...

Newbie Diver - that's okay - we've all been a newbie once and we've all had someone more experienced dive with us
The deep diving buddy who wants to get narced - well we sort that out before we dive.



Everyone gets the benefit of the doubt on one dive if the less experienced person (they may have less dives or more dives but less recent experience) after a dive wants any constructive criticism or advice then I'm happy to help in a friendly way. I guess the worst thing is the diver who thinks they are the worlds greatest diver when really they're all over the place and an air hog but won't admit it and accept any advice. Then one dive only.

ll that said of course it's highly probable that (with the exception of clownfishsydney) I we can be paired with someone with far more experience and they look upon us as the less experience buddy!!!!

 

[Hickdive]

If they're on fire, that'll set off alarm bells for me. In fact if they're just smouldering that'll do it too.

 

[Diver0001]

Hey folks Im just wondering what triggers you to be extra cautious with a new buddy/instabuddy?
For me its the guy with all flash and fancy new gear.hes usually busy saying to anyone who's listening just how experienced he is

You know, I've had only one instabuddy who surprised me. He was clearly an experienced diver and we got along fine on the boat. Once under water, however, he descended all the way to the bottom (that was not the plan) and swam just inches above the bottom during the whole dive. He never once looked to see where I was. I didn't get it and the guide didn't understand what he was doing either, especially given that this guy had been diving for years and had a logbook with about 1000 dives in it.

Back on the boat I asked him about it and what it turned out to be is that he needed very strong glasses to see and the mask he was using didn't have prescription lenses in it. If he wasn't hugging the bottom he literally couldn't see anything. It didn't occur to him to tell me this before the dive and once the dive started it was too late.

Almost all of the other casual buddies I've had have been fine aside from various differences in style. I think that being an instructor helps a bit. I'm quite accustomed to diving with people having a wide range of experience levels and as a person I'm really laid back and happy to adjust my plan to suit the comfort zone of my buddy. Some of the best dives I've had were with instabuddies.

In particular a trip I made to Turkey, where I dove over a couple of days with a British guy who had a BSAC 1-star rating. He was fine in the water and we had a great time together and some really good dives. He kept apologizing for "holding me back" but I didn't see it like that at all. We were just two guys diving and having fun. It was a thoroughly positive experience.

On another occasion I had been "assigned" the "new guy" by the boat crew in Mexico. As I said, I don't mind diving with inexperienced buddies so I agreed. This guy, however, had never put his own gear together before. The instructor had done it for him during the course. This *did* give me an alarm bell because if the instructor did that, what *else* did he not teach him?

It was his first dive after OW and I helped him get ready and I do recall saying to him that if I moved my elbow "like this" (showing a jabbing motion) and I didn't touch him that he was going to have to answer for that! LOL. Poor boy was glued to me under water but we had a good dive together and he came out feeling a lot more confident than he had going in. I liked being part of that.

R..

 

[jongles]

For me its rarely one thing that puts me into full alarm but rather its a combination of little things. Of course we should all be a little bit extra cautious of a new buddy. Heres some of my cues.

new divers with muck sticks, ding. weight belt on the wrong way ding ding. Oh your weight belt should be right hand release - I'm left handed, ding ding ding ding ding. No buddy checks DING DING. A look of disapointment that we're only going to X depth, ding. Leaving your tank standing on a rocking boat,ding. allowing your alternate(potentially my alternate) dangle about, ding ding. not realising you've forgotten something till your actually in the water, ding. Tying off that pesky loose weight belt bit,DING. knife strapped to the calf, ding. Not talking to me ,ding. Big camera/video rigs ding ding*.



*usually good divers but not always good buddies.

 

[Steve_C]

The instabuddy who does not want to talk to you before the dive. Does not want to discuss a dive plan. Does not want you to lead nor wants to be lead himself. Is totally not communicative. If I am instabuddying it means it is not any type of pinnacle dive and also not a dive that is important to me beyond being a dive. So I just assume it might turn into a solo dive but try to keep an eye on them.

 

[RJP]

Hey folks Im just wondering what triggers you to be extra cautious with a new buddy/instabuddy?

Nothing. I'm extra cautious with anyone I don't know... unless/until they give me a reason to believe otherwise, I start with the assumption they have no idea what they're doing.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Hey folks Im just wondering what triggers you to be extra cautious with a new buddy/instabuddy?
For me its the guy with all flash and fancy new gear.hes usually busy saying to anyone who's listening just how experienced he is

When the Captain of the diveboat I frequently go on asks me as a favor to buddy-up with a diver who's never been on the dive site before, s/he only having a single tank AL80 and with no dive light --on the HMCS Yukon wreck in San Diego, 11deg C water temp with 6m viz at 21m. (Oh well, there went my original 40min bow-to-stern penetration traverse plan at ave 27m depth with O2 deco for 8min).