Missing each other on a jump and being confused about who is in front/behind is scary.
In what situation would you leave your buddy?
- Thread starter Ste Wart
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DevonDiver
N/A
This is a great topic.... and it is something that I've debated internally on many occasions. Like others, I truly do not know where my 'limit' would be. In all honesty, there are so many specific factors in every conceivable scenario, it is not something that I could try and predict in advance.
I suppose that I could place technical limits, regarding gas, depth, deco obligations, weather conditions etc etc etc into the mix, but even then, there are so many emotional and psychological factors that any attempt at defining a pre-designated course of action would be null and void.
I suppose that I could place technical limits, regarding gas, depth, deco obligations, weather conditions etc etc etc into the mix, but even then, there are so many emotional and psychological factors that any attempt at defining a pre-designated course of action would be null and void.
OP
No CCR is fine. I was just mentioning what my standard tech was. Cave, CCR, Sidemount. Everyone can put what they want. It's the risk factor involved with technical diving, not the style.
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Strangely, Bret does not call himself a hero for the St. Croix "incident"! What he calls heroic action is Al Giddings' successful move to saving his partner from a shark's mouth.
BTW, the next issue of Tech Diving Mag will include an interview with Al Giddings (done by Bret Gilliam) and the details of the shark attack are discussed, among others.
A while ago, I started a thread about leaving a buddy if there wasn't enough gas to get both divers out in a gas share. In other words, you look at the gauge and if you are absolutely sure you'll die if you share gas. what would you do? The replies were very interesting.
As for leaving a buddy, it depends entirely upon the circumstances. The one thing I do believe is that a double drowning is senseless. It sounds heroic to stay with a buddy under all circumstances, but I believe that heroism is risking or sacrificing one's life for a good cause, while foolishness is throwing one's life away for a stupid reason.
As for leaving a buddy, it depends entirely upon the circumstances. The one thing I do believe is that a double drowning is senseless. It sounds heroic to stay with a buddy under all circumstances, but I believe that heroism is risking or sacrificing one's life for a good cause, while foolishness is throwing one's life away for a stupid reason.
BabyDuck
Contributor
i *might* stay/search longer for my bf, just because i know his limits & responses. what we've talked about is that one of us (truthfully, most likely me) *is* getting out because of the baby, but we'd linger at waypoints as long as possible to give the other a chance to catch up.
non-bf buddy will get 1/3 reserves spent on him or her.
non-bf buddy will get 1/3 reserves spent on him or her.
So here's a scenario -
You are diving with a non-bf buddy in a low flow system. Same size cylinders, starting pressure 3600, you both have very similar RMVs. You have already turned the dive on pressure and are on the way back. Your non-bf buddy is suddenly nowhere to be found. You have 1800 psi left, which means you are 600 psi from your exit. You use the other 1200 psi to look for your buddy. You find your buddy about 500 psi into that and begin exiting together, this time with your buddy in front of you. You get back to the original location where you noticed your buddy was no longer there and, because your buddy was anxious from having been lost, s/he suddenly runs out of air. You are 600 psi from the exit and you only have 800 psi left at this point.
This is the type of scenario I make my students run through. Just because you reserve 1200 psi for an emergent situation doesn't mean you should use all of it to search for your buddy. There are other issues that must be considered. This is why you need to think about this before getting in the water and decide how much of that 1200 psi you will use for a search. I know how much I'll be using for a once in a while buddy and how much I'll be using for regular buddies. Yes, they are different numbers, but I also know my regular buddies will be able to remain calm and keep their consumption reasonable.
I read Marci's post to mean she'd search for 1/3 of her reserve or 1/3 of the 1200 psi. While we must save at least 2/3 of the gas supply for exit, 1/3 of that gas will be assumed to be used for exit leaving the remaining 1/3 in true "reserve."
3600/3 = 1200 psi usable or 2400 psi turn for simple thirds.
Typical lost buddy expendable gas = 1/3 of the 1200 psi reserve or 400 psi for search.
Search begins at 1800 psi and terminates at 1400 psi without having found her buddy. She missed him by 100 psi since your scenario had the buddy located at 500 psi when she would have turned at 400 psi.
She should be 600 psi from the exit with 1400 in her tanks.
Exits cave with 800 psi left. She lives. Buddy dies.
In any case, gas reserves often assume just one emergency will occur during the dive. Gas reserves assume a lost buddy will be located and the team will exit normally in a lost buddy situation. In an out of gas situation at max pen gas reserve rules assume that will be the only problem. Padding the dive for two emergencies doesn't hurt.
3600/3 = 1200 psi usable or 2400 psi turn for simple thirds.
Typical lost buddy expendable gas = 1/3 of the 1200 psi reserve or 400 psi for search.
Search begins at 1800 psi and terminates at 1400 psi without having found her buddy. She missed him by 100 psi since your scenario had the buddy located at 500 psi when she would have turned at 400 psi.
She should be 600 psi from the exit with 1400 in her tanks.
Exits cave with 800 psi left. She lives. Buddy dies.
In any case, gas reserves often assume just one emergency will occur during the dive. Gas reserves assume a lost buddy will be located and the team will exit normally in a lost buddy situation. In an out of gas situation at max pen gas reserve rules assume that will be the only problem. Padding the dive for two emergencies doesn't hurt.
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That was my understanding as well Trace.
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