Would you dive with someone who wouldn't share air if you were OOA?

[Bob Vincent]

You know a few things in this life is certain; 1. we all die 2. we have to pay taxes 3. WE CAN'T FIX STUPID.

 

[Cajuncru Diver]

The simple answer for me is "Are you out of your mind? "

 

[Bob Vincent]

And some people wonder why a few of us love diving by ourselves when out for pleasure. Theres 3 of us that usually go together on trips all have been diving at least 15 years plus. All hold more than a Open Water Instructor Cert. We enter the water at the same time, go our separate ways, run into each other sometime during the dive and surprisingly end up back at the boat together go figure.

 

[mrlipis]

As a new diver I read this board for advice and learning but I must say to Papa Bear (do I need to genuflex in order to address you), regardless of your experience or opinion, your teaching methods have a lot to be desired if that is what your intentions are. "your not a diver until you have a 1000", what agency says that?!!

 

[Gombessa]

I want my buddy to monitor my gas. I want to know where my buddy's gas is at ... at regular intervals. That way if there is something going on we'll pick it up.

The most relaxed and fulfilling dives I've been on are the ones where my buddy regularly asks me what my pressure is and reciprocates. It lets lets us keep tabs on each other, encourages us to check our own pressures more regularly, and lets us make mutual decisions on how much farther to go out before turning, whether we have enough gas to dive the return or make a longer surface swim, etc. I don't see it as a hassle, I see it as teamwork.

 

[AbyssalPlains]

Of course not. Why would I? To hold hands underwater? If she was really cute, then I would dive with her, but if not, no friggin chance.

 

[Kingpatzer]

The most relaxed and fulfilling dives I've been on are the ones where my buddy regularly asks me what my pressure is and reciprocates. It lets lets us keep tabs on each other, encourages us to check our own pressures more regularly, and lets us make mutual decisions on how much farther to go out before turning, whether we have enough gas to dive the return or make a longer surface swim, etc. I don't see it as a hassle, I see it as teamwork.

I think that people who are either well-trained in teamwork, or who have a natural sense of being on a diving team see it the same way. But not everyone experiences being on a team as a liberating experience where shared burdens and mutual respect raise the level of enjoyment. To some people, being asked to be a team member is seen as an infringement of personal space and liberty, and is taken as some sort of assault on their own personal worth.

After over a decade in spec. ops., it's not a perspective I share, but I understand it. It's the number one reason we failed people out of some of our courses.

 

[Gombessa]

To some people, being asked to be a team member is seen as an infringement of personal space and liberty, and is taken as some sort of assault on their own personal worth.

I can definitely understand that. Different strokes and all (no pun intended). I just hope I find this out about someone before I get put in a buddy situation with them!

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Some of this talk about only sharing air with a non-panicked buddy is crap. First of all, most any diver who comes to you and REALLY needs to breath is panicked or very close to panicking. If you give them air, it is quite possible that they will immediately calm down. Problem over.

On the other hand, if you assume that you will deny someone air (until they ask nice), you may well receive a punch in the face. I know I would smash a PB figure hard enough to knock his teeth out, if I was denied air when I needed it.

Also, it really is somewhat silly to assume that you really have control over the situation. It is quite likely that the other diver will be strong enough to snatch the reg from your mouth and it would be very difficult to get it back. Also a panicked diver could easily approach from the side or above and you would never know there was aproblem until the regulator was snatched from your mouth. Rather than fighting with a panicky buddy, it would be much safer if you let them breath from whatever regulator they have "selected" and then forcibly grabbed them, took control and began to move expeditiously toward the surface.

I think it is especially funny to hear women talk about how they would use discresion in deciding what situation they would share their air. Most any man, has far superior upper body strength and it really would not be much of a contest who will control the regulator.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

If I remember well what my Rescue Instructor taught me, it was that if someone should be frantic or out of control and you fear for your life, and you cannot control your buoyancy with the victim trying to get on top of you at the surface, (lots of ands there), THEN you should let some air out of your BC, and the theory is that the victim will then let go and not want to go under the water. Of course this also means that you are still in control of your reg. I think it would have to be really bad to use that technique, but I think that is the way I remember it being taught.

That is a little hard to follow. You are at the surface with air to breath from a regulator and your BC is full and you are floating there. Then a frantic diver interferes with your ability to control your bouyancy? How? How is this endangering your life? You are floating with a regulator in your mouth?

Then if this gets real scary, you are to dump your air from your BC and go down and then breath from the reg underwater so that you are safe?