Buddy Question?

[SeaHunt]

If an odd number of divers (say, 3, 5, 7, etc) get together for a dive, is it considered that one of the divers is diving WITHOUT a buddy?

If so, why?
If not, are there protocols you follow to ensure everyone is covered?

Keep in mind that all the divers may not know each other beyond simple introductions.

Still Learning... SeaHunt

 

[Spectre]

The most a buddy group should _ever_ be is three... even if your diving in a large group, you should still be buddied up with someone, so that your responsibility is focused [That's what got a guy killed around here recently, they dove in a group but not buddied up, and they didn't know what happened to him when they surfaced and counted heads].

However yes, when your diving in a group of three, there is a little bit of risk, as one person unless they have a redundant air source, can't feed two other people. Well, there is buddy breathing as an option, but it's still a risk.

When I dive in a 3 person group, we generally aim to end with 750-1000 instead of 500, just to add that little extra bit of safety. If the worst should happen, one can get the octo while the other two buddy breathe.

 

[DiveTub]

There should be no problems with a group of three diving together, I would think the chances of two divers in a group of three having an Out Of Air situation or other type of emergency, would be very very slim, however as a precaution I would tend to carry my redundent, silent, happy Buddy the old pony along for the dive.

Cheers
Chris PADI MSDT
http://homepage.mac.com/sydney_diver

 

[art.chick]

Coming up with 500psi may be ok if the dive was about 35' deep, but I dove with a guy to 90' who swore he only needed 500psi to surface. He ran out of air on the way up. It was not enough for an ascent with 2 safety stops, but he was basing his needs on dives he had made to shallower depths.

I have dove with 3-somes many times. As long as we agree on which direction we are navigating, how much air we want to come up with, & other particulars, we rarely have trouble deciding who is the "leader." I also agree that when there is a bigger group, you can sub-divide into pairs & 3's for the purpose of keeping track of each other. No reason, under those circumstances not to dive as a group.

 

[MSilvia]

He doesn't mean a turn pressure of 500, he means having that much left in the tank when you're back on the boat or shore.

 

[devilfish]

The Only way a buddy team of three works if
I am your buddy, you are his buddy, and he is my buddy.
Otherwise in a classical buddy team of three, if I am your buddy and you are my buddy, who is his buddy? One of us. Therefore one of the divers is responsible for two divers. It get's pretty confusing that way.

 

[budgy]

I have had some separation trouble diving in 3's. If another pair of divers come near you, you could loose a diver, particularly in low viz where divers circle around a wreck feature, as a diver may accidently join the other couple.
On a training dives I have dived as a leader with a novice on each side, although there have been no accidents ( injury to person or property loss) it has not always been without incident, and when you focus your attention on one novice diver's mishap, you cannot be watching the other. As I have since known this procedure to contribute to a fatality when two novices both developed problems, I now realise how dangerous it can be.
With regard to diving in 3' s in our low viz conditions I brief; focus on the diver in the middle, dive abreast and keep about an arms length apart. Two experienced divers with a novice between them, or 3 experienced divers with the leader in the middle is best. Single file often fails without some system of awareness such as each others torch beams.
For the dive buddy trying to keep on eye on Harry the hawk who hovers 3' behind and 4' above, whilst Torpedo Tim is furiously finning obliviously for the horizion, I can only recommend the joy of solo diving.