Diving with a buddy, but we are alone

[Carribeandiver]

Ever since I did my first OW dive past my OW training dives I have held the philosophy that dive buddies should swim shoulder to shoulder.
Apparently, most people do not agree with that notion as I find my buddies to be elsewhere. Maybe only 5 feet away or 10-15 feet because they are inspecting something on the other side of the wreck or reef. Or stopping to take a long look at something interesting.
The real bad position, at least in my opinion, is the single file. Seeing your buddy's fins isnt so reassuring to me. If I needed him because I had a problem, how do I signal him? How can I tap him on the shoulder and say, I am outta air or I am snagged or please check this or that? With a problem, you are not able to speed up and catch your buddy who is only 5 feet ahead of you.
My point is, we dive with a buddy but is that buddy there and able to assist us in an emergency?
Am I paranoid about this or is my shoulder to shoulder philosophy too zany?

[Bojidiver]

Don't feel like your alone here! I feel the same way, maybe because I'm still new at this and still learning.

Al
____________

[The Chad]

Agreed, shoulder to shoulder is best but dosen't always happen. If your single file and happen to be with 3 and in the middle thats a real good place. Pony bottles bring some added comfort. I make it a point to position myself in a good place and as a buddy I'm kinda like mother hen...always checking. Maybe a talk with your buddy before hand would serve well, or find a buddy thats on the same page as you are.

just my 2 cents

[Charlie99]

Shoulder to shoulder makes a lot of sense when you are swimming along at high speed, since as you noted, it can be very difficult to catch up with someone even just a few feet in front of you.

OTOH, if you are just ambling along at slow speed looking at various things on the reef or wreck it should be sufficient to always just be well within sight of each other, and close enough that you can get to them in the event of a sudden total reg failure. In this case, even 40' isn't excessive if the visibility allows it.

In any case, the correct buddy distance is the one that you and your buddy have agreed upon.

[drbill]

There are environments where side-by-side buddy positioning is either very difficult or impossible... like the kelp forests. Here it is often necessary to swim in a single file to get through a dense forest, or with some spacing due to the spacing of the plants.

Divers in clear tropical environments can more easily swim side-by-side.

Since when I dive with a buddy, it is almost always one I'm pretty familiar with, we know where to be relative to one another so when we look, we see one another. However, my buddies are often doing their own photographic work, and we may be more "same ocean." I always carry my pony bottle even on shallow buddy dives so it isn't an issue for me.

As a videographer, if I'm diving with a "new" (to me) buddy, I talk with them before the dive to make sure they understand where best to position themselves to avoid casting shadows, placing body parts or equipment in my frame, or kicking up sand or silt to ruin my shot. However, it is much easier when I'm working (99.9% of my dives) to dive solo.

Given the importance placed on buddy diving, why is it that OW classes don't place much more emphasis on the proper procedures for being a good buddy????

[spectrum]

Shoulder to shoulder is a good deal when it works out that way. We usually end up closer to flanking 1/2 a body length behind the leader so we can react. As we get into irregular spaces you need to wing it. When we dive as a 3 person team then a leader and divers flanking each side is the SOP.

How tight all of this needs to be varies with the visibility and complexity of the site.

Pete

[NWGratefulDiver]

Ever since I did my first OW dive past my OW training dives I have held the philosophy that dive buddies should swim shoulder to shoulder.
Apparently, most people do not agree with that notion as I find my buddies to be elsewhere. Maybe only 5 feet away or 10-15 feet because they are inspecting something on the other side of the wreck or reef. Or stopping to take a long look at something interesting.
The real bad position, at least in my opinion, is the single file. Seeing your buddy's fins isnt so reassuring to me. If I needed him because I had a problem, how do I signal him? How can I tap him on the shoulder and say, I am outta air or I am snagged or please check this or that? With a problem, you are not able to speed up and catch your buddy who is only 5 feet ahead of you.
My point is, we dive with a buddy but is that buddy there and able to assist us in an emergency?
Am I paranoid about this or is my shoulder to shoulder philosophy too zany?

Shoulder to shoulder is the preferred position ... but the reality is going to be dictated by the terrain and conditions. The key to being a good buddy ... and having a good buddy ... is being able to predict what each other will do. This takes communication ... before, during, and after the dive. Include buddy positioning in your dive plan ... discuss where you want to be and where you expect your buddy to be. Make sure you have agreement and understanding before hitting the water ... because it's tougher to work these things out once the dive begins. Review hand signals ... and light signals if appropriate ... as part of the dive plan. Make sure you both agree on swimming speed ... some folks like to zoom, others like to poke, and if you both have different "cruising" speeds, you're gonna be in a constant state of stress during the dive. So talk about it first. Most buddy separations boil down to these simple factors ... communicating them prior to getting in the water sets the expectations and makes staying in your comfort zone with respect to buddy placement much simpler.

Then pay attention. Be aware that humans are conditioned to having a wide peripheral vision, and putting on a dive mask removes most of it. Get in the habit of turning your head more often to see what's going on around you ... not just with your buddy but with what else might be happening around you that you'd normally just "see" if you didn't have a mask on. Diving induces tunnel vision, and a big part of buddy separation comes from not having learned how to adjust your vision to compensate for it.

A good dive light can also be a key communication tool during the dive, as you can periodically (every few seconds) put it in your buddy's peripheral view ... if he/she can see your light, they know you're there. Then you don't have to stay shoulder to shoulder.

Being a good buddy boils down to expectations, awareness, and communication. Even with a "buddy of circumstance", you can improve your chances of having a comfortable dive and more reliable buddy experience by talking about them before you begin your dive.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Jeremy Bouwman]

I'm comfortable as long as I can see my buddy. Then again, I have only dove in vis that was not so great, so the distance to my buddy is not greater than 20 or 30 feet. It just depends how comfortable you are alone, sometimes I'll be diving and taking picturesand not look up or see my buddy for 2 or 3 minutes. Then I go off and find them. It's all a matter of comfort level.

[daniel f aleman]

Bob has it right, as usual.

I would add that each diver/buddy watch over the other for moments at a time during focused activity. If you see something to photograph, let your buddy watch you do this activity and that he stay close by. Later, it's his turn to look at the pretty fishies while you watch him. The caveat is that each diver KNOWS where the other diver is AT ALL TIMES. More often than not, a buddy IS the difference between life and death when a diver has a serious problem...

"Officer, I turned away for a moment and he was gone!"

[String]

Side by side is ideal. As for distance a lot of people seem to naturally go further away when the vis is good. However, see how far you can swim with an empty lung and no reg..Then reconsider this idea

Single file is fairly poor, the guy in the front is fine..If the guy at the back has trouble however he's on his own.

...and from experience of many trips abroad and rental buddies the most irritating position i can possibly think of is straight behind and about 2m above me. Cant see them with turn of the head, cant see by twisting to put head to look between legs. It requires stopping and a full turn around. Diving equivalent of a stress position - it stresses the guy in front.