Buddy separation at depth

[TSandM]

Andy, I read your article, and I really liked it. I had not considered the possibility of defining a "hold" and "search" diver, but it makes a ton of sense. As we found out when playing tag in Anacortes on Sunday, the worst situation is where both people are in motion, because you can miss one another again and again. The only thing that works is having a rendezvous point, or having a rendezvous diver. The idea of floating an SMB above your head is an interesting one, as well. Good article, and thank you for the link!

 

[DevonDiver]

The idea of 'roles' originates from the team diving mentality and is perfectly applicable to open-water, recreational diving. It's a simplified extrapolation of what I teach in wreck penetration classes. I am sure simular protocols are used in cave diving?

Because a primary line isn't used, then a simple definition of leader/follower can replace the automatic definition of who is 'lost' and who is 'looking'.

Of course... in very low visibility diving, there's nothing to stop divers using a primary 'navigation' line. The line can be laid as per cave/wreck diving and is a very effective method of keeping divers together AND ensuring that they can return directly to their start point (shot/anchor line).

In very low viz, or other extreme conditions, the use of a finger reel for searches can definitely aid divers re-unite. This would allow both divers to seach simulateously - if they tie off the reel at their first location and then use it to conduct a sweep.

There's numerous ways that this could be incorporated as a protocol. Identifying 'team' roles can a very beneficial as part of pre-dive planning. Not just for buddy relocation, but also a myriad of other purposes. For instance; photographer/spotter.

Any time where one diver may be task-loaded/focused on a dive, it is also nice to agree that their buddy takes the lead with overall situational awareness - monitoring depth/time/NDL/buddy separation and ensuring that the overall dive goes according to plan. I've used this a lot when mapping sites, surveying etc