Ever leave a dive buddy behind?

[greg454]

Your buddy has more air than you. You're 50 feet underwater and you only have 500 psi out the 3,000 psi. you started. You give the thumbs up signal, he ignores it, maybe because he has more air than you.

Is it ok to go up without him and assume he'll go up whenever he feels good and ready?

 

[H2Andy]

if i give the thumbs up signal and my buddy does'nt come up with me, i'd never
dive with him again (any diver can thumb the dive at any time for any reason
or no reason at all)

however, if i signal to him that i am going up and am ok, he can decide for himself
depending on circumstances.

thumbing the dive means dive is over, no questions asked, and we both need
to ascend. i would only use it if it's absolutely necessary that we both
exit together for whatever reason

for example, if we are close to the boat, i'll signal i am going up and give him
the option.

if we are far from teh boat, and i don't want to be alone on the way back
and low on air, i'll thumb the dive requesting that he return with me.

 

[abysmaldiver]

You are out of air not him. As long as there are no dangers, let him enjoy the rest of his dive.

 

[LiteHedded]

I have been left before but I have never left a buddy

 

[Northeastwrecks]

Your buddy has more air than you. You're 50 feet underwater and you only have 500 psi out the 3,000 psi. you started. You give the thumbs up signal, he ignores it, maybe because he has more air than you.

Is it ok to go up without him and assume he'll go up whenever he feels good and ready?

It depends on what you've worked out beforehand.

If we agree to dive as a team, then we exit as a team.

If we agree that a separation is acceptable, then that is also acceptable, so long as the divers understand the issues surrounding a solo dive.

 

[mrjimboalaska]

I have to agree with H2Andy(i Know.....) If I let my buddy know that I'm going up and I'm OK, he can do as he sees fit, but, If I just thumb and fly, and he doesn't come, he'll never dive with me again. Thumbin and goin though don't happen unless somethings not right. (I know I'm never quite right but thats a different subject.)

 

[SparticleBrane]

...abysmaldiver, what happened to the concept of a buddy team?


I have never left a buddy, but I have been left before. Not in a situation such as "he's low on air and I"m not". I was diving on the Duane and was buddied up with a random guy on the boat. We went over everything beforehand but as soon as we were in the water and were within sight of the artificial reef he shot off like a rocket. He was literally 30+ft in front of me before he realized that I wasn't with him. Since when did scuba become a race?

He told me that he "wanted to see the whole wreck" but in kicking along the whole thing as fast as he could, he
1: used his air (nitrox) up much more quickly than necessary
2: didn't truly see the wreck--he just sorta glanced at it as he went by. I try to pick a spot and just watch the wildlife and look at the details of the coral instead of swim as hard as I can.

Oh, and he decided it would be a good idea to stand on the wreck. Personally I'm not a big fan of touching wrecks/reefs etc.

 

[ReefHound]

Your buddy has more air than you. You're 50 feet underwater and you only have 500 psi out the 3,000 psi. you started. You give the thumbs up signal, he ignores it, maybe because he has more air than you.

Is it ok to go up without him and assume he'll go up whenever he feels good and ready?

You are low on air, you have no alternative. You have to go up whether he goes with you or not.

I'm with Andy. There is no excuse for him to "ignore it". Make him return an OK and indicate clearly if he is going up with you or going it alone. If he waves bye bye at least you know he is aware you're leaving. You want to be sure, especially if he is inexperienced, that he didn't misunderstand your signal and think you're just going up momentarily to look for the boat or something.

He should really go up with you unless you have discussed it before the dive. On shallow dives I've seen lots of times where one diver would come up earlier but it's something that was talked about beforehand.

But in the end, regardless of what he does or signals, you have to come up when you are low on air. Do not take it down to 200psi and risk OOA situation.

 

[drbill]

I've never intentionally left a buddy behind, but have been left a number of times by others. They always assumed I was completely capable by myself. Since I dive solo 80% of the time that is usually the case. However, if they left me without signalling they were leaving (as two did) I told them in no uncertain terms that I would never dive with them again.

 

[EliotD]

I lost a buddy last weekend, he popped to the surface without signaling me...something about a computer malfunction, I didnt understand but as soon as i noticed he was gone I was up looking for him.

I wont dive with him again, if you are going up, cool, but tell me before you do it.