Buddy Skills

[on_two_wheels]

Point at the diver, with one hand open, palm forward, repeatedly (a couple of times) move it forward and back (like you're dribbling a basket ball). For us, that means "slow down" or "calm down".

It's been my experience (both as a new diver and diving with new divers) that new divers generally all swim too fast. Learning to slow down and enjoy the process (and the little stuff) comes with experience.

What he said!! Both parts.

I was one of them. I didn't realize how fast I swam while diving until I found a mentor. He slowed me down a LOT and, next thing ya know, my tank was lasting twice as long!

 

[TSandM]

It really is the responsibility of the person behind to slow the pace. Yesterday, I led a dive, and I swam faster than I usually do, because I usually get told I swim too slow. To my mixed delight and chagrin, one of my buddies told me I swam too fast. I would have been happy to swim slower -- but he never signaled me to say "slow down". If the person behind doesn't say anything during the dive, in my opinion, they can give you information for the next dive, but have no grounds upon which to complain.

 

[tyesai]

I'm glad I'm not the only one with this problem.

 

[Deefstes]

Am I the only one who is a little shocked that a diver who's done 30 or 40 dives "normally dives solo"?

 

[DevonDiver]

Nothing shocks me any more.

 

[fjpatrum]

You scared me, when you posted the 44 degrees. I had got 58 out at Rawlings last Sat. and I am heading there this weekend. I go wet and I am trying to get in the last few times before I wimp out.

I have looked at Millbrook a few times, I might be closer than Rawlings, but is it open all the time??? Rawlings is 2 hours from where I live, I have a ways to travel no matter where I go.

Like I said, Millbrook was 52 F at 44 feet on the 13th. I don't think it's open for the season any more... just the monthly "chilly willy" dives. There's one on the 12th of December. The quarry was much colder in the spring and the thermocline wasn't as deep. I think it was at about 15 feet in May and was in the 50s-60s above and low 40s below the thermocline. It's clearer now and the sun warms the water up deeper, I guess because I was quite comfortable on my last dive.

 

[fjpatrum]

It really is the responsibility of the person behind to slow the pace. Yesterday, I led a dive, and I swam faster than I usually do, because I usually get told I swim too slow. To my mixed delight and chagrin, one of my buddies told me I swam too fast. I would have been happy to swim slower -- but he never signaled me to say "slow down". If the person behind doesn't say anything during the dive, in my opinion, they can give you information for the next dive, but have no grounds upon which to complain.

I would like to say I agree, and I probably would, but in this case it ended up being that because he didn't want to try and keep up (and he was a little cold) he ended up opting out of a second dive so we only got one dive in on a beautiful day with great visibility.

So because I was too fast, I only got one short dive (about 20 minutes). I'd like to avoid that in the future...

 

[fjpatrum]

Am I the only one who is a little shocked that a diver who's done 30 or 40 dives "normally dives solo"?

Honestly I don't have a real clue how many dives he had, that's just the impression I had from our conversations and perhaps from his profile on SB?? He may have 200 dives. He definitely said he normally dives solo and he wasn't sure how good a partner he would be. I told him I'd keep a look out for him and to keep close. I thought he was doing a fine job of partnering and chose to swim behind me rather than next to me, until we surfaced and he said he couldn't keep up with me.

Clearly we both have something to learn about buddy diving and better communication underwater.

 

[gcbryan]

Honestly I don't have a real clue how many dives he had, that's just the impression I had from our conversations and perhaps from his profile on SB?? He may have 200 dives. He definitely said he normally dives solo and he wasn't sure how good a partner he would be. I told him I'd keep a look out for him and to keep close. I thought he was doing a fine job of partnering and chose to swim behind me rather than next to me, until we surfaced and he said he couldn't keep up with me.

Clearly we both have something to learn about buddy diving and better communication underwater.

Now that you know him you can see that communicating before you get in the water can deal with some of this as well. I would now tell him that "I will slow down anytime you aren't beside me but otherwise you should be beside me so that I don't have to twist around constantly".

By the way after people initially get the buoyancy/trim/kick issues down the next most common ongoing problem with divers in general are buddy skill issues. Get those down and you're good to go

It's so relaxing to dive with someone with good buddy skills.

 

[fjpatrum]

Now that you know him you can see that communicating before you get in the water can deal with some of this as well. I would now tell him that "I will slow down anytime you aren't beside me but otherwise you should be beside me so that I don't have to twist around constantly".

By the way after people initially get the buoyancy/trim/kick issues down the next most common ongoing problem with divers in general are buddy skill issues. Get those down and you're good to go

It's so relaxing to dive with someone with good buddy skills.

Yes, I'm thinking of sending him a message and letting him know I'd appreciate a chance to dive with him again. We use gas at pretty close to the same rate, it seems, and now that I know I need to go slower, I suspect we'd make pretty good buddies. I thought we had communicated things well, but obviously we missed a couple things. Next time, I'll do better.