How many would consider using a tether when diving with a loved one?

[Lorenzoid]

I know that using a tether is can be dangerous and presents a potential entanglement hazard. But I was thinking of using a coiled leash that would stretch to about 6 to 8 feet max. I would have to bolt snaps on it and would use it when diving with my wife during bad viz.

. . .

How many of you would consider using some type of tether when diving with a loved one?

I have not used one, and my thinking on this is that my training suggests to me that if vis is really poor or current exceptionally strong, I should decline to dive or, if already underway, thumb the dive and ascend. If there is some likelihood that diving in really poor vis or strong current is going to be a repeated issue, then I think I would seek training to do that kind of dive, and the training may or may not involve a buddy line/tether. I don't like the idea of reinventing the wheel. For any type of dive I might do, there is probably someone out there who has the experience to advise me how to do it safely.

I have seen lots of discussions about uncontrolled ascents, but I don't recall having seen a tether suggested.

 

[KenGordon]

I often dive in bad viz, in the ocean in currents. If it's so bad that we are afraid of losing each other then we shouldn't be doing the dive. If it's just bad viz and no/little current then you should have better buddy awareness and practice that.

I suspect it depends on what you consider bad viz. Here less than a metre is bad. In that case your 'better buddy awareness' would mean holding hands or always looking at your buddy. Look the other way and they are gone. A buddy line makes that much more relaxed.

 

[OldNSalty]

I've never done it but I would consider it. The only time I heard about this was once when diving with an insta-buddy. He had a 6’ section of red nylon leash in with his stuff so I asked about it. He said he takes it with him every time he dives with his son. He has briefed his son that if he ever puts it on him, he is not to remove it and they are ending the dive. His words to me were something along the line of “I told him if it goes on only 2 people can remove it, me or the coroner.”
I am not sure which events he pictured happening mid-dive to warrant using the thing but I have to admit, as a father I appreciated his concern. He gave me one but as of yet none of my kids have started diving so…

 

[doctormike]

I wouldn't do it. A buddy is good redundancy, but should never be considered life support equipment. I'm assuming that the OP is not solo certified and diving a solo plan. if you are comfortable doing a one minute search in low visibility conditions and then making a slow safe ascent, just do that in case of buddy separation. If you are not, then you shouldn't be doing that dive.

I firmly believe that outside of training, no one should do any dive where they are dependent on someone else (instructor, DM or buddy) for their safety. The loss of a buddy should be a minor inconvenience, and possibly a delay or cancellation of a dive, but not a dangerous situation. If your gear configuration is such that you are on the verge of an uncontrolled ascent and that you can only be saved by your buddy, then that needs to be fixed.

Now, we are talking about recreational diving here. In technical circles, especially in some agencies that stress team diving, pooled gas resources are integral part of the dive plan, and I'm not implying that those people are wrong. For myself, when I plan a deco dive, I assume that I will have to finish the dive and all required deco with the gas that I am carrying, including a lost gas scenario. This does limit my profiles to some degree since I'm planning for two failures (buddy separation and lost gas), but that's the way I do it. That is beyond the scope of this discussion.

Finally, I don't like the stress on the buddy being a "loved one" in the OPs question. Do we have different criteria for safe diving based on our relationship to the buddy? Would you adopt a dive plan with an instabuddy that includes the calculation that if he or she dies, it's not such a big deal?

One of my pet peeves in practice is when I discuss options for a child's management with the parents, give them my recommendation and then they ask me "what would you do if this was your child?" It sort of implies that I have two levels of advice - the regular one and the good one that I reserve for special people!

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I carry a short piece of line in my drysuit pocket that I can tie to an ascent line as a jon line when needed. In really bad vis my buddy and I will each hold an end to reduce the chance of separation (in our lake we can start a dive with decent vis and then it gets crappy at different depths so we have to adapt). I would never tether it it any way and we don't use it to control either of our ascent profiles. It is not an equipment solution to a training problem, it is simply a tool to maintain buddy contact when conditions warrant.

I don't recall ever needing to do this, but I might consider a short line with a loop in each end which the diver loops over their wrist, so that it does not have to be actively held but can be slipped off in an instant. Tethering by use of a coil line has so many possible negative consequences.

Also, I should probably mention this but, it sounds like you are trying to make your wife safer. Fostering dependence by keeping her tethered to a leash, is not much different than an over-protective, neurotic parent trying to "protect" their child on a playground by keeping them on a leash.

Better to teach her the skills to operate independently (in a safe environment) rather than placing her in an environment that neither you, nor her are confident that she can handle.

Hold her hand if the vis turns to crap and terminate the dive.

 

[scottwilson1]

nope, I will hold hands with my wife tho while diving

 

[DogDiver]

NO!!!!!


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[phoenix31tt]

I suspect it depends on what you consider bad viz. Here less than a metre is bad. In that case your 'better buddy awareness' would mean holding hands or always looking at your buddy. Look the other way and they are gone. A buddy line makes that much more relaxed.

that's why i said if it's to bad the we are AFRAID of losing each other we shouldn't be doing the dive... yes 3-5ft viz is what i'm referring to as maybe so bad that we wouldn't dive. We have dove in those conditions before and never lost each other because of good buddy practices... movement doesn't happen instantaneously in the water... if i'm swimming 2 feet to the side of her i'm not suddenly going to disappear unless i want to... so i have to know not to dart off and she has to know the same, i have to know not to stop unless she knows i'm stopping and vice versa...

looking the other way doesn't mean i stop moving or i change directions... having predictable and deliberately slow movements in low viz, for me, is key to staying with your buddy... i don't know if everybody can do that..

 

[lerpy]

I have never used any kind of line to fasten myself to another person, however when diving with someone new to diving, I stay close enough I can assist in a situation, and if conserned I may take there hand or just put a finger through a D ring to help guide them or assist if needed. I feel like a line connecting one another could just mean two people in a rapid accent or decent.

 

[C P]

you can probably learn more from this situation than to just use a tether... e.g. proper weight distribution etc (ensuring that loosing one weight pocket doesn't cause an uncontrolled ascent etc)

With that much weight wouldn't you be grossly overweighted and create other

hazards?