Buddy separation at depth
- Thread starter Bedros A
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Hey Joek 
There are a few topics in your question that I think needs to be addressed.
The first is "Planning":
- As part of our open water training we are taught to always discuss buddy procedures with our buddy before the dive, including where you will be diving in relation to your buddy. I find it a good practice to always ask my buddy to tell me when they are going to inspect something, as I do when I take a picture of something. In this situation you are always more likely to know where your buddy or where to go and look for him.
The Second is "What to do when separated":
- Again we are taught in our open water course, ascend 1 or 2 meters\6 to 9 feet, Make a 360 turn looking for familiar colours (for no more than 1 minute), bubbles or something that resembles the group you are diving with. If you do not see anything, make a safe slow ascent to the surface and exit the water, without making a safety stop.
This is very clear... Yet the conditions in which you are diving could often impose other options into how you react to this.
The golden rule in diving (other than looking good, and never holding your breath) is that your safety comes first. There is no use in putting yourself at risk when the chances are that by getting help the rescue will be more efficient.
So if you do find your buddy - Great
If you don't and it is not a deep dive, find out from the Dive leader\master what to conditions are like in the general area where you are diving. If surface current are present, a safety stop could push you further away from the anchor line or boat. This puts you in greater danger. Always be informed!! No current - not as big a problem.
If it is a deep dive you will have to make the precautions necessary to make a safe ascent in such a situation.
When you do the deep dive speciality, you are taught to ensure that there is a extra cylinder, if you run out of air, as well as the fact that you have to start your ascent earlier (70 bar instead of 50 bar). You are also taught that surface markers are a good tool to help the surface support team to locate you, should you be caught in a current of sorts. I trust in my training and my computer to ensure that I am qualified to make decisions in situations like this, whether or not to make the safety stop, and if I do - how do I get the attention of the crew at the surface.
There are many other equipment options and training considerations that can assist you in preparing for anything that could happen on your dive, and this where planning your dive before you dive comes as a vital part of any dive you do, it should never be under estimated. Precaution is better than cure.
There are a few topics in your question that I think needs to be addressed.
The first is "Planning":
- As part of our open water training we are taught to always discuss buddy procedures with our buddy before the dive, including where you will be diving in relation to your buddy. I find it a good practice to always ask my buddy to tell me when they are going to inspect something, as I do when I take a picture of something. In this situation you are always more likely to know where your buddy or where to go and look for him.
The Second is "What to do when separated":
- Again we are taught in our open water course, ascend 1 or 2 meters\6 to 9 feet, Make a 360 turn looking for familiar colours (for no more than 1 minute), bubbles or something that resembles the group you are diving with. If you do not see anything, make a safe slow ascent to the surface and exit the water, without making a safety stop.
This is very clear... Yet the conditions in which you are diving could often impose other options into how you react to this.
The golden rule in diving (other than looking good, and never holding your breath) is that your safety comes first. There is no use in putting yourself at risk when the chances are that by getting help the rescue will be more efficient.
So if you do find your buddy - Great
If you don't and it is not a deep dive, find out from the Dive leader\master what to conditions are like in the general area where you are diving. If surface current are present, a safety stop could push you further away from the anchor line or boat. This puts you in greater danger. Always be informed!! No current - not as big a problem.
If it is a deep dive you will have to make the precautions necessary to make a safe ascent in such a situation.
When you do the deep dive speciality, you are taught to ensure that there is a extra cylinder, if you run out of air, as well as the fact that you have to start your ascent earlier (70 bar instead of 50 bar). You are also taught that surface markers are a good tool to help the surface support team to locate you, should you be caught in a current of sorts. I trust in my training and my computer to ensure that I am qualified to make decisions in situations like this, whether or not to make the safety stop, and if I do - how do I get the attention of the crew at the surface.
There are many other equipment options and training considerations that can assist you in preparing for anything that could happen on your dive, and this where planning your dive before you dive comes as a vital part of any dive you do, it should never be under estimated. Precaution is better than cure.
Okay, joeyk, you asked about "what if" procedures so you can think through your options before you find yourself in the same situation again. So here are procedures you may want to consider. Whatever procedures you decide to adopt, it's important that you and your buddy agree on separation procedures before beginning the dive.
Assuming you have good situational awareness, there should be very, very little time between when you were last in contact with your buddy and you realize you are no longer in contact. This means, in practical terms, that your buddy shouldn't be very far away but is most likely just behind a rock or above and behind you in your blind spot.
When I teach the standard procedure of look around for one minute and then ascend, I also suggest rising a little in the water column and searching for a bubble stream of exhaled breath, which you might miss if there's a rock or some other thing obstructing your view. Make sure you look both up and down, as well as ahead, behind and to the sides. Be methodical about looking around. Separated buddies can see one another's lights if they are looking for them, so especially in low viz conditions, having a light is a big benefit. Unless there are lots of other divers in the water nearby, when you find the bubble stream or see the light shining, you have likely found your buddy.
If you don't find your buddy after one minute, go to the surface. Recreational diving is no-decompression diving, so you should go straight to the surface at a safe ascent rate without doing a safety stop. If your buddy does not surface, call for help and begin a search. Do not descend again to search on your own.
In situations in which you will be at some increased risk by ascending where you lost your buddy, such as in areas of high current or where there is boat traffic above your head, you might be able to ascend at an angle towards a safe place to surface. If you need to get back to an ascent line in order to safely ascend, you should do that so as not to create a situation in which there are potentially two divers in trouble.
I'm going to add here that you should not worry about inconveniencing anyone by initiating a search if you cannot find your buddy and you don't meet up with him on the surface. If it's a real emergency, time is critical. If it isn't an emergency, and your buddy is just a bad buddy who couldn't be bothered to surface to meet up with you, he will certainly get an earful from the people whom he has caused to initiate an emergency search. You will only have done what is ethically correct in the situation.
Assuming you have good situational awareness, there should be very, very little time between when you were last in contact with your buddy and you realize you are no longer in contact. This means, in practical terms, that your buddy shouldn't be very far away but is most likely just behind a rock or above and behind you in your blind spot.
When I teach the standard procedure of look around for one minute and then ascend, I also suggest rising a little in the water column and searching for a bubble stream of exhaled breath, which you might miss if there's a rock or some other thing obstructing your view. Make sure you look both up and down, as well as ahead, behind and to the sides. Be methodical about looking around. Separated buddies can see one another's lights if they are looking for them, so especially in low viz conditions, having a light is a big benefit. Unless there are lots of other divers in the water nearby, when you find the bubble stream or see the light shining, you have likely found your buddy.
If you don't find your buddy after one minute, go to the surface. Recreational diving is no-decompression diving, so you should go straight to the surface at a safe ascent rate without doing a safety stop. If your buddy does not surface, call for help and begin a search. Do not descend again to search on your own.
In situations in which you will be at some increased risk by ascending where you lost your buddy, such as in areas of high current or where there is boat traffic above your head, you might be able to ascend at an angle towards a safe place to surface. If you need to get back to an ascent line in order to safely ascend, you should do that so as not to create a situation in which there are potentially two divers in trouble.
I'm going to add here that you should not worry about inconveniencing anyone by initiating a search if you cannot find your buddy and you don't meet up with him on the surface. If it's a real emergency, time is critical. If it isn't an emergency, and your buddy is just a bad buddy who couldn't be bothered to surface to meet up with you, he will certainly get an earful from the people whom he has caused to initiate an emergency search. You will only have done what is ethically correct in the situation.
soltari675
Contributor
I had a situation in Florida where I was paired with the DM on the boat and he would point at something neat, I would take a picture, and look up and he was gone. I spent most of the dive looking for him and having other diver groups probably look at me like I was crazy because I was alone most of the time looking for him. Very annoying and stressful. But what I was taught, and did, was to look around, particularly on the other side of rocks or reefs, for about a minute, and then surface. In your case, I would go back to the anchor line and then ascend, because your buddy may be doing the same thing. If he's not, then after a few minutes on the surface, initiate emergency procedures. That would be me.
The geral rule is search for no more than 2 minutes and then ascend. If both buddies follow this rule, you will be in sight of each other when you surface, even in current. Be sure you have a susage to inflate to be sure of being seen. No there are variables, including the skill and experience level of your buddy, conditions ( where as here a search seem unlikely to succeed I would cut the search time in half, but in clear and calm conditions I might look a little longer).
Some search tips to keep in mind- 1)look 360 degrees, 2) look up toward the surface a awell as at the horizon level,
3) look more and swim less, 4) think as you search- when did I last see my buddy, where was he in pisition with respect to me, and what was his action or direction of travel. I have nover lost a buddy, even in 10' visibility, but it can happen.
DivemasterDennis
Some search tips to keep in mind- 1)look 360 degrees, 2) look up toward the surface a awell as at the horizon level,
3) look more and swim less, 4) think as you search- when did I last see my buddy, where was he in pisition with respect to me, and what was his action or direction of travel. I have nover lost a buddy, even in 10' visibility, but it can happen.
DivemasterDennis
decidedlyodd
Contributor
This actually happened to me during one of my AOW dives. We were heading up to do a mid-water safety stop with no visual reference in relatively low visibility and moderate current. Both my buddy and I were having trouble staying in place, having never actually done a mid-water safety stop before.
I drifted up, she drifted down. Then we couldn't find each other. We followed proper procedures of looking around for a minute then ascended. I ended up with the instructor, but he couldn't see her either. Once we reached the surface, we'd drifted a bit away from each other but were able to make visual contact again.
It was a terrible feeling to lose my buddy for sure! But everything worked out ok because we all remained calm and did what we were supposed to.
I drifted up, she drifted down. Then we couldn't find each other. We followed proper procedures of looking around for a minute then ascended. I ended up with the instructor, but he couldn't see her either. Once we reached the surface, we'd drifted a bit away from each other but were able to make visual contact again.
It was a terrible feeling to lose my buddy for sure! But everything worked out ok because we all remained calm and did what we were supposed to.
On a normal recreational dive, where you have the option of surfacing at any time, the "look for one minute, then abort" principle works.
It gets considerably more interesting if you are diving off an anchored boat with no chase boat, in current. Such dives really are skirting the limits of the definition of recreational diving, in that the importance of getting back to a point certain can be very high. In that case, given that neither you nor your buddy can abort and regroup on the surface, you might continue to search a bit longer -- but you always have to remember that you HAVE to get back to the upline, and therefore, you MUST reserve enough gas to get there and get to the surface -- and if you find an entangled or otherwise frightened buddy, you may be facing a gas sharing event before you get back to the gas tank in the sky. Gas planning for these situations is quite a bit more complex than what's involved in simpler dives.
It gets considerably more interesting if you are diving off an anchored boat with no chase boat, in current. Such dives really are skirting the limits of the definition of recreational diving, in that the importance of getting back to a point certain can be very high. In that case, given that neither you nor your buddy can abort and regroup on the surface, you might continue to search a bit longer -- but you always have to remember that you HAVE to get back to the upline, and therefore, you MUST reserve enough gas to get there and get to the surface -- and if you find an entangled or otherwise frightened buddy, you may be facing a gas sharing event before you get back to the gas tank in the sky. Gas planning for these situations is quite a bit more complex than what's involved in simpler dives.
Nikki McAllen
Registered
Each scenario requires pre-planning or major quick think in your fins. Surfacing in the blue can be very dangerous if solo. If there's any current you can find yourself very alone in a very big sea. Blowing through the safety stop is pretty much mandatory.
Get too far from the boat in rental fins and you'll discover a limit to self-rescue. I call it the "blister radius". Personally I never, ever dive without booties for this reason. Most beginner/intermediate divers won't get this. What they get is a 'one size fits all' answer that may not serve well.
One minute is a very fast time frame to blow a dive. With the advanced gear nowadays it's likely safer to solo around for awhile looking for buoy line or other divers -- as long as it's done in a grid pattern.
And if someone is not skilled enough to find the line, or safely finish solo, they should pay more attention to their Guardian Angel and seriously consider the gravity of their situation instead of stopping for photos.
Get too far from the boat in rental fins and you'll discover a limit to self-rescue. I call it the "blister radius". Personally I never, ever dive without booties for this reason. Most beginner/intermediate divers won't get this. What they get is a 'one size fits all' answer that may not serve well.
One minute is a very fast time frame to blow a dive. With the advanced gear nowadays it's likely safer to solo around for awhile looking for buoy line or other divers -- as long as it's done in a grid pattern.
And if someone is not skilled enough to find the line, or safely finish solo, they should pay more attention to their Guardian Angel and seriously consider the gravity of their situation instead of stopping for photos.
beautybelow
Contributor
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