Hey folks Im just wondering what triggers you to be extra cautious with a new buddy/instabuddy?
For me its the guy with all flash and fancy new gear.hes usually busy saying to anyone who's listening just how experienced he is
You know, I've had only one instabuddy who surprised me. He was clearly an experienced diver and we got along fine on the boat. Once under water, however, he descended all the way to the bottom (that was not the plan) and swam just inches above the bottom during the whole dive. He never once looked to see where I was. I didn't get it and the guide didn't understand what he was doing either, especially given that this guy had been diving for years and had a logbook with about 1000 dives in it.
Back on the boat I asked him about it and what it turned out to be is that he needed very strong glasses to see and the mask he was using didn't have prescription lenses in it. If he wasn't hugging the bottom he literally couldn't see anything. It didn't occur to him to tell me this before the dive and once the dive started it was too late.
Almost all of the other casual buddies I've had have been fine aside from various differences in style. I think that being an instructor helps a bit. I'm quite accustomed to diving with people having a wide range of experience levels and as a person I'm really laid back and happy to adjust my plan to suit the comfort zone of my buddy. Some of the best dives I've had were with instabuddies.
In particular a trip I made to Turkey, where I dove over a couple of days with a British guy who had a BSAC 1-star rating. He was fine in the water and we had a great time together and some really good dives. He kept apologizing for "holding me back" but I didn't see it like that at all. We were just two guys diving and having fun. It was a thoroughly positive experience.
On another occasion I had been "assigned" the "new guy" by the boat crew in Mexico. As I said, I don't mind diving with inexperienced buddies so I agreed. This guy, however, had never put his own gear together before. The instructor had done it for him during the course. This *did* give me an alarm bell because if the instructor did that, what *else* did he not teach him?
It was his first dive after OW and I helped him get ready and I do recall saying to him that if I moved my elbow "like this" (showing a jabbing motion) and I didn't touch him that he was going to have to answer for that! LOL. Poor boy was glued to me under water but we had a good dive together and he came out feeling a lot more confident than he had going in. I liked being part of that.
R..