To Buddy or not to Buddy?

[Crush]

My first solo dive was "unanticipated" - we had carried out one dive already that day and my buddy had told me that he was up for another dive. He changed his mind. It donned on me that I could take my pony (with which I regularly practice) and carry out a dive on my own. As I settled in below the water my mind was clear and calm, and I recall thinking THIS is what I have been training for. The site was a lake with good vis, I was familiar with it, and I kept my depth above 40 ft. There were no other hazards.

What do I think of the buddy system? It is my preferred way to dive - there is safety in a good buddy and the dive, as well as pre- and post-dive, can be more enjoyable.

What do I think of solo diving? It is my preferred way to dive when I want peace and meditation.

 

[tyesai]

I'd love to have a good dive buddy. I'd love it if my wife would dive but she has a hard time with the water and the nose thingy. I know a few co-workers that dive but their dogs ovaries always hurt and their wife's won't let them leave for 6 hours because of it. So I throw myself off a boat with a perfect stranger, sometimes it works out well and sometimes it is the same ocean concept. But I'm cool with that as I'm diving and not worrying about dog ovaries.

I'd like to take a solo diving class, not with the intention of diving solo intentionally but for the knowledge. I have lots of other I can learn before that though.

 

[modzs]

Any time someone decides to dive, be it solo or with a buddy, they take their own lives in their hands.

It's your life to live....and lose.

 

[DevonDiver]

Loss of life effects many more than just the victim.

It's also very easy to be gung-ho about dying.. from the safety of your keyboard.

Some people enjoy taking risks - they tend to be the ones who've never been directly confronted with the consequences.

Just saying...

 

[g1138]

If you hate diving with your buddy/buddies, chances are you're not employing an effective buddy system.
Hence you're not actually buddies, just two divers diving in close proximity to each other.

That's my viewpoint.

 

[birdwrasse]

i think many people are skipping the real question of the post... it is not if you CAN, that is are you able to, but should you always dive with a buddy...

at this point in my diving experience, i would say no. but i say no to diving with buddies that i don't feel comfortable with. buddies that take unnecessary risks, buddies that leave your side, or the buddy that gives wrong information about the diving area... those aren't buddies, they're accidents waiting to happen. as a technical diver, i've been trained to be self reliant. that doesn't mean that i won't dive with others or consider myself part of a group of divers going diving together. with that said, there are many benefits of diving with others, primarily the redundancy. part of my cave training was to have two back ups. believe it or not, during one of the dives, both my primary and the other student's primary lights failed. now, we each had backups, two in fact, but it just goes to show you that the unexpected can always happen.

if you do dive with a buddy, the most important lesson i can offer to anyone is communication. both you and your buddy have to be right on with your communication and practice those buddy skills. it is imperative that each of you will be on the same page, or have a means to let the other know what is going to happen if the shiza hits the fan!

practice, practice, practice... it has to be second nature.




--c

 

[Thalassamania]

I always dive with a partner.

 

[d33pdiv3]

But I still could not get in the time I wanted diving till one day I woke up and said "Damit I'm going diving!"

LOLOL!!! That was funny!

 

[DivemasterDennis]

You asked for my take on buddy diving, so here it is. Everyone should dive with a buddy competent to assit them in emergency situations. That may be simply sharing air in the event of depletion or equipment malfunction, or assisting in getting loose from entanglement, or going to get help. I have dove alone, but only under very controlled conditions. I am fortunate to have a wife who dives and is an excellent diver. When not with her, I have a couple of good friends with plenty of experience and training with whom I am comfortable diving. But beyond the safety issue, I love sharing the experience of diving, having someone to share the joy, the beauty, the excitement, and to confirm the really good sightings of creatures or behavior. I think that is a big part of diving. My wife and I do a lot of diving with just us two ( as opposed to 20 divers on a boat going on a "trail ride dive" ) We enjoy diving with each other, we are more comfortable knowing that each is there for the other, and we enjoy reliving the dives in conversation after the dive is done. Those are three really big aspects of making diving fun. Solo divers have none of them. To each his/her own. I'll take a buddy, thank you.
DivemasterDennis

 

[ThomasScherrer]

in many locations, specially in clubs with extreamly experianced divers
who have been together for a long time and seen it all.
I have been a few times out with crews like that, and what I see they do
is not buddy diving, but multible solo dives.
they go in and out of the water like my kids go in and out of their playhouse in the garden,
and all are perfectly happy with it. No one is teamed up with anyone
and the distance between them can be anything from zero to infinitive.

when I am with them I feel a bit odd, and newbee like, but I just suck it up, and friendly ask who will team up with me for the dive,
since I do buddy or dont. If they laugh behind my back or newer want to see me again, I dont really care,
it is my way, until propper tranined and maybe also bring equipment like deco or pony or double tanks or Y valve with double regs on single tank,
there are many ways to put the buddy's safety into own equipment, if needed.
----
about the other divers story, lost and ignored the default search time and continue dive, found buddy and continued the dive !
ok your dive site was special due to surface traffic, BUT in such a case you should have made a plan with your team/buddy
so all parts know the way it is supposed to be done.
I tell you it is VERY fustrating for someone to keep looking for a lost
diver on the surface, or down there. While that lost diver is just having funn diving alone and beeing perfectly fine.
It is not friendly to do this without telling first.