Question for y'all...

SCUBAKristey · Aug 21, 2003

So how close to your buddy should you be while diving? Allow me to present you an example...

Last year while diving the reefs in Akumal with my sister, if she was behind me, she was EXTREMELY close. Being a VERY new diver, I was trying my darndest to watch my bouyancy and not to get too close to her to end up kicking her while finning. At one point I had checked my gauges and adjusted my weight belt. I will admit it was my fault in not checking to see where she was, but I finned just a tiny bit to keep myself from floating into the reef and ended up knocking her mask a bit off kilter. (Which I heard about once we got topside.) I began to notice that when she was behind me, she was usually VERY close to my fins. Should one REALLY hang that close to their buddy????

GearHead · Aug 21, 2003

Just my opinion, but: Close? Yes. Behind? No. Ideally, I prefer for my buddy team to be next to eachother for the most part. And it's no big deal to me if my buddy is close enough to occasionally bump me, I just don't want anyone's fins in my grill if you know what I'm saying.

Zagnut · Aug 21, 2003

Tell her to come up around you to the side a little bit. I don't like having my buddy directly behind me unless we are going through a swimthru or something. If they are behind you, you have to turn to see them or look down and under your own body to see them and that plays hell with your streamlining efforts. If they want to follow you, have them do it from a "blind spot" position...you know like when a car drives beside you in the next lane in your blind spot. If your buddy is in this position, not only are they not right behind your fins, but you can see them with a mere turn of the neck.

BTW, the way I see it, if she was following that close and got kicked in the face...that's her fault, not yours.

Robert Phillips · Aug 21, 2003

Depending on who is leading. If I am leading I like my buddy on my left and slightly above or below me. Just the opposite if I am following. I think it is best to be side by side. Unless it is unavoidable, like diving in kelp. Then I switch to just behind and above, but not close enough to get kicked by an errant fin. If the vis is good you can back off even more but still stay close enough to handle an emergency.

roakey · Aug 21, 2003

A buddy that's behind is basically diving solo...

Cave and night diving with correct light procedures is an obvious exception.

Roak

James connell · Aug 21, 2003

her fault for sucking fin!
if i'm leading i kike my buddy just off ( about 5ft) and slightly behind my right shoulder - less in soup more in distiled water.

Don Burke · Aug 21, 2003

That's the price for getting her face in your fins.

I like my buddy to be to one side where I can see him without turning much, if any. If he is using a light, I can can use his light to tell what he is up to, so he can wander a bit more before I move closer.

Northeastwrecks · Aug 21, 2003

I prefer that my buddies (usually 3 of us) take up staggered positions behind the lead diver.

The second diver is behind and to the right. The third diver is behind no. 2 and to his left. You can locate each other easily and you stay out of each other's fins.

We are fairly flexible. However, the one place I don't want my buddy to be is trailing and above. You can't see them easily.

If your sister was so close that she got kicked, then its her fault.

ScottyK · Aug 21, 2003

If you always dive with the same person, it can be helpful to stick with one "formation", especially if you dive in low vis conditions. Jen is always to my right, and slightly above me. A quick glance on my part is all that's needed to know she's there. Since I do the bulk of the navigating, being slightly lower keeps me in her peripheral vision while she's looking forward and down.

It works very well, and we're not losing each other or twisting all around trying to figure out each others position all the time.

Scott

sdwho · Aug 21, 2003

I agree that the best place for your buddy -- especially if one or both of you are newbies -- is along side. My first week of diving, I was with a pretty experienced group and we ended up going through a lot of swimthroughs. I could never decide if I wanted to be in front of my (more experienced) buddy, so she could see me (even though I couldn't see her) or whether I wanted to be behind, so I could see her, even though she couldn't see me. Neither approach was very comfortable!! Even today, nearly nine years and several hundred dives later, I still find that it is easy to "lose" your buddy if they are directly above you.

sdwho

Question for y'all...

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SCUBAKristey

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GearHead

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Robert Phillips

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roakey

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