Leave or stay with buddy Scenario

[TSandM]

I couldn't care less about the safety stop. But I don't abandon a buddy. I'd signal him/her to get down on the wreck, begin pulling along, and try to make the upline, but if we couldn't do it, we'd blow a bag and ascend together.

 

[Blackwood]

I think what is catching most of our eyes is the "No safety stop".

Not mine. I didn't really consider that even a minor part of the discussion, let alone the lynchpin.

It's 'leave your buddy to get help', or 'stay with your buddy'.

 

[NC Wreck Diver]

I would like some thoughts concerning the question below, which follows the scenario. I believe that this is not an unlikely scenario. I, myself, am not completely sure which action would be wisest.

Scenario: You and your buddy are diving a wreck. During the dive, you notice the current getting stronger. As you both head towards the anchor line, you realize that you have misjudged the current, and find that you have both missed the anchor line. You know that although it will take much effort, you have enough leg strength and stamina to swim against the current, and reach the anchor line, if you act within a few seconds. However, your buddy is not as strong and fit, and you know that he would not be able to swim against the current to the anchor line. The current has turned rather swift, and you know that you will both be doing some good distance, if you do not get to the anchor line. Neither you or your buddy had considered this exact scenario, and so it was not specifically addressed during pre-dive planning.

Question: Which would be the more appropriate action:
1) You leave your buddy, swim to the anchor line, and up to the boat without a safety stop. You inform the boat captain of the situation, and inform him of the signal devices that your buddy has with him. Because of pre-dive planning for cases of separation, your buddy knows that he should surface without a safety stop, deploy his SMB, and utilize his other signal devices as appropriate.

2) You stay with your buddy, ascend together, without a safety stop. You both deploy your SMBs, utilize your other signal devices as appropriate, and just wait for the boat to hopefully see you, or realize you are both missing, within a reasonable amount of time so that you do not continue to get even further away.

Ben

This would be standard protocal for 'Jersey' divers:

1). Stay with your buddy.
2). Shoot a lift bag to the surface from your sisal reel off the wreck. The captain and divemaster on the boat will see this big, yellow or orange bag.
3). Come up the sisal line on the lift bag in a controlled ascent.
4). Do your deco if needed.........Or your NDL Safety Stop.
5). Stay with your buddy.

It's possible that the current on the bottom is not ripping on the surface. Do not fatigue yourself and your buddy (using up gas) trying to 'get' to the anchor line at depth (you both/all will not win). Just shoot a bag. If the current is still bad on the surface too, and you can't make the boat, stay on the sisal lift bag line (tied into the wreck) and deploy your safety sausage. Alert the boat with these visual signs and use your horn/whistle, that you can not make the swim. Stay on the upline. Someone on the boat will swim the tag line behind the boat to you and your buddy. So, stay attached to the wreck via your upline, until you get attached to the dive boat via the tag line (if needed).

I've posted about some solo diving on other OP's. Our crew is OK with that. In the scenerio that you describe, those conditions do not dictate that.

Good Post..........BTW, did I mention "Stay With Your Buddy(ies)."

 

[Walter]

I wonder why you are so far from the wreck that you cannot grab it.

If I did find myself in this position, I would stay with my buddy, drop into the lee of the wreck where it should be possible to swim back to the wreck, grab hold and go hand over hand to the upline.

If something prevented me from dropping into the lee, I would ascend with my buddy.

 

[jonnythan]

I think "blow a bag" is one of the greatest jargon phrases in our language.

 

[Walter]

stay on the sisal lift bag line (tied into the wreck)

Good idea, but my understand is you were blown off the wreck. If you were blown off the wreck, you can't tie into it.

 

[JohnB47]

"They" say that a safety stop is "optional." What that really means is that there is no hard and fast rule about it. You, and your buddy, have to make a judgment call, based on all the factors that can affect the probability of DCS, including: depth of dive, bottom time, residual nitrogen from an earlier dive, age and physical condition, temperature, exertion, etc. If you believe it to be necessary, or you are inexperienced and don't know how to make that call, take the safety stop - with your buddy. In any case, do not intentionally leave your buddy underwater unless that was part of your dive plan, or you can somehow discuss it with him/her. It is rarely a good idea to separate, but if you must do so, it is best to surface and discuss the situation with your buddy. Whatever you do, don't leave your buddy wondering where you are!

 

[cloudflint]

Id definitely stay with them. assuming i couldn't tow them to the line and we couldn't pull ourselves along the bottom id just surface and try to signal the boat.

Ive actually been in a similar situation where i was diving in a threesome and one of my buddies was on a 12L and we where both on 15L's. The diver on the 12 ran out before us obviously so we surfaced only to discover that we where a good distance from shore. we started swimming for shore on the surface but there was a current pushing us parallel to the shore so we had to swim at a roughly 45 degree angle to the shore to counteract the current.

Anyway the diver on the 12L ended up absolutely knackered after a while so i made the decision to head straight in for shore since i figured at least then we would be on land and a little trek back to our entry point up the beach wouldn't hurt us. Unfortunately the other diver on the 15L basically ignored us and just headed off to our original entry point and with the swell we soon lost sight of him. The diver on the 12L by this point was absolutely exhausted and wasn't making any headway so I ended up towing her for 15 minutes to get us into shore. Overall we where about 45 minutes getting back to the shore.

I was pretty angry at the diver for leaving us for a couple of reasons. Firstly since he went off on his own i didn't know if he was alright. Secondly since he went off on his own he didn't know if we where alright, if he had stayed with us he could have helped me with getting the tired diver into shore. There where already two divers from our group who had made it to the shore who where watching us so its not like he would have felt that he needed to make a break for the shore to raise the alarm.

Anyway im going off on a rant, i don't leave my buddy even if it puts me in danger, i figure its better us both being a bit knackered than me being fine and my buddy being dead.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

What Walter said.

And you do Not leave your buddy. Just needed to say that again. Maybe one more time. You do not leave your buddy.

You should know how to make a free ascent if you couldn't fight it back. Deploy an SMB and stay with your buddy.

 

[divekraz]

I am taking the question posed as literal and not adding other conditions as that will change the answer. My understanding is YOU can make it to the line and your buddy can't for whatever reason, do YOU stay with your buddy or get to the line to go get help. The safety stop I would blow off weighing against the safety of the other diver. If you added the buddy was in some sort of distress making it difficult for them to survive on the surface, then my answer would change. My wife is my dive buddy on all our dives for 20 years and we've decided it's more important to have the boat/captain know exactly what the problem is, rather than have 2 people at risk with the potential no one knows there's a problem until it's to late, provided the other diver is not in distress. We don't carry a ebirb but each of us do carry vhf radios however many people do not, so I'll assume, for this question you have just the normal signaling devices which makes the decision to get to the line even more important. Time is the enemy and the quicker the boat/captain knows there's a problem the quicker the problem can be resolved. There is not a guarantee both divers will be seen or heard by the time they get to the surface regardless of deploying markers etc.. as I've seen how easy it is for drifting divers to be missed regardless of proximity to the boat, then it's how long until the boat realizes there's a problem and what the exact problem is. Are the divers below, entangled, out of air, or drifting and how long does the boat wait until starting a search. Wreck diving In N Carolina, with strong currents, 30 miles out to sea, we decided if one of us were blown off the line the other would go to the boat and not risk both divers. I would rather someone start looking for the diver immediately rather than having having 2 divers at risk. The question doesn't say there is any other distress to either diver other than not making it to the line. My answer doesn't seem to be the general concensus to this point so I guess I'll get alot of flak for my comment.