Responsibility to insta-buddy

[DCBC]

My question is, how much responsibility should one have for their instabuddy, especially if he or she is a photographer?

I believe that if you buddy with someone you:

a) assess his/her skills as best as possible before the dive;

b) agree to buddy, or not to; and

c) if you have agreed to do so, you look after your buddy come hell or high-water.

You do not at any time have an opportunity to "go with the DM" because your buddy isn't what you have hoped for. You can however thumb the dive and abort and after insuring that your buddy is safely out of the water, refuse to dive with him again.

 

[RJP]

!

what sort of BS plan is "i'll stay with you unless _______ then im with the DM."

Dive alone if that is your plan, at least your buddy and the DM will know it.

Agreed - you can't say "I'll be your buddy right up until the point I decide to stop being your buddy."

This is pretty much why whenever possible I prefer to do my own thing on these types of dives. My motto is "I'd rather know I'm alone than think I have a buddy."

 

[Web Monkey]

If someone lies to you just to get on a boat, all responsibility on your part should be directed at yourself and making sure YOU get to the surface alive because he may actually do something stupid like grab your primary out of your mouth when he tries to take a breath and gets NOTHING after running out of air.

Liar or not, if someone is having problems or doing something dumb underwater, that's exactly when they need a buddy the most. And if the thought of someone grabbing your primary for an air share causes you anxiety, you need to go back to the pool for more practice, since there's a large probability that that's exactly whats going to happen at some point.

Maybe the guy really had hundreds of dives but it had been a while since he had been in the water. Maybe he was narced. Or had a drug reaction. Or a stroke. Or he was just rusty. Or whatever. It doesn't matter.

Once you sign on as "buddy", it's your responsibility to get both of you back to the surface, alive and well.

Terry

 

[rstofer]

There a difference between the experience of 100 dives and the same experience on 100 divess.

You are always your own best buddy. I absolutely refuse to place my safety in the hands of another. Especially someone I just met. Be prepared to take care of yourself. Never count on your buddy for anything.

It's difficult to be the buddy of a photographer. I know because photography was my main interest in diving. Fortunately, my buddy was also a photographer. So, we were both solo diving together. It worked just fine because we were both capable of taking care of ourselves. We were usually within 20 or 30 feet of each other but, of necessity, our attention was on the subject, not our buddy.

When you're on a charter boat, you don't get to choose your insta-buddy. You might get to choose from a set of buddies but, in the end, you dive with someone you don't know. It sucks!

I was the 'new guy' in our little dive club and whenever I showed up without my buddy, I got assigned the tourists. A diver that didn't believe in dive tables, a diver with an undisclosed sinus problem, things like that. I have NEVER had an insta-buddy dive go well. That's the problem with diving with the same person for 100+ dives. You get comfortable. You enjoy diving.

So, suck it up! You got assigned a diver you didn't want. Well, that's just the way it goes. They are your buddy, you need to stick with them until they are back on the boat. No matter what! Then you can choose another buddy or choose to skip the following dives.

But once you hit the water with a buddy, they are your buddy no matter what!

Richard

 

[trigfunctions]

Agreed - you can't say "I'll be your buddy right up until the point I decide to stop being your buddy."

This is pretty much why whenever possible I prefer to do my own thing on these types of dives. My motto is "I'd rather know I'm alone than think I have a buddy."

I disagree. The way I read it, PineNut basically told the insta-buddy that PineNut was going to stick with the DM and therefore the insta-buddy should too. The insta-buddy knew the plan and chose not to follow it.

Many of these posts seem to be blaming PineNut for not caving in to the style of the photographer. What about blaming the insta-buddy for not following the plan? If the insta-buddy didn't agree with the plan before the dive, he shouldn't have dove. When I'm taking pcitures on a dive, I don't automatically expect that everyone in the group will go at my pace - especially on a drift dive!

 

[vlkr]

i think i have lost my regular coz dive buddy. he lost his job and got divorced this year so it will be a long time before he is able to afford coz adventures. 99.9% of the time it seems almost anyone on the boat is ok as buddy. it is the other times that are the problem. back to my regular buddy. he was experiencing vertigo once at barracuda. we were able to communicate with each other about what was going on and what to do about it. not sure how that would have worked out with 2 folks who just happened to show up without a buddy.
when i do have to have a buddy i always understate my diving background. i am a padi certified dm but i never show that card when checking in or talk about it on the boat.
i am jealous of folks who have spouses who also are enjoy the sport. my wife is great but she has no interest in water sports.
as for the original post, i meet all of the criteria- overweight, old, and american.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

i
as for the original post, i meet all of the criteria- overweight, old, and american.

Me too ... as well as photographer ... :shocked2:

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[RonFrank]

If you agree to buddy with someone, that is what you do. That does NOT mean sticking with the Guide or DM, or ditching your buddy while UW for any reason.

If you don't want to buddy with someone dive solo (assuming that is an option). I have done exactly that on many dives. These were shallow good vis reef dives, so if the dive is novice, and the folks on the boat don't seem like they are good buddy candidates, than solo for me is an option.

I have also been asked to buddy up with newbies. I have little issue doing so as the dives are generally not deep or difficult. If my buddy sucks down his air on a shallow reef I accompany them to the surface, and continue my dive.

IMO, if you agree to buddy with someone, you have a responsibility, and it is a responsibility that is more important than the enjoyment of one dive. You can choose to ditch that AFTER the dive, but certainly not during.

Based on the OPS post I would not have wanted to be buddies with either diver because you BOTH did not offer much as a buddy, not even the bare minimum based on OW training...

 

[paddler3d]

Why would there be no more insta buddies? If the guides do a proper job they will make sure everyone get buddies instead of everyone playing "follow the leader". They wont let you dive solo just because you are a DM.

I've heard the opposite is more likely. If you do a search you will find a thread with a poll about what cert. card people show when on dive trips. Apparently alot of people feel that when they show rescue or higher the guides will more likely try to buddy you up with the less experienced divers to keep those safe.

A lot my my experience on boats where I pay to go are in North Carolina. This is true for my instructors as well.

Diving out of NC seems to be different than a lot of places. The DM hooks the boat to the wreck, comes back up and gives their dive briefing. They then open the pool. They do not dive with the group.

On these charters if you show up with doubles and a DM card, and you don't want a buddy, you don't get a buddy.

 

[SailNaked]

what is the rule in Coz? do you have to have a buddy to leave the back of the boat? because I think OP could have said "hey old fat American photographer, I do not like you i'd rather dive alone, you can not expect me to stay with your slow hoover butt" If you said that to me, I would say "great, via con dios."
I agree with RJP.. better to know off the back that you have no buddy.

but the question was "what is your responsibility to your insta-buddy" well your first responsibility is not to diminish him with slurs about being an insta-buddy and thus somehow not worth your respect and partnership. bet you would stay with her if she was a young lying Italian super model photographer.

Old fat lying American photographers deserve the respect that diving with you as their buddy is assumed. If you can not stay with your buddy no matter what then do not dive with a buddy, dive alone.