too deep to resurface?

[Basking Ridge Diver]

I will throw in my 2 cents.
The area that I believe this occurred in has a wall from 70 feet down or so and extends out of the water. This is not a normal wall that folks think of - very much like Rogers Rock in Lake George or Dutch Springs and the wall to frame this. It would have been very easy to travel up the wall and look around for the buddy. BUT - the entry/exit is not on the wall. The entry/exit is a decent swim from the wall.

That is why I have an issue - if one of them was dragging a flag which is required - this is an easy no brainer exercise. Although this is technically open water this is not in a column of water that needs to be ascended without reference and is not in a wicked current folks are talking about - this is a wall that can be easily used for reference while ascending...

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

Agreed... the location and conditions do make a difference.

When I use the term 'touchdown' point, I'm referring to when we hit the reef or the bottom, not the entry/exit from the water. So if we swim out a couple hundred yards and descend onto the wall and then get lost, the first point to return to would be where we descended onto the reef. That's the most logical place to rally. Then, if it turns out we've blown all our air, we're theoretically close to the exit.

I found myself defending a certain position, but in reality most of us would do both, search, surface and descend and search again if necessary.

 

[AfterDark]

And a textbook reason to carry a pony.

So what if when you were separated, poo hit the fan ?

My pony is ALWAYS within an easy arms reach, how about your buddy?

Can your pony help cut you out of an entanglement situation?

OP a safety stop isn't required. A slow ascent to the surface would have been fine. Some of us were diving years before a safety stop was even thought of and we're fine....I think

 

[Bob DBF]

OP a safety stop isn't required. A slow ascent to the surface would have been fine. Some of us were diving years before a safety stop was even thought of and we're fine....I think

Or before 30 fpm ascent...I'll vouch for you if will vouch for me.



Bob
--------------------------------
I think that advocating unsafe and dangerous practices is both stupid and foolish. That is why I don't tell people to do what I do. Dsix36

 

[AfterDark]

Or before 30 fpm ascent...I'll vouch for you if will vouch for me.



Bob
--------------------------------
I think that advocating unsafe and dangerous practices is both stupid and foolish. That is why I don't tell people to do what I do. Dsix36

+1 60FPM non-stop to the surface. OMG how did we survive doing that for so many years?!?!??!?

 

[Freewillow]

+1 safety stop from 70 feet after how many minutes? I thought that PADI binome procedure was to surface if the pair is lost. Am I crazy?

 

[Doc Harry]

PoseidonsEnforcer,
you took the correct course of action
congrats

 

[Robert Thompson]

I am curious what others think about this scenario-

This past summer I was shore diving with a new diving buddy. We were both checking out critters on a large wall and eventually due to New England's lovely viz, became separated at roughly 70 ft. (he turned a corner and was gone, even though I looked for him, shined my lights, etc...).

Now, at the beginning of the dive we both said that we should surface if we got separated, the problem is that I was at 70ft and didn't feel comfortable popping up at that depth. I slowly made my way back to the area where we started, made a safety stop at 15 ft, and surfaced. We eventually found each other, but he seemed pretty agitated that I didn't pop up right away. I told him I wasn't comfortable doing that at that depth, and he seemed to think it was ok...

My question is- Is it anyway safe to pop up for a minute and take a look for his bubbles at that depth? (i don't think so, just confirming that i'm not insane).

I'm pretty sure your training says search for 1 minute then ascend to rejoin your buddy. The issue here seems like it might be that you are not comfortable making a free ascent in murky water. Yes it can be challenging and a bit disorienting, but you need to be comfortable doing it. Maybe you need a lift bag for a reference to ascend on. Then your buddy would see your bag when he/she got to the surface. I believe there are alot of divers that use bottom contour ascents as a safety net. The problem being that when they have a major issue that requires a direct ascent, they are not prepared for it.

 

[Atsbits]

For me, the main issue is the buddy separation bit. Yes, it happens, but it shouldn't happen because people are busy with the critters. Maintain some situational awareness for your own safety. All this can be avoided by properly implementing the buddy system. Maintain the leader and follower pattern and do some checks every minute or so. My current buddy and I are now practiced in this, the leader knows where the follower is likely to be at all times. I hang back to the right slightly when following, he will be above me to the right when I lead. the buddy system only fails because the buddies fail individually. Be a good buddy and that's enough of that.

As for popping up from 20m, I wouldn't do that. Controlled ascent from that depth, omitting a safety stop is perfectly fine within ndl. If this was the agreed upon procedure, you follow it. Why have a lost buddy procedure in the dive briefing if you just choose to ignore it? The tables and algorithms used in sport diving are conservative enough to be able to get away without any serious mishaps.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

But I think the point was the OP did agree to this approach prior to the dive. So.... Either you follow procedures or you don't agree but either way you best say something before I find myself alone looking for you....