Instabuddy vs. Dive Safety

[Divectionist]

A good amount of my diving is off boats with random buddies with differing skill levels and wildly varying degrees conscientiousness.

For me, the only way to deal with this issue was
- Solo training
- Pony bottle

I now always dive with best practice solo equipment redundancy, Nitrox for extra margins, and I speak up before/after the dive if something makes me uncomfortable.

 

[David Novo]

I sure as hell was. Wasn't going to follow a guy constantly disregarding the DM

This is why I hate when the DM instead of giving a good briefing, acts like a shepherd and my insta buddy acts like sheep.

The buddy team has priority over following the DM.

 

[rjack321]

This is why I hate when the DM instead of giving a good briefing, acts like a shepherd and my insta buddy acts like sheep.

The buddy team has priority over following the DM.

Agree I would expect buddies to be actual buddies and not ditch them to hug the DM

Sometimes I lead dives kind of like a warm water DM might. Site briefing, lay out a rough plan, mosey along and keep close to the right pace so we get to the end of the site at about the same time as planned. Having the right amount of leading vs following going on is harder than it looks once you get past about 4. Especially when some divers are more distracted than others.

 

[ginti]

I do not often travel for diving, but I changed a couple of countries in the last 4 years and every time I needed to rebuild my network, thus diving often with new people.

My personal rules when I dive with new buddies are:
- talk with them before the dive
- NEVER dive close to my limits; usually, first dive with a person I do not know is shallow, in the 20/25m range (I am certified up to 50m in normoxic trimix + intro to overhead environments)

 

[chillyinCanada]

This is why I hate when the DM instead of giving a good briefing, acts like a shepherd and my insta buddy acts like sheep.

The buddy team has priority over following the DM.

There's a chance (whether instabuddy is right or wrong) that your instabuddy isn't comfortable with you and so wants to be near the DM.

 

[David Novo]

There's a chance (whether instabuddy is right or wrong) that your instabuddy isn't comfortable with you and so wants to be near the DM.

He or she can say that on the boat beforehand (I always talk with my insta buddies before diving), as, if that is the case, he or she is not planning to be my buddy but the DM's buddy. In that scenario, I would be able to get a different buddy before splashing.

P.S.: I already saw a DM doing very questionable choices that did not leave me confortable and are even beyond the guidelines of several agencies and one could argue common sense. If my buddy follows the DM blindly in a situation like that, it can be a very serious issue.

 

[chillyinCanada]

He or she can say that on the boat beforehand (I always talk with my insta buddies before diving), as, if that is the case, he or she is not planning to be my buddy but the DM's buddy. In that scenario, I would be able to get a different buddy before splashing.

Unfortunately, not everyone's as good at saying things like that, as we might wish them to be.

 

[happy-diver]

Especially prima donna divers in real life

 

[Hoag]

With "Instabuddies" IMHO the key thing is honest communication.

Go over your gear so that they know whether you are set up for primary donate or as a "traditional" octo. (This should be obvious, but to them, it might not be depending on their experience.) Discuss where your ditchable weight it in case they have to dump your weight and let them know that if THEY choose to dump MY weight, they had better have a VERY good reason. Discuss what your strengths and weaknesses are and be honest. Ask them for theirs. Review signals, not everyone uses the same signals so make sure you can express yourself once you get underwater. Talk about what your tendencies are do you follow the DM or do you go off on your own?

After the dive, do a quick debrief (and again, be honest). What did I do that you liked? What did I do that you didn't like or that was a bad practice? Did I do anything that would fall into the "3 Ds" - Dumb, Dangerous or Different? If you had goals for the dive, were those goals met, and if not, can we try to meet them if the opportunity pops up on a future dive? Cover these things for each of you.

If you are on a day trip, then this might seem like a lot to do every day, but if you are on a LOB, after a couple dives, you will seem like you have been diving with your Instabuddy for years.

 

[jadairiii]

A lot of good suggestions and as stated communication and honest planning is the key. Above that, here is my 2 cents. Considering your mention of "tech", I will tell you my personal opinion. I did a lot of solo tech diving early on (1990's) but changed that, I dont solo tech and I dont "insta-buddy" tech. For tec/cave find a group you can trust, dive a lot and realize, if they are not around, no tech/cave for that day.

For recreational, different story. First, it will be a "true" recreational dive, which I would define as above about 90', 90' and below gas consumption equations become real and your time to fix problems is very limited. In 60' or shallower, you can fix a lot of problems. Second, always dive to the limits of the least experienced diver. And you may be that diver, be honest to the new buddy and let them know. Personally, I never tell a insta-buddy about my experience, main reason is I dont want to set a bar that either intimidates the new buddy or has them immediately looking to you to save them. I find a much more honest communication if we just focus on the dive in front of us rather than my 260' dives on trimix or my cave dives in the Woodville Karst region, that dont matter.