Collapse of the "Buddy System"

[freewillie]

I was sympathetic to the OP until "I dive with a DLSR ... "

Buddy systen isn't a training issue, it's a mind set issue. You and your buddy have to both be committed to being good buddies. That's what makes instabuddies such a crap shoot. You can get a good buddy or you can get a horrible buddy. All the predive communication goes out the window if your buddy does his/her own thing once you' in the water. Then again you don't say much to each other but stick together through the dive because that's what good buddies do.

But to the OP's point. If you sit in a spot to get a shot on your camera is it fair to your buddy if you hover there for a long time? It's one thing to pause briefly to get a shot, it's something else to take your time, ignore to rest of the group, and sit and wait for an inordinate length of time to frame and wait to shoot a picture. At that point is your instabuddy the bad buddy or are you the inconsiderate one?

It doesn't take special classes or training to be a good buddy. It first takes both divers to be considerate of each other's style of diving. It then takes both divers to adhere to a philosophy and practice of being good buddies.

 

[diver 85]

I've said it many times---be prepared for a solo dive on EVERY dive that you have a buddy------NOBODY cares about you more than you.........

 

[JohnN]

If I'm diving single tank with no pony at 90 feet going around the far side of the Hilma Hooker wreck in Bonaire, and my gas supply somehow gets cut off, I would rather have a buddy 20 feet away than no buddy at all. Even if a bad buddy only offers 30% of the risk mitigation of a good buddy, that's still something.

So why not carry that pony? You might be so fortunate to have an instabuddy who is a superb partner (but that wasn't your scenario), but when you know, it is too late to make a difference.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

The buddy system works quite well if you want to create frustration and provide a false sense of security. Team-building and unification creates harmony and provides real help. But, that takes time and dedication. Few are willing to take the necessary steps to build a solid team.

 

[Max Speed]

I just had a dive where I shared air for 10 minutes. The buddy system worked great. Then she noticed and I got hit...

 

[Steve_C]

Communication is good.

Was coming back into shore from a night dive in Greece. Buddy was a DM/Instructor I had hired. Only second dive with her and I had flew in from states the day before so probably a bit jet lagged. I found that we now kept getting very close. I thought I was drifting into her and so I kept moving away. She finally got my attention and it dawned on me she wanted something. It was air. So we air shared for several minutes until we got closer to shore.

Turned out she had grabbed a used tank in the dark, thought it would be enough, but it was not going to enable her to give me as long a dive as she wanted. I had plenty of air and she wanted to borrow some before she got too low. We chuckled about it afterwards and also a lesson learned.

 

[Learn It]

In order for this system to remain effective: your buddy would have to be a few feet from you, your last breath of air must be a nice full inhale, viz must be sufficient enough to locate there octo/signal for attention, low current etc. etc. It just seems as though if a OOA situation occured there would have to be perfect circumstances for the a successful outcome.

 

[Chuckitall]

I'm a solo diver, hunt, spearfish, take picts, and explore. Usually in 80 to 100 ft of water. Even the wife and I realized that you can't hunt and watch for your buddy. Been doing this for 20 years. My experience is every diver needs to realize it's up to you to take care of yourself underwater. Now in my other dives I DM for a boat in Fla and spend whole dives watching, holding hands, and whatever it takes to have a customer have a safe dive. Some of this started years ago, frustrated over waiting for Phototogs on liveaboards around the world. Solo is not so unsafe after proper amount of training and experience.

 

[nolatom]

Geeeze, gang,

where'd I find all the pretty-good instabuddies I've had over the years?

If the buddy system's "dead", then I've had some decent zombies ;-)

 

[Kharon]

I have a set of personal rules that I adhere to obsessively. The first is: [FONT=&quot]You are always diving solo[/FONT][FONT=&quot] no matter how many divers are in the water, or how many buddies you have, or how much experience they have or what you discussed during the dive plan.

Ultimately, the onus is on me. The buddy system has flaws and even if it didn't nothing works perfectly, in all circumstances. Being trained, equipped, and skilled in saving your own bacon simply makes more sense to me than anything else.
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