Question about buddy system protocol...

[Alex Dailey]

After a dive the other weekend I have a question regarding buddy system protocol for when you lose track of your buddy. According to the NAUI training I received, if you lose track of your buddy and cannot find them after one minute of searching, you are supposed to ascend to the surface and wait for your buddy to do the same.

During my weekend dive my buddy and I became seperated fairly early into the last dive of the day. We were in about 60 feet of ocean, with limited visibility (about 10 ft). I looked down at my dive computer, looked back up and my buddy was gone. After looking for two minutes, following the NAUI training I ascended back to the surface and checked with the boat crew to see if my buddy had surfaced as well. Per request of the boat captain, I reboarded to wait and see if my buddy would surface (the plan was to continue the dive if they came up and we both had enough remaining air supply).

Long story short, my buddy did not surface until the end of the dive, and seemed upset with me that the rest of their dive was spent searching underwater for me. I in turn was upset because I didn't know if they were okay or had joined up with the rest of the divers on the boat. We both have the same training and were trained by the same instructor...so why the difference in response to separation of our buddy team?

I decided to chalk it up to inadequate communication on both sides (not going over what we would do definitively if we became seperated), thinking that since we had the same training, we would follow the same protocol. However, during class with buddy and others, a remark was made regarding the fact I had ascended and not stayed below to search, which has made me question my response to becoming separated from my buddy...

Did I do the correct thing regarding becoming separated, or should I have stayed below to search? Another diver offered to buddy up with me initially when the separation occurred, and while being able to finish the dive would have been nice, I wanted to make sure my buddy knew I was okay (and vise versa). Discussion with the individual did not help, as they seemed to feel I was in the wrong...

I don't necessarily feel comfortable having this individual as my buddy on future dives, which could be a possibility due to the class(advanced scuba), and I don't know if it's a question that I should discuss/bring up with the instructor (feel like I'm being petty/or "a snitch"). However, I want to make sure I'm doing my correct duty as a dive buddy (and if I'm not, correct my actions), and I don't want to be accused of abandoning my buddy underwater.

Thoughts or feedback on this/suggestions of what I should do? :depressed:

 

[Sas]

Did I do the correct thing regarding becoming separated, or should I have stayed below to search? Another diver offered to buddy up with me initially when the separation occurred, and while being able to finish the dive would have been nice, I wanted to make sure my buddy knew I was okay (and vise versa). Discussion with the individual did not help, as they seemed to feel I was in the wrong...

Well was it discussed at all prior to the dive? I am not sure what you mean by "definitively discussed"... was it discussed at all? If not neither of you is in the right/wrong as there was no agreement. If it was discussed it was whoever followed the agreement

With new buddies, I tend to use the "search for one minute and then ascend, skipping safety stops", for NDL dives (do not do deco dives, I imagine there is a lot more to consider with a lost buddy on those dives). I discuss this beforehand.

With regular buddies we can occassionally do "same ocean dives" (discussed beforehand) so I tend to only check on them now and again and we've been seperated for longer than a minute underwater, sometimes for the duration of the dive and we just ascend when we've reached our runtime and reunite. For dives where we plan to dive as a close buddy pair, I spend up to five minutes looking for them (it rarely takes that long to find them but sometimes it is longer than a minute) then I ascend if I can't find them (this is rare).

Really, there is no right answer as such imho, it comes down to what you both have agreed before the dive.

 

[ktownhero]

You did what you were trained to do, I wouldn't feel bad about it. If he wanted a different procedure, it should have been discussed before hand. Doesn't seem anybody was necessarily in the "wrong" here, and I don't think that's what's important anyway. Now you know to make this a point of discussion with new buddies before future dives.

 

[Sas]

You did what you were trained to do, I wouldn't feel bad about it. If he wanted a different procedure, it should have been discussed before hand. Doesn't seem anybody was necessarily in the "wrong" here, and I don't think that's what's important anyway. Now you know to make this a point of discussion with new buddies before future dives.

I agree that the OP should not feel bad about it (just a good learning experience) but not everyone's training is the same so training for lost buddy procedure means little if it is not discussed before the dive...

 

[battles2a5]

Exactly, this needs to be discussed in detail before any dive w/ a new buddy. You training could be different, they could have forgotten their training, they could be used to solo diving, etc. so you need to agree on a separation plan prior to splashing for the dive.

More importantly, the separation procedure needs to be consistent with the diving conditions. Most agencies teach the "1 minute then ascend" because it limits liability and is a simple solution for new divers. In my neck of the woods, making a free ascent off of a wreck 30 miles offshore in current is not going to end well for anyone. At best, you have a very long swim ahead of you. At worst, you are going to spending some alone time bobbing in the ocean waiting for someone to find you. Having a plan that says you meet back at the anchor line, or at a specific feature on the wreck is perfectly acceptable is the conditions would make a direct ascent to the surface difficult. In bad vis on an offshore dive, it's also a good idea to carry a torch, even in daylight, to extend the range at which you can signal and locate your buddy.

 

[BarryNL]

Quite simply, this is one of those things you should review before the dive - especially with an unfamiliar buddy. I would say the normal protocol is a one minute search followed by an ascent (personally, I'd make a 1 minute safety stop if the dive was to more than 18m).

But, before the dive, make sure you and you buddy are on the same wavelength - agree what to do if you lose each other and agree the meaning of hand signals and your dive plan.

 

[Walter]

Except for not discussing the concept in advance, you did everything correctly.

 

[ItsBruce]

You did everything correctly, except, as others have noted, not discussing the issue beforehand.

I often dive in situations where a group of divers will be diving together. We still have buddy pairs, but all the pairs are together.

Sometimes, separation means search for 1 minute then surface. Other times separation means search for 1 minute then get with another buddy pair.

When it is a group dive, searching for 1 minute and the surfacing means both buddies are separated from the group, so surfacing may be good or bad. If the situation is discussed first it is rarely bad.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

As others have said, you did the right thing.

Take a lesson from the experience and always make a "separation plan" part of your pre-dive discussion. It only takes a few seconds to mention to your dive buddy what to do in the event of separation ... and that way there's no confusion about it.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[sabbath999]

We were trained the same way you were, if you can't find your buddy in one minute, do a slow normal ascent and search for them on the surface.

I normally dive with the same buddy, and we both know that this is the proper proceedure. We also dive in MUCK with very low vis, so buddy separation is a big deal around here and not at all uncommon.

I will let the others with more experience comment on whether what you did was correct, I will just say that what you did is what I would have done "by default" if I had not otherwise discussed the proceedure with my buddy ahead of time.