Lost buddy prevention

[alex_can_dive]

My (noob) buddy and I are both scared of losing buddy but both are tired of twitching around every few mins to look for each other, so we thought of using a reel (~ 6 feet) to hook our D-rings together - with the understanding that if something were to go wrong, you'd pull it.

From the scale of 1-5, how stupid and/or dangerous would this be?

 

[Outbound]

Don't do that. Entanglement risk is high. Plus, you don't want to be dragged around (or up or down) by a dive buddy who loses buoyancy control. Just practice situational awareness and stay relatively close to one another and it shouldn't be an issue. If you dive next to one another, it only takes a simple glance to the side to check if your buddy is there. If for whatever reason one of you needs to stop for a second, just tap your buddy and let him/her know.

 

[boulderjohn]

A buddy line is sometimes used in very low visibility situations. They are typically about 6 feet long, usually with loops at each end. They are hand held, though, not clipped to D-rings.

If you are not diving in that situation, then just dive. You don't need to have your eye on your buddy at all times. You will learn to become more comfortable with one another and your relative positioning as you dive.

It is, however, possible that you could improve your positioning. I had a buddy who loved to be slightly above and behind me. He said he could see me really well that way. I told him he was a pain in the neck for me--literally. He finally realized that the position that allowed him to see me prevented me from seeing him.

 

[lowwall]

You both need to work out your positioning ahead of time and then stick with it. Normally for OW you want to be side by side and a meter or two apart. A little farther is OK if visibility is good.

Even though you are next to each other, one diver will be the leader in terms of where you are going. Signal to each other to switch leader or if the follower wants to go look at something specific.

 

[LCoolio]

Diving is a secondary duty in my job, and because of that the expectation is that we aren't very good at diving. Due to the fact we may operate in any condition or vis, we are both buddied up like you described, and also with a float to the surface. It absolutely sucks, for every reason Outbound described. Actively checking on your buddy is a part of diving, you can make it easier by using handheld lights and properly positioning so that you are within easy sight of one another, and lastly communicating with each other if you intend to go look at something. Adding more lines is almost never the answer, except in what boulderjohn described. Keep working at it, eventually it will be second nature

 

[Outbound]

I had a buddy who loved to be slightly above and behind me. He said he could see me really well that way. I told him he was a pain in the neck for me--literally. He finally realized that the position that allowed him to see me prevented me from seeing him.

Oh yeah, one of those. There's a guy that we sometimes dive with who is a competent diver, but he LOVES to be above us. Sometimes literally right above me when I'm leading (not sure how he can even see through all my bubbles). In a drysuit, all that turning around to find him is annoying as all heck, since I try not to move my neck too much lest I let in water through the seal.

 

[Bob DBF]

I'm not a fan of hard attachments, but if you each held the end of a buddy line in your hand, that would work.

Working on buddy skills, which were probably overlooked in your OW, would solve the problem. At first keeping track of each other will take a lot more of your attention than you would like, but over time it will become second nature, Swim side by side so a glance will spot your buddy. Both of you have to be committed to working togather. Before you take off to look at anything, signal your buddy so he comes along. Remember that the dive belongs to both of you, and your interests should not overshadow his. If you do need to go single file, be careful, this is where a separation is most likely to occur.

Keeping track of your buddy is one side of the equation, the other is insuring that you do not move fast or irratically. so you are hard to keep track of. Practicing these skills may screw up a few dives while you sort it out, but will be worth it in the long run.

In clear water there is more room to separate without losing your buddy as viz decreases the buddy pair has to be closer togather, to the point of using a buddy line. Most times I have used a buddy line, it was more a working dive that had to be done rather than a pleasure dive. I can keep track is someone in 5' viz, but by then the diving was not fun,

 

[Compressor]

I sometime use buddy lines as nicely described by @boulderjohn. But no reason to clip it.
Situations where I would use it: visibility less than 2 feet.

 

[Marie13]

Dive side by side, not in a straight line.

 

[maj2]

I have used a buddy line before, but not in years and only in very low viz.
We would put a float on the line, so it would lift up and out of the way to reduce entanglement. Basically a small water skiing line float.