What if...? Lost Buddies

[Steve_C]

Lots of good responses but lets look at a situation I have seen frequently and I have frequently seen divers with less than 20 dives on. You are diving 18-25 miles off shore. The boat is anchored into a wreck or ledge. There is a mild top water current and possibly some chop or swells. You are at say 75-80 feet but is could be as much as 95. (I know what PADI says but I am talking reality). If you do an open water ascent you will not be close to the boat and you will be drifting away from an anchored boat with divers in the water. You will be unable to find the wreck/ledge if you go back down much less your buddy. You only do an open water assent if you have an emergency and no body to help you or if your buddy has some sort of medical issue.

Normal procedure is to agree to meet at the anchor if separated with an agreed wait time. But stop and wait a bit before returning. If you go for help you go back to the anchor line and go up that.

Situation on wreck is a bit different than a ledge. With a ledge in decent viz if you are separated because you stopped to look around you know what direction they went. On a wreck it is trickier because they can circle around you.

Having a plan is essential.

In low viz on a ledge or sometimes a wreck if you are not careful with your navigation it is possible to get lost. In that case it is important to have an SMB and know how to shoot it from depth. That way the boat knows where you are and can come get you once the other divers are out of the water. No matter what you want to be at the surface before the air gets low. Running a reel in low viz is a good way to avoid getting lost or nearly lost. Also before heading out, explore the anchor area first so you can recognize it from any direction. If you carry an SMB practice with it.

 

[WrmBluH2O]

This "what if" thread is fab for we newbies. Thanks for having put it together. I look forward to going back and reading the discussion. I assumed hi viz, tropical waters b/c that is all I am currently "trained" for and likely to dive in. Not wired for low viz & cold, but mad props to those who are. Cheers!

* What would you do if you lost sight of your buddy underwater and couldn't find him/her?

Stop. Remain where I am and look for my buddy for one minute. That would include looking both above and below me as well as all around me. If I didn't spot him during that minute, do a controlled ascent to the surface. At the surface, continue to look for look for my buddy. If unable to find buddy at surface, indicate to those on the boat that we may have a diver in distress.

* What would you do if you're in a buddy team of 3 divers and one buddy went left while the other went right?

Tap on tank to hopefully get both diver's attention. If (when?) that failed, swim/stay with the closest buddy (distance-wise) and ask him where our other buddy is using <you> <get w/buddy> <shrug> signs (or slate, if necessary). If together we do not see our other buddy (and one minute has elapsed), proceed as above in Question 1. Essentially, whether you have one or two buddies, the procedure is the same. That said, I don't particularly wish to be in a buddy team of three divers, if it could be avoided.

* What would you do if you're in a buddy team of 5 divers and, all of a sudden, you only counted 3 other divers in your field of view?

Honestly, I would have thumbed the dive. I am a team player, but I am new to diving and wish to have both the safety and responsibility of only 1 diver as my buddy.

For the purposes of the exercise/question, I assume the lost buddy procedure is the same as in Question 1. That is, I get their attention and signal <stop>, then <buddy> <where/shrug> and collectively we spend 1 minute looking for the 5th team member. If unable to find the 5th diver, we make a controlled ascent to look for him at the surface.

* What would you do if you're diving in two buddy pairs and you lost sight of the other buddy pair?

If my buddy and I lost sight of the pair, we would continue to dive. The only exception I could imagine is if we four had agreed, as part of a dive plan made earlier, to treat such as a lost buddy situation should it occur.

* What would you do if you got a leg cramp but your buddy didn't notice and left you behind?

Tap on tank to get buddy's attention. If (when?) that didn't work, grasp the end of my fin and stretch to try and release the cramp. If my buddy failed to return and/or I could no longer see my buddy, treat it as a lost buddy situation and do a controlled ascent. Proceed to withhold sex and dinner from said buddy for one week. (I kid, I kid! My husband will be my buddy for most dives.)

 

[Neilwood]

This "what if" thread is fab for we newbies. Thanks for having put it together. I look forward to going back and reading the discussion. I assumed hi viz, tropical waters b/c that is all I am currently "trained" for and likely to dive in. Not wired for low viz & cold, but mad props to those who are. Cheers!

* What would you do if you lost sight of your buddy underwater and couldn't find him/her?

Stop. Remain where I am and look for my buddy for one minute. That would include looking both above and below me as well as all around me. If I didn't spot him during that minute, do a controlled ascent to the surface. At the surface, continue to look for look for my buddy. If unable to find buddy at surface, indicate to those on the boat that we may have a diver in distress.

* What would you do if you're in a buddy team of 3 divers and one buddy went left while the other went right?

Tap on tank to hopefully get both diver's attention. If (when?) that failed, swim/stay with the closest buddy (distance-wise) and ask him where our other buddy is using <you> <get w/buddy> <shrug> signs (or slate, if necessary). If together we do not see our other buddy (and one minute has elapsed), proceed as above in Question 1. Essentially, whether you have one or two buddies, the procedure is the same. That said, I don't particularly wish to be in a buddy team of three divers, if it could be avoided.

* What would you do if you're in a buddy team of 5 divers and, all of a sudden, you only counted 3 other divers in your field of view?

Honestly, I would have thumbed the dive. I am a team player, but I am new to diving and wish to have both the safety and responsibility of only 1 diver as my buddy.

For the purposes of the exercise/question, I assume the lost buddy procedure is the same as in Question 1. That is, I get their attention and signal <stop>, then <buddy> <where/shrug> and collectively we spend 1 minute looking for the 5th team member. If unable to find the 5th diver, we make a controlled ascent to look for him at the surface.

* What would you do if you're diving in two buddy pairs and you lost sight of the other buddy pair?

If my buddy and I lost sight of the pair, we would continue to dive. The only exception I could imagine is if we four had agreed, as part of a dive plan made earlier, to treat such as a lost buddy situation should it occur.

* What would you do if you got a leg cramp but your buddy didn't notice and left you behind?

Tap on tank to get buddy's attention. If (when?) that didn't work, grasp the end of my fin and stretch to try and release the cramp. If my buddy failed to return and/or I could no longer see my buddy, treat it as a lost buddy situation and do a controlled ascent. Proceed to withhold sex and dinner from said buddy for one week. (I kid, I kid! My husband will be my buddy for most dives.)

I would assume that would be a very frosty house for a week!

 

[Reku]

Generally - If I can't find someone within 3mins I go to the surface and if someone can't find me within 3mins they should go to the surface. I try to stay within (arms length + 6") of my buddy and be able to see them OR their light beam every few seconds or so. That's just my take - there are many ways to do it.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Some of the material in the archived files really is worth revisiting. This is a great topic for our newer divers to read and comment on. How would you respond?

I will confess I have had 4 occasions when we had buddy separation and I believe I handled 3 very well and 1 not so

* night dive two groups converged. Lost track of who was who, surfaced and rejoined then continued dive.
* group of 3 in bad viz. I searched where I had seen them last for 1 minute, surfaced and waited, and waited. I finally saw two sets of bubbles and descended to rejoin. Not them! Surfaced and waited. 8 minutes later they surfaced. Refused to buddy with them again.
* diving with a group but with designated buddies. Among a group of boulders and kelp lost track of my buddy. I did the safety stop with another buddy par from the group. My buddy did the right thing and surfaced without his stop. I still cringe thinking about it. I was still a very new diver and failed my buddy because I didn't HAVE to do the stop. My buddy was experienced and I just assumed that meant he would be ok.
* end of the dive surfaced with my buddy. Another diver surfaced without a buddy and a search was started immediately.