Diving with 3 people

[WaterWolf]

Does anyone out there use a 3-buddy system? I feel we are disciplined and with the proper planning, would be safe. All three of us are new to diving. I have 17 dives, one of my buddies has 18, and the third buddy (my wife) is new to diving – she just finished her certification and has 0 logged dives outside of her open water checkouts. We are planning shore dives in Lake Michigan in 15 – 30 feet of water. I think the worst potential scenario we could face is getting tangled up in something and in that situation, having two people to help you out of a jam would seem beneficial. I’ve played out many scenarios in my head but may have missed something that a more experienced diver would have considered.

Does anyone agree or disagree that diving with a trio is safe?

 

[moneysavr]

At Hal Watts, PSA
They train a 3 man team is the best ITO and Hal dose tuch on this in his training courses,
I too feel that a 3 man/women team as long as you plan the dive and dive the plan! will work,cover air use,whos going to hold / tow the dive flag,air use 1/3rds rule,when and how to call the dive,and one thing is how to stay in a group not lag behind and if you do loose a diver and some how you will !the rules on going top side and not going up and down looking for the diver! Oh ya have a dive knife or shears, and worst case you loose a diver as they stop to look at something and others keep going,stay side by side in each others view.
Hey have fun,
Brad

 

[H2Andy]

yeah, we do three-person buddy teams all the time

the middle person plays a key role, as he or she has to make sure
the last person is ok, and then respond to any queries by the leader

in order to work, the leader has to make periodic checks on the
second person, and the second person has to make periodic
checks on the last person

 

[The Horn]

When my buddy and I lined up a dive with a third party we took on the task by assigning positions. He was (and is ) a DM so he was diving and "Supervising" me and the third diver- we were buddies. This way he watched and stayed with us and we worried about each other with the check to ensure he was there.

The big problem with the third party dive is when two pair off and the third guy goes off on his own or stops and is not noticed by the other two divers. Provided he, and the other divers adhere to a set - out of contact for 3 minutes or what ever you decide then surface you would be ok.

Plan your dive and dive the plan is the best way. Low vis situations will add a lot to the stress of a 3 person dive.

There are probably lots of folks out there with good and bad three diver stories

 

[Pyromaniac]

All of this makes it sound like you dive in line astern, cant you dive 3 abreast - wouldnt it make it easier to see everyone?

 

[Rick Inman]

All of this makes it sound like you dive in line astern, cant you dive 3 abreast - wouldnt it make it easier to see everyone?

Yes. Three abreast.

I enjoy the three-person team best when each has a good light. Everyone is keeping an, "I'm right here!" pointer right where you can easily see it.

 

[archman]

I have this funny habit of becoming detached from any 3-person team I'm not leading. On two occasions I've had a MSDT leading our group lose both of us. Ha.

 

[ShakaZulu]

Make two pairs, with one common diver, the one in the middle (he/she leads the dive too). He's a buddy to the person on his right, and to the person on his left. If anyone gets lost, all surface.

 

[nauidiver2004]

I dive a three man team routinely. Plan it out, make sure everyone knows where to be and what to expect. No problem.

Ken

 

[Jason Ooi]

I would say No Problem 3 buddy system."Three abreast"
Plan your dive according you dive plan.