refusing an instabuddy

[diver 85]

On the final part ie "a signal for 'wont follow, your on your own'????"--------- how 'bout a slash across the throat,...........right after you've cut his/her regulator hose.........ie, if that doesn't get 'em away--------NOTHING WILL....................

 

[tursiops]

I find U/W communication using hand signals, especially with someone I do not know or do not dive with a lot, to be fraught with possibilities for miscommunication. One way to avoid this is to try and make a sentence. Instead of just saying "no" (waggle the finger, use a a head motion, whatever), maybe put a subject in it, like point to him, point to yourself, then put the fingers together in the buddy signal, then say WTF (hands up, shaking them, asking a question)? If the buddy tries to go through a swim through you do not want to do, instead of just saying "no" try pointing to the swimthrough, then wiggle your fingers in the flutterkick sign, then to yourself, then say no. The sentence gives some context, and slows things down. Make all the signals slowly!

If you need some specialized signals, try this link: Please wait.

 

[TSandM]

Just a story . . . I was on a dive boat in Southern California with two friends, and we had intended to dive as a group of three. I was sitting at a table, chatting with two other divers, when one of the boat crew came up to them with a diver who didn't have a buddy, and he asked them if they would take on a third. They looked a bit embarrassed, but it was abundantly clear that they were not comfortable accepting this person. I immediately said, "Sure, you can buddy up with me," and went to let my other friends know that I had done this.

He had a GUE T-shirt on, and was probably one of the best divers on the boat, as well as being a very nice man. My good luck, and their loss!

(What makes the story even funnier is that, on the next dive, we had another guy come up to the two of us and tell us he was practicing for his UTD Tech 1 class, and could he join us; I ended up with two instabuddies who were fantastic divers and really well trained!)

 

[MrChen]

Having only been diving just under 2 years and still learning, I've avoided being an insta buddy or taking on insta buddies like the plague. Seeing some people on boats was nightmarish enough and if I had to be their buddy, I know it would be a nightmare. As I continue to grow, so has my confidence and the redundancy of my gear has also increased. The last piece of the puzzle was my pony bottle. I don't have to rely on someone for emergency air. So now I'm not afraid to book a charter by myself. Before, I'd not dive if I couldn't get a dive buddy to go with me. So now I'm the insta buddy joining groups. People seem to be tentative on the first dive. I try to have good dive briefs each time, most of which get dismissed (which worries me some), but I must say that each situation has introduced me to new dive friends. Each person or group has enjoyed diving with me and I have enjoyed diving with them. I did have ONE dive where a pair of divers came up with excuses, their over filled 130's meant they'd be down longer, blah blah blah, and there's always the solo divers which just plain don't want a buddy, but it easily solved with a good conversation with the DM. I've also seen divers where a bunch of people jump in solo and end up congregating around similarly styled divers and loosely dive together.

This Friday, the 4th, I'm going alone again on a boat which doesn't have a DM. I'm sure I'll find someone.

WOuld I take on an insta buddy now? Sure, lets rock it. When I'm solo and pair up with another solo, I'm taking on the insta buddy just like they are. Besides, I can dive more now

 

[cainslie]

By far the biggest problem you will have with an instabuddy will be their air consumption versus your air consumption.

This is specifically my problem right now and any advice on how to handle it will be well appreciated!

I'm newly qualified (4 OW dives)! I'm going to be in Oman on business later this month and am planning a 2 dive day trip over the weekend that I'm there. Last time I was there, I went on one of these trips (to snorkel) and one of my colleagues dived his 2 dives. I know what to expect and I've seen how they pair up or sometimes trio up a few divers and away they go. In this case, pretty shallow down to about 16m, dead calm water with almost no current and 10m+ vis. Really lovely diving.

Anyway, I've got work do do on my bouyency, I realise that, and as a result I chew through air. These places usually work on 50minutes or 50bar, whichever comes first. With my very limited experience (in a pretty strong surge), I'm down to 50bar in about 35 minutes. Realistically in this water, I'm counting on 40 minutes.

The point being, I don't want to cut somebody else's dive short because I plow through air so fast - what is the etiquette in this situation?

My plan is to try get into a trio instead of a pair and then agree beforehand that when I'm getting low on air, let them know that I'm going to surface and then just wait for them on the top. This does mean that I ascend on my own (what's the etiquette on that?), but at least I'm not splitting up the pair and they can carry on with their dive.

Any advice would be really appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[MrChen]

You could agree to surface separately. As long as everyone knows that's plan and they are ok with it, you won't cut their dive short. Of course you need to be comfortable with it as well.

 

[Wookie]

^What he said.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Yep. The issue of splitting up a buddy team so that one who is low on air can ascend while the other(s) continue their dive has been discussed before. Low-on-air is already a potentially stressful condition. Some might say that's exactly the wrong time for divers to be separating.

When asked to give their account of the fate of the third diver of their trio, the two replied, "He seemed perfectly fine as he waved goodbye to ascend without us."

 

[cainslie]

Cool - that's pretty much my plan. Having snorkeled in exactly the same place for over 2 hours whilst everybody else dived last time I was there, I'm more than happy to hang around on the surface and wait for the rest of the guys to ascend.

In the same way, I have zero issue with ascending alone - 16ft, calm water and last time when I was snorkelling I could identify individual divers by the colour of their gear on the bottom from above them - that's how clear the water was.

Thanks guys!

 

[Searcaigh]

Make sure you carry an SMB so that the boat crew can spot you, and let them know your plan also.