Lost buddy prevention

[ScubaJCBS]

Get a buddy watcher if you can find one.

 

[SlugLife]

A mirror should work quite well - if my buddy wears it. Then if I want to find my buddy, I just look for a diver who is getting his arm chewed off by a shark.

Barrel rolls are easy. But I was an experienced body surfer before diving, so I may be biased. ( If you are on a big wave, and you feel changes in the shape/power of the wave, a barrel roll allows you to see what is happening behind you. )
The general technique is counter to diver's training: we are taught to swim with the flippers and relax the arms. To do a barrel roll, you relax the legs, swim with the arms, twist the torso, and let the feet follow.
The particular technique: starting with your right hand near your hip, bring it forward and across your chest staying close to your body, and then extend it ahead of you to the spot where your left hand would be if you were starting a stroke with your left. At the same time, slide your left hand across your belt behind you, again staying close to your body.
While doing this, rotate your torso, bringing your left shoulder back and your right shoulder forward.
Then move both hands as far away from the body as you can.
Now your body is wound like a spring, ready for the power stroke.
Keep the right elbow straight. Start kicking. Bring the right hand back to your hip. Rotate your torso the other way. Keep the left hand as far way from your body as you can, and bring it back to your left.

I do barrel-rolls using my fins, not my arms. I mention that because I want people to know it is possible and practical to do fins-only, and there are many cases where divers hands may be occupied.

The technique you describe does sound rather efficient though. Your hands/arms can go much further to the sides, which may be more efficient for rolling.

 

[OTF]

I do most of the roll with fins not hands. Maybe use hands to stabilize a little bit.

 

[Julius SCHMIDT]

This contol freak uses a fishing rod

 

[Pressurehead]

This contol freak uses a fishing rod

View attachment 667311

That is Seriously Weird.

 

[Dody]

In low vis my stepdaughter and I stay close enough to bump fins as a reassuring sign. We’ve even done a dive holding hands in a limestone rich environment (2’ vis at best).

I do that with my wife too (holding hands). The only problem is that we can only do flutter kick and not frog because we bump our fins too much.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

What always used to happen when I first started diving (with buddies) who were also new divers, is it started out OK but inevitably one diver went one way to see something and the other diver went the other way to see something thinking that they were the only ones diverting for a second and the other buddy was watching them. Both divers get spread apart enough that the low visibility inhibits a visual on each other and you have a classic buddy separation. The other common problem with new divers is they dive following the leader and the leader hauls ass and takes off leaving the buddy(s) behind in the dust… sometimes literally. This also can create a stress situation for the buddy in back who then blows through a ton of air trying to sprint to keep up. I’ve literally had to grab a fin of a sprinting leader to get their attention and get them to slow down!
If you get separated the standard is to look around for a minute then surface and regroup. This can create another problem that sometimes the sprinting buddy just keeps going thinking that the other buddy is still behind them and a few minutes goes by. By that time they are way far away. Sometimes they get selfish and just don’t care, these are the buddies that need to be replaced.
A better method involves teamwork. One buddy is in charge of the dive and the second buddy is there primarily to make sure they stick together. The primary buddy still has a responsibility to keep an eye on the secondary buddy but it is the secondary buddies responsibility to keep an eye on the primary at all times. On the second dive you trade places.
If this is the plan then you have to stick to the plan. Divers that somehow forget the whole plan and split once underwater are unfit as dive buddies and should maybe look into solo diving.
I also recommend diving side by side instead of follow the leader.
If it’s loose buddy diving (same ocean same day) that’s fine, but it needs to be understood by both or all divers that this is the plan. That is actually solo diving at that point.

 

[Dody]

What always used to happen when I first started diving (with buddies) who were also new divers, is it started out OK but inevitably one diver went one way to see something and the other diver went the other way to see something thinking that they were the only ones diverting for a second and the other buddy was watching them. Both divers get spread apart enough that the low visibility inhibits a visual on each other and you have a classic buddy separation. The other common problem with new divers is they dive following the leader and the leader hauls ass and takes off leaving the buddy(s) behind in the dust… sometimes literally. This also can create a stress situation for the buddy in back who then blows through a ton of air trying to sprint to keep up. I’ve literally had to grab a fin of a sprinting leader to get their attention and get them to slow down!
If you get separated the standard is to look around for a minute then surface and regroup. This can create another problem that sometimes the sprinting buddy just keeps going thinking that the other buddy is still behind them and a few minutes goes by. By that time they are way far away. Sometimes they get selfish and just don’t care, these are the buddies that need to be replaced.
A better method involves teamwork. One buddy is in charge of the dive and the second buddy is there primarily to make sure they stick together. The primary buddy still has a responsibility to keep an eye on the secondary buddy but it is the secondary buddies responsibility to keep an eye on the primary at all times. On the second dive you trade places.
If this is the plan then you have to stick to the plan. Divers that somehow forget the whole plan and split once underwater are unfit as dive buddies and should maybe look into solo diving.
I also recommend diving side by side instead of follow the leader.
If it’s loose buddy diving (same ocean same day) that’s fine, but it needs to be understood by both or all divers that this is the plan. That is actually solo diving at that point.

I have a short experience but I tend to believe that buddy separation would be more frequent with experienced divers than new divers. When you are new because of lack of experience, you are way more careful. You stay close to your buddy during the entire dive because you don't know what kind of problem can happen, whether you can dive fast enough and if you will panick. With more experience, you tend to be complacent and you venture further away, confident in your skills (kicking technique, ability to control yourself,...) and your material that you have thoroughly checked. I have seen a lot of "experienced" buddies being further than 10 meters (here in Cape Verde, the visibility is often very good) but newbies tend to be more cautious.

 

[Blackcrusader]

With more experience, you tend to be complacent and you venture further away, confident in your skills (kicking technique, ability to control yourself,...) and your material that you have thoroughly checked. I have seen a lot of "experienced" buddies being further than 10 meters (here in Cape Verde, the visibility is often very good) but newbies tend to be more cautious.

Yup if I am diving with my regular dive buddies we do tend to let ourselves separate. I may be taking photos while my buddy is farther away looking at other things. We get each others attention with our dive torches usually. In between photos I still tend to look and see where my buddy is.

If I am paired up with experienced divers I don't know then maybe less than 10m. If I am paired up with instabuddies with OW or the once a year vacation diver I stay a bit closer maybe 5m. Often those buddies will ask me if I would take a photo or video of them with say a turtle passing by.

In this video you can see I am quite distant from one buddy who is taking photos of a turtle. She appreciates the space and my other friend was close by. I was leading both of these instructors on a dive site I am familiar with. The woman taking the photos in blue was a CMAS instructor visiting on vacation but I had done a few days of diving with her. She enjoys diving with experienced divers who are also photographers.

 

[wildbill9]

Ok….I will admit I didn’t read all 7 pages. IMHO keeping track of your buddy is called situational awareness. In military terms “ I have your 6”. You should be aware where your buddy is as they should be with you. If you need a cord attached you should not be diving together.