What level of situational awareness is realistic, and what this means in practice.

[kr2y5]

Reading a recent thread, a question I've been contemplating has re-surfaced in my mind: when one engages in an activity that requires so much focus, is it realistic to assume the same level of non-stop, full 100% situational awareness as one generally expects of a dive buddy, or not, and if not, should that somehow affect the way the dive is conducted? For example, one often hears that an attentive diver should glance at to confirm their buddy's position several times per minute, and be ready to instantly respond to a distress signal, deploy long hose to donate, etc. Humans are not so great at multi-tasking, and switching focus takes time.... to what extent is it realistic, even with extensive training, when one is taking a shot? And if 100% non-stop awareness is not possible, even with much training and practice, what should one do about this... ensure that there are 2 non-photographers in a group? Or even 2:1 ratio? Or that every diver is self-reliant, equipped, and trained, as if for a solo dive? Or do you think this is simply a non-issue in practice, and no adjustments to dive protocols are needed? If you think common sense suffices, what is common sense to you? Thanks!

 

[danvolker]

Reading a recent thread, a question I've been contemplating has re-surfaced in my mind: when one engages in an activity that requires so much focus, is it realistic to assume the same level of non-stop, full 100% situational awareness as one generally expects of a dive buddy, or not, and if not, should that somehow affect the way the dive is conducted? For example, one often hears that an attentive diver should glance at to confirm their buddy's position several times per minute, and be ready to instantly respond to a distress signal, deploy long hose to donate, etc. Humans are not so great at multi-tasking, and switching focus takes time.... to what extent is it realistic, even with extensive training, when one is taking a shot? And if 100% non-stop awareness is not possible, even with much training and practice, what should one do about this... ensure that there are 2 non-photographers in a group? Or even 2:1 ratio? Or that every diver is self-reliant, equipped, and trained, as if for a solo dive? Or do you think this is simply a non-issue in practice, and no adjustments to dive protocols are needed? If you think common sense suffices, what is common sense to you? Thanks!

I think anyone shooting photos or videos that has "ANY" talent for this, is going to utilize a level of "focus", that will shut down awareness of dive buddy needs for many periods during composing and shooting throughout a dive.....This is why our DIR solution for this has always been that for every shooter, there needs to be 2 buddies, and the shooter is a "dependent buddy" of a 3 man team.

 

[redacted]

Maintaining adequate SA is not a 100% effort task. People who are good at it, are able to do it without sacrificing other activities. Heck, many members of the military are able to maintain SA in the middle of active combat situations. For effective leaders, it is a must.

The key is, you can't let yourself become oblivious to important things that are happening around you. In some situation, SA may be a team effort. That may mean a special buddy working with a photographer who is trying to capture the jawfish aerating its eggs. If that is not set up as part of the dive plan, serious problems may occur.

 

[kr2y5]

Maintaining adequate SA is not a 100% effort task. People who are good at it, are able to do it without sacrificing other activities. Heck, many members of the military are able to maintain SA in the middle of active combat situations. For effective leaders, it is a must.

The key is, you can't let yourself become oblivious to important things that are happening around you. In some situation, SA may be a team effort. That may mean a special buddy working with a photographer who is trying to capture the jawfish aerating its eggs. If that is not set up as part of the dive plan, serious problems may occur.

If I understand you correctly, I think you are proposing that there are types of dives, or situations, in which a well-trained diver should be able to maintain adequate SA while, e.g., taking shots or footage, but there are also some where this would not be the case, and where special arrangements would be needed to compensate (such as more buddies). Where would you draw the line?

 

[redacted]

If I understand you correctly, I think you are proposing that there are types of dives, or situations, in which a well-trained diver should be able to maintain adequate SA while, e.g., taking shots or footage, but there are also some where this would not be the case, and where special arrangements would be needed to compensate (such as more buddies). Where would you draw the line?

Dives and divers are both variables. If the divers know the photographer may need to spend sequences of minutes focused on a subject, then the pair need to discuss how and when buddy contact/SA will be maintained. OTOH, if they are simply snapping some opportunistic pics taking a fraction of a minute, then a good diver/photographer should be able to handle this without sacrificing SA.

 

[Steve_C]

If an 8 foot shark is slowly swimming by I do not expect my buddy to look at me every 10 seconds during that time. In fact, I do not expect my buddy to check we out every 10 seconds. But then I am looking at the shark too.

 

[Steve_C]

On the other hand I remember a pair of dives a couple years ago. Instabuddied with a first ocean dive, first post certification dive adult female. First dive on the Hyde went ok. Saw some sand tigers around. Pointed out a couple things about dialing in buoyancy during the SI. Second dive was on the Markham a large boat on the side and she did much better with less swimmng. We were up on top (side) at about 60 ft with good viz. I see a large fin heading our way coming up over the side. That is not a sand tiger I think. Up pops a big sandbar. Does it's sandbar thing which is to be hyperactive. Charges up and stops a few feet away and turns sideways and does a shake. I am busy shooting photos and glancing at my buddy to make sure she stays calm. She is up behind my left shoulder and her eyes are darting back and forth between me and the shark which is larger than she is. We get back up after the dive and her only comment was ``that was not a sand tiger was it?" So I guess you can look at a big shark and check your buddy every 5 seconds.

 

[The Chairman]

For example, one often hears that an attentive diver should glance at to confirm their buddy's position several times per minute, and be ready to instantly respond

Why look when you can listen? Our silent world is anything but. Between the clicking shrimp, boat noises and your buddy constantly breathing, breathing, breathing, there's a lot of audio input down there. Why ignore it?

Key off of your buddy's breathing rhythm. Unlike your hapless spouse, that means you actually have to devote some effort to listen to them. Guess what? Breathing rates increase subconsciously before a person even knows they are being stressed. That means, you might realize that they are in trouble before even they do. If you can't hear your buddy, then you're moving too fast or they have stopped breathing. At this point, you should stop, let them catch up or at least find out why they aren't breathing!

There are other ways to keep track of your buddy without having to actually look at them. During night dives, you want to see their light playing around. If the vis is exceptionally poor, you may opt to hold hands or use a buddy line. A single tug, like an 'OK' sign deserves another tug. Rapid tugs means your buddy needs you now. Of course, being that close, you still should be able to hear them and guess their mental health by their rhythm.

 

[mick allein III]

SA is a skill that develops with practice and varies with the nature of the dive. An experienced diver in familiar waters will have the SA capacity to multi task. A newer diver in unfamiliar surroundings will not have the capacity to support another diver. Dive planning and diving within your limits goes along way in ensuring SA. I was interested in your comment regarding self reliant diving. I'm wondering why training agencies do not require self reliant diving within a buddy team. Why is it that a divers redundancy is the air on another divers back? Im curious.


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[MXGratefulDiver]

Krzys, you've probably seen this article before, but I'll post it here because I think it provides some answers to your questions ...

NWGratefulDiver.com

... Bob (Grateful Diver)