No Buddy for Dive Master ?

Going on vacation soon and was dreaming of the diving I will be doing. I will be needing an Instabuddy but it's been my experience if one isn't available they just have you follow the leader(Mexican Dive Master) in Mexico. I have no problem with that and usually tell him I will consider him my biddy and I stick close to them in case something goes wrong. I know that's not the proper way to buddy dive but I did say its in Mexico. For me it actually works better than trying to deal with an Instabuddy that is either so experienced they don't want to plan the dive and do buddy checks like you should ,or so inexperienced they don't know how ,have never learned to,ect.
These that are inexperienced maybe have only dove as I have in Mexico where they were shallow reef dives and everybody jumps in and follows the leader, seems to be the way it's done down there. And come to think of it out of the 25 dives I've done down there I've never seen ANYBODY do a buddy check.
But what about the Dive Master if everyone has a buddy but him? I've never seen one that went out with a buddy,and he can't claim he is a Solo Diver without the redundant gear,right? All of these have been Padi Dive Masters(I assume,I've never checked THIER card come to think of it) so does that give them the card of some sort to lead the dive Solo without Redundant gear.? Or is this Mexican Padi Dive Master, only in Mexico?

ccx2:

But what about the Dive Master if everyone has a buddy but him? I've never seen one that went out with a buddy,and he can't claim he is a Solo Diver without the redundant gear,right? All of these have been Padi Dive Masters(I assume,I've never checked THIER card come to think of it) so does that give them the card of some sort to lead the dive Solo without Redundant gear.? Or is this Mexican Padi Dive Master, only in Mexico?

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It is not a Mexico thing. It happens everywhere in the world where a DM goes in the water with a group of divers.

An important part of a DM's job is to stay with and be available for the people in the group.That means the DM will always be near someone in the case of an emergency.

I saw a DM need one exactly once. It was in Cozumel. The O-ring in his first stage extruded, and there was a sudden explosion of bubbles. He took the BCD off immediately, and I reached him as he was doing it and helped hold the rig while he worked. He shut the air off, took the regulator off, fixed the O-ring, and turned the air back on. When I saw him turn the air off, I held my alternate by his mouth. He eventually took one breath off of it before he was done.

boulderjohn:

It is not a Mexico thing. It happens everywhere in the world where a DM goes in the water with a group of divers.

An important part of a DM's job is to stay with and be available for the people in the group.That means the DM will always be near someone in the case of an emergency.

I saw a DM need one exactly once. It was in Cozumel. The O-ring in his first stage extruded, and there was a sudden explosion of bubbles. He took the BCD off immediately, and I reached him as he was doing it and helped hold the rig while he worked. He shut the air off, took the regulator off, fixed the O-ring, and turned the air back on. When I saw him turn the air off, I held my alternate by his mouth. He eventually took one breath off of it before he was done.

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Wow, is that the O-Ring in the Cylinder valve that the ist stage yoke attaches to or one inside the first stage?That's quite a story.

---------- Post added April 2nd, 2014 at 02:58 PM ----------

boulderjohn:

It is not a Mexico thing. It happens everywhere in the world where a DM goes in the water with a group of divers.

An important part of a DM's job is to stay with and be available for the people in the group.That means the DM will always be near someone in the case of an emergency.

Ok, but isn't that contrary to what we are taught about always having a buddy or Solo training with redundant gear?
ANd you helping the Dive Master that needed help took your help away from your assigned Buddy if needed. So shouldn't the DM have a Buddy or Solo gear configuration.?

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I don't see a problem with sticking with the DM. I like doing that when I'm diving a site I'm not familiar with because the DM will usually point out way more cool stuff (especially the small stuff) than I would spot on my own.

ccx2:

Ok, but isn't that contrary to what we are taught about always having a buddy or Solo training with redundant gear?
ANd you helping the Dive Master that needed help took your help away from your assigned Buddy if needed. So shouldn't the DM have a Buddy or Solo gear configuration.?

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I would say it is a gray area. Because the divemaster is always close to a group of divers, it could easily be argued that he or she actually has several buddies. How much difference is there really?

One on one buddy teams are not the only way to dive. I have frequently dived in 3 person teams. Helping one buddy while the other hovers nearby is by no means unprecedented in such a situation. When a DM is in such a rare fix, it is not like everyone just goes on their way.

The same thing is true, BTW, with an instructor teaching a class.

boulderjohn:

The same thing is true, BTW, with an instructor teaching a class.

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^ +1 (what is he to do?)

Not doing buddy checks for the divemaster seem to be the norm. Dive buddies not doing proper buddy checks on a dive boat is also quite normal.
I wouldn't recommend to anyone not doing buddy checks, however you SHOULD be anal enough about your own pre-dive check not to need a buddy check for anything but confirmation and your buddy to confirm for him/her self what your gear layout and gas situation is...

DMs who guide are not role models of ideal diving behavior, by the nature of their job. They dive solo, usually without any redundancy. Yes, they are in a group of people, so if they have a catastrophic gas failure, they have options -- but then they are dependent on people they don't know well and with whom they haven't even had any conversation before the dive. I guess it speaks to the rarity of catastrophic failures that they are able to do this, day after day, without mishap.

As already pointed out, instructors and DMs who work with classes are also pretty much diving solo, because in those cases, the students cannot even be considered full-fledged divers, capable of assisting in a rescue. Of course, I don't take my students to 130 feet or into overhead environments, either

A divemaster is not your buddy ... even if you think they are. They can't be ... by definition they're leading the whole group, and are dividing their attention between watching the group for potential problems and watching the terrain to find you interesting things to look at. That doesn't leave much bandwidth for them to pay attention to you, specifically. If you're thinking that the DM is your buddy, you're basically diving solo, even though you're in a group and the chances are pretty good that if you get into trouble either the DM or another diver will be able to help you.

In my experience, a lot of people who dive in group don't really pay much attention to their buddy anyway ... they pretty much focus solely on the DM ... in which case, they're acting like he's their buddy too ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

On the topic of not seeing buddy checks, if I'm on a dive boat with an instabuddy, I will always strike up a conversation and figure out their experience level. I will inevitably show them where I keep my second regulator, and if I have my long hose (I try to avoid having it but sometimes when I travel airline weight regulations limit what I can bring) make sure they understand what I'll do in an emergency. I'll also ask them to show me where their stuff is. I've never had anyone get offended and often times they seem excited to show me their equipment. Every once in a while others will see us doing the buddy check and do it as well. Just because it isn't common doesn't mean you can't do it and lead by example!