I was going to mention that as much as your buddy left you, you didn't stick with your buddy either, but you nailed it here.
Buddy skipped safety stop
- Thread starter SCUBASailor
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
I was going to mention that as much as your buddy left you, you didn't stick with your buddy either, but you nailed it here.
Downing
Contributor
I wouldn't have stuck with my buddy under those conditions either.
I enjoy a good safety stop for a lot of the reasons previously stated: it's a great time to relax and look around, think about the cool stuff I just experienced, practice low depth hovering, shed some gas, etc.
If I even suspected my buddy was in trouble or if I can't see him ascend and get out, of course I'd skip the stop but as originally described it looked like the buddy just wanted out of the water and back on the boat. If the guy's not showing any signs of distress, and I'm able to watch him go up the ladder, then I'm staying put.
Who left who doesn't really matter in this scenario, imho.
We'd talk about what happened it after I got on the boat, but I wouldn't be upset about it.
I enjoy a good safety stop for a lot of the reasons previously stated: it's a great time to relax and look around, think about the cool stuff I just experienced, practice low depth hovering, shed some gas, etc.
If I even suspected my buddy was in trouble or if I can't see him ascend and get out, of course I'd skip the stop but as originally described it looked like the buddy just wanted out of the water and back on the boat. If the guy's not showing any signs of distress, and I'm able to watch him go up the ladder, then I'm staying put.
Who left who doesn't really matter in this scenario, imho.
We'd talk about what happened it after I got on the boat, but I wouldn't be upset about it.
Bubbletrubble
Contributor
@Downing: What happens when you look at the incident from the diver who reboarded the boat...without checking on the status of his buddy who remained below the surface of the water conducting a safety stop? Is it no big deal? Is it possible that the safety stop diver could have experienced some unknown medical/gear issue at a relatively shallow depth? In my mind it would be slightly different if the exiting diver checked in with the safety stop buddy prior to reboarding the boat. Let's say "OK" signs were flashed back and forth between the exiting diver and the guy doing the safety stop. At that point in time, the exiting diver knows that his buddy is OK, and in a way the safety stop buddy is acknowledging that he's OK with conducting a safety stop by himself.
Downing
Contributor
I see your point.
I would never be the diver who not only blew off the safety stop but also went up without first communicating with his buddy so it's not an easy point of view for me. It's hard for me to relate to that guy's viewpoint as it's so different from mine. A lot of my safety stops are sign language gab fests.
Frankly, if I got back on the boat not realizing my buddy was still down there, I'd feel like an assho--bad person.
But as the diver who stayed behind, I'm confident that I won't have a medical or gear issue that would prevent me from making it to the surface from 15 feet down. I suppose it could happen, but the chances are so small that I don't mind the risk. If my buddy wants to get out, he can get out and I'm not going to chew on him about it.
Keep in mind, I'm a warm water wussie who dives in relatively calm, clear water. Change any of those variables and, who knows, I guess I could turn into the guy who blows off the safety stop. But even on my worst day I'd still do a "thumbs up?" with my buddy.
Just to be clear, by my remark that "who left who doesn't matter," I was speaking from the safety stop diver's point of view. It's hard for me to fathom what the other guy was thinking other than what he said about his computer telling him it was ok.
I would never be the diver who not only blew off the safety stop but also went up without first communicating with his buddy so it's not an easy point of view for me. It's hard for me to relate to that guy's viewpoint as it's so different from mine. A lot of my safety stops are sign language gab fests.
Frankly, if I got back on the boat not realizing my buddy was still down there, I'd feel like an assho--bad person.
But as the diver who stayed behind, I'm confident that I won't have a medical or gear issue that would prevent me from making it to the surface from 15 feet down. I suppose it could happen, but the chances are so small that I don't mind the risk. If my buddy wants to get out, he can get out and I'm not going to chew on him about it.
Keep in mind, I'm a warm water wussie who dives in relatively calm, clear water. Change any of those variables and, who knows, I guess I could turn into the guy who blows off the safety stop. But even on my worst day I'd still do a "thumbs up?" with my buddy.
Just to be clear, by my remark that "who left who doesn't matter," I was speaking from the safety stop diver's point of view. It's hard for me to fathom what the other guy was thinking other than what he said about his computer telling him it was ok.
pcornell
Contributor
Biggest lessons I take away from this are:
1) Don't assume anything.
2) You can't be too thorough with dive planning -- especially in the case of diving with a person you just met.
1) Don't assume anything.
2) You can't be too thorough with dive planning -- especially in the case of diving with a person you just met.
fnfalman
Contributor
Downing
Contributor
I had forgotten about my very first ocean dive with a somewhat similar circumstance.
We went to Mexico for our first dive trip after getting our OW certs here in Portland. We spent a week diving cenotes around Playa del Carmen before taking the ferry to Cozumel for another week of diving off the island.
Our first day on Coz, my wife wasn't feeling well, so I went by myself down to the dive op, got on the boat and off we went. I was paired up with an older guy seated next to me. I assumed he had more experience than me and would know what he was doing (yes, I know) because at that point, relative to me, pretty much everyone had more experience and would presumably know what they were doing. Plus, he had a big honkin' camera which told me this guy must dive a lot.
Btw, not only was this my first ocean dive but it was also my first boat dive and first insta-buddy dive.
We were in a group of about 8 divers. Giant stride off the back of the boat and down we go, no problem. But then my buddy immediately starts going up and down, up and down, like a roller coaster. I had no clue what the problem was or even if there was a problem. He's not paying any attention to me, but he doesn't appear to be in distress.
Finally, after about 10 minutes of watching him ride a roller coaster, he starts up so I go up with him. We get to 15 feet, and I stop. He continues up to the surface, then looks down at me, then looks up, then looks at me, etc. I'm making hand signs like, "WTF?", but he continues to ride along the surface, looking down at me every now and then.
No communication at all from this guy but, again, he doesn't appear to be in distress. I looked down at our group, and they are rapidly drifting away. I look back up at him. He's still there, floating merrily along. Not sure what to do in this situation, I had to decide whether to rejoin the now close to disappearing group or go up and presumably get out.
I elected the former.
After the dive, he told me he was underweighted, which explained the roller coaster stuff, and that's why he had to surface. I half expected to get yelled at by the boat crew or DM for abandoning my buddy, but nobody said a word.
I can think of a few things both he and I did wrong--mainly not communicating with each other--but leaving my buddy under those circumstances so I could finish the dive wasn't one of them.
We went to Mexico for our first dive trip after getting our OW certs here in Portland. We spent a week diving cenotes around Playa del Carmen before taking the ferry to Cozumel for another week of diving off the island.
Our first day on Coz, my wife wasn't feeling well, so I went by myself down to the dive op, got on the boat and off we went. I was paired up with an older guy seated next to me. I assumed he had more experience than me and would know what he was doing (yes, I know) because at that point, relative to me, pretty much everyone had more experience and would presumably know what they were doing. Plus, he had a big honkin' camera which told me this guy must dive a lot.
Btw, not only was this my first ocean dive but it was also my first boat dive and first insta-buddy dive.
We were in a group of about 8 divers. Giant stride off the back of the boat and down we go, no problem. But then my buddy immediately starts going up and down, up and down, like a roller coaster. I had no clue what the problem was or even if there was a problem. He's not paying any attention to me, but he doesn't appear to be in distress.
Finally, after about 10 minutes of watching him ride a roller coaster, he starts up so I go up with him. We get to 15 feet, and I stop. He continues up to the surface, then looks down at me, then looks up, then looks at me, etc. I'm making hand signs like, "WTF?", but he continues to ride along the surface, looking down at me every now and then.
No communication at all from this guy but, again, he doesn't appear to be in distress. I looked down at our group, and they are rapidly drifting away. I look back up at him. He's still there, floating merrily along. Not sure what to do in this situation, I had to decide whether to rejoin the now close to disappearing group or go up and presumably get out.
I elected the former.
After the dive, he told me he was underweighted, which explained the roller coaster stuff, and that's why he had to surface. I half expected to get yelled at by the boat crew or DM for abandoning my buddy, but nobody said a word.
I can think of a few things both he and I did wrong--mainly not communicating with each other--but leaving my buddy under those circumstances so I could finish the dive wasn't one of them.
Bubbletrubble
Contributor
@Downing: Thanks for sharing your story. I think many of us have been in a situation with an insta-buddy in which better communication during pre-dive planning or during the dive might have helped the dive go more smoothly.
I'm not quite clear on a couple of things:
- At the time you chose to continue the dive, did you know what the issue was with your buddy who was sitting on the surface?
- When you chose to continue the dive, was it clear who your new buddy was?
That is a tuff call for any diver new or not. You could have probably surfaced got a clear answer to what the problem was and still rejoined the group. However...
What would have been your contingency if you lost your group on the way back down, now your alone and probably dont have any surface siganling devices should you need to resurface... not looking for an answer. but wanted to point out to others reading this thread that you must have a contingency and think before you just act on something.
It seems you did and make a conscious decision, was it right? only you can really decide.
An issue here is the DM, every location takes this responsiblity a little different. But I was always tought to be the last one down to help those that have problems with weighting and getting down for other reasons. You can't help them from underwater. Since it seems he got down initially, but displayed weighting problems, i would think the DM would swim over and donate a weight to help him out. Most DM's I know always carry a few extra pounds for such cases.
just a rant.... thanks for reading
What would have been your contingency if you lost your group on the way back down, now your alone and probably dont have any surface siganling devices should you need to resurface... not looking for an answer. but wanted to point out to others reading this thread that you must have a contingency and think before you just act on something.
It seems you did and make a conscious decision, was it right? only you can really decide.
An issue here is the DM, every location takes this responsiblity a little different. But I was always tought to be the last one down to help those that have problems with weighting and getting down for other reasons. You can't help them from underwater. Since it seems he got down initially, but displayed weighting problems, i would think the DM would swim over and donate a weight to help him out. Most DM's I know always carry a few extra pounds for such cases.
just a rant.... thanks for reading
Downing
Contributor
No, I didn't know what his issue was until the dive was over and I got back on the boat. But I was certain he was ok because he never showed any signs of a person who wasn't ok. He was just bobbing along up there.
Before the dive, they may have told us, this being a drift dive, that the boat would follow the bubbles and if we came up early they would be there to pick us up. It's been so long ago that I don't remember the dive brief, but somehow I knew (or maybe was just sure) that the boat would pick him up.
After returning to the group, I didn't try to buddy up with anybody. In fact, I stayed at the back since the DM was in the front. Frankly, I was a little concerned that the DM would notice my buddy was no longer with us and I'd be on the hot seat for leaving him, so I was trying to avoid him. I'm pretty sure he never noticed, at least until we ascended and maybe not even then. I wasn't going to bring it up and he never did.
Also, it wasn't like the group was swimming in buddy pairs. It was more like one big buddy group. I remember being surprised by that at the time, although I've since seen plenty of buddy "pairs" that are really just buddy groups.
Well, I wasn't going to lose the group since I could still see them, barely, when I left my buddy and chased after them. It was a fairly stiff current so there's only one way for them and me to go and I was on them quickly. Had I lost them, though, I would have surfaced and gotten on the boat, somewhat sheepishly.
I didn't have a SMB but didn't think I needed one. My memory, always a little suspect, is that there were dive op boats all over that water so the concern was more about not getting run over and finding the right dive boat, not losing it. But diving in Coz is way different than diving alone on an open ocean. And again, I don't remember if they briefed us but somehow I was confident that the boat was following our bubbles. Given that it was my first boat/drift dive, I don't know how else I would have known that if they hadn't told us so before the dive. And I'm not sure why I didn't think about surfacing to determine his problem and making sure the boat was coming to pick him up. Chalk that one up to inexperience.
Looking back, I did a bunch of things wrong or at least not as well as I would do today. Not big life-threatening things, just little things. I'm absolutely convinced that leaving him at the surface was the right thing to do under those circumstances. But it wouldn't take much in the way of changed circumstances for it to become the wrong thing to do.
Last edited:
Similar threads
