Collapse of the "Buddy System"

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CAPTAIN SINBAD

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Location
Woodbridge VA
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After my last dive I am convinced that the buddy system exists only on paper and in reality everyone just "solo-dives" without realizing it. I did a few experiments with an insta-buddy and they did not go too well.

In order for buddy system to save lives in an emergency, buddies have to be virtually glued to each other at all times. In my observation this rarely happens and the normal distance that divers keep is dangerous in case of a regulator malfunction. If buddies are not moving in water (staying static) and one experiences a malfunction then it may not be as risky but in the scenario where two buddies are swimming in any given direction and one experiences a malfunction, he/she will have to chase a buddy who is swimming away from them. In that case a distance of 5 feet between buddies becomes a 10 feet swim and a distance of 10 feet becomes a distance of 20 feet swim until you finally catch up to the buddy who has no idea you are out of air and chasing him.

During my last dive I did this experiment of holding my breath and chasing my buddy to simulate out of air emergency without informing my insta-buddy. Firstly this guy was a bad buddy to begin with. He always wanted to be a good 20 feet away at all times. This is not uncommon with insta-buddies. The moment you jump in, a buddy means "someone somewhere in the water." While he was swimming in all directions, I would hold my breath and try to catch up to him. It was an eye opening experience how unreliable this buddy system is when you throw in real emergencies and real human beings.

Why dont buddies stay together? Is it because diver training is no longer stressing staying together as much as it did when I did my OW? Or is it because after logging a hundred dives people feel confident to violate one of the most fundamental rules of the buddy system? While we can debate what causes divers to become "solo-divers" after a splash, one thing that has proven to be certain in my case is that I have been diving solo most of the time without realizing it. My experience may be different than most since I dive with a DSLR camera and my buddies may not have the patience to stick with me while I take my shots. Yet even without my DSLR camera, my experience is that there rarely is any such thing as a buddy the way PADI manual defines it.

Given this reality, I am thinking why not train divers specially at AOW to dive with an alternative air source? It could be doubles or a slung pony bottle. After that you can buddy up with the insta-buddy so that in case you experience a malfunction in those fleeting moments when the buddy is within reach you can go for his octo but for 95% of the dive when you buddy is out of reach, you have something to breath from.

Is this a realistic concern or should we all just shut up and dive?
 
I think you're just not really implementing the 'buddy system' well. If you don't have an agreement on what you expect, do you really think the person is going to read your mind?

You're also only considering 'out of air' at the only thing a buddy is there for. Not the case. A pony bottle won't help you get fishing line off your tank or hand you your mask if it gets kicked off your face.
 
I observed this phenomenon early in my diving years. Poor visibility and non-sightseeing dives significantly accelerate it. Anyone diving with someone performing a task such as photographers, spear fisherman, scientists, and commercial divers quickly realizes they are on their own and not especially welcome.

Reluctance to teach the skills and mindset of self-rescue is IMHO the biggest factor that has degraded diver training.
 
Last year I was diving the Keys with my dive group and was assigned a new diver that was just hell on wheels. I tried to keep up with him but could not. I tried the concept of being the wingman and staying above and to the left or right of him. But he just didn't get it.

So my question on this subject is..... On a two tank dive would a person be the lead on the first dive and the wingman on the second? As the wingman what should be your position in the water? You are correct this really is not taught or spoken about except to complain about it. Maybe someone with experience should define the roles of buddy system. I for one would love to see this to build a foundation off of.
 
As my mother told me many times, "It takes 2 to tango." When diver A has lets himself get too far from diver B then diver B has also let himself get too far from diver A. Maybe an independent redundant air source should be required in the same way that most perceive a BCD and an alternate as required gear.

You're also only considering 'out of air' at the only thing a buddy is there for. Not the case. A pony bottle won't help you get fishing line off your tank or hand you your mask if it gets kicked off your face.

But that pony ALWAYS follows me very closely (when I include it). And, it will not kick my mask off my face.
 
Almost every diver I know of is a bad buddy. Any friends who dive, the stories they tell about their diving paints them as bad buddies. I see bad buddies on every dive.

Ironically I never knew I was a bad buddy until I figured it out reading scubaboard, but even though I got educated on scubaboard to how the buddy system works, I say that at least 60-70% of scubaboard members are bad buddies after reading year after year, post after post of rationalizations and excuses and down right chest beating on how some people dive as bad buddies.

I just don't recall it being emphasized much if at all during OW, certainly was never mentioned in AOW.
 
A lot of divers do the "same ocean, same day" buddy system, it's pretty common when people are spearfishing and lobstering.

If you are diving with a new buddy you need to let them know, just because you see me doesn't mean I can see you. Three foot above and three foot back and you are wondering why your buddy is swimming in circles and spinning around underneath you.
 
You just didn't have good buddies. Being good buddies requires some practicing. Develop some communication methods: dive with lights and noise makers. Follow strict rules: who is leading, who is following. The leader needs to be predictable, show where he intends to go. The leader shouldn't just take off if he saw something interesting. The follower should always stay next to the leader and a little behind, so the leader could always see him. If the follower saw something interesting he shouldn't just swim there, he should signal the leader first. And so on, and so on. Develop these protocols with the buddies you dive with all the time. With instabuddies I consider myself always solo until we dove several times together and already know each other.
 
The buddy system ain't dead, but you have to dive with buddies who are aware of the problems with distance. If all your buddies prefer to stay on the edge of visibility, you don't have a buddy. You have a same day, same ocean 'buddy'. That doesn't mean that the buddy system is dead, it just means that you have poor buddies.

These days, when diving with my regular buddy I have to take more care to keep enough distance to avoid kicking his reg out of his mouth than to stay close enough. Of course, viz between 2m and 8m is a pretty good motivator for close buddy contact...
 
I have had a few bad buddies. I have had a lot of good buddies. Last dive the viz was ok but not great and we were diving a broken up part of the Gill in 90 f 23 miles offshore. I had a camera. Playing with camera but not serious. Insta-Buddy voluntarily took my reel and ran it so that I could focus on taking some pictures and not have to worry so much about navigation. He did request a photo or two of him diving which was fine.

Off the NC coast I usually am in a solo configuration and often instabuddy except on the deeper dives. I also have a number of regular buddies.

In the keys it is almost always an instabuddy.

For the shallower stuff I find the best buddies are usually females fairly new to diving. I find that they are usually pretty good on air and they usually hang real close. So I do the navigation, take a few photos, point out some critters, and check on them frequently. They often help find stuff. Only air share I have done for real was on one of those dives (reg malfunction). We shared air, sorted things out, and finished the dive.

If the buddy goes shooting off, I wave goodby and do my own dive and request a different buddy on dive two.
 

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