Scuba Diving Self Situational Awareness Ribbon

[SDSA]

That is not a "buddy". That is an Instructor. A buddy can't certify another diver.

And yes, if that's what happened, then there are going to be a LOT of questions asked... that would be close to a criminal negligence case for the dive professional in question. Under no circumstances should an instructor ever leave a student diver without supervision.

Unless I misunderstood. I'm sorry to say, but your posts are not always very clearly written.

Well this person was a dive buddy and I have also conversed with other divers who have also said dive buddies are people who go out as experienced diver sp someone doesn't dive alone and yes are there to help if need be isn't that like a coach. And the ignorance I didn't no self awareness means dive buddy

 

[Scraps]

SDSA,

What do you know about the dive buddy, his experience level, and the nature of the understanding between him and your cousin?

Did they know each other before the dive? Was the dive buddy an employee of a dive center? Did your cousin hire him? Or did they meet on the boat and get paired up with each other by the boat crew?

I ask these questions because "dive buddy" is generally understood to be a mutual understanding between peers to stay together as they execute the dive they planned. Neither party is in charge. Neither party is "responsible" for the other. It's just an understanding that two certified divers will dive together, try to look out for each other, and try to stay together (which isn't always as simple as it sounds).

It is not the case that one person is the "dive buddy" and the other is along for the ride. If they're both certified divers, each is the other's buddy.

One area that may need more awareness is what it means to be a buddy. On the boats I work on, we do not allow solo diving. When people show up without buddies, we pair them up so that nobody goes out alone. After we pair them up, there is a great deal of variation in how much these new acquaintances (what we call "instabuddies") will talk with each other, check each other's equipment, compare their skill and experience levels, and plan a dive appropriate for the team. Some people approach this new relationship very seriously. Some do not. If we knew more about your cousin's final dive, it might help promote awareness along those lines.

Best wishes,

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I disagree from what I've learned isn't a dive buddy who agrees to go out as one taking the responsibility of being the more experienced diver and ultimately yes so to speak being the baby sitter being the teacher being the one responsible.

No. Sometimes a buddy will have less experience than the one looking for a buddy. Every diver is taught the basic skills required to make a dive, ascend, and complete the dive. Having a buddy, especially for new divers is fun and can add to the safety, but each diver is responsible for themselves.

 

[waterone]

If your commenting on my abbreviations, as incorrect or as to say it is uneducated to use, I think you are wrong. And excuse me there are many jobs and varies situations abbreviating is needed. And I didn't post expecting other to only read posts that they can basically understand. I posted asking for help for direction and guidance not to be bashed for abbreviations shows how much you get out. And when posting maybe it's logical so I'm not posting a neverending get to the point

Please reread my post as it seems that you did not understand what I wrote at all. I was giving honest and what I believe to be helpful input. Jabs at me for how often I get out isn't needed. Besides I went out for a drink just last year.

To create such a project and gather attention you must first understand what you are trying to change and figure out what, if anything needs to be changed. While I would like to understand your view and direction better, it is unfortunately hard to fully comprehend your posts.

What I had previously said is that you do not seem to currently understand scuba, the buddy system or situational awareness all to well. As such what you want to accomplish does not yet seem like there is a solid direction. However scuba and situational awareness can all be taught and I hope you are willing to learn and able to figure this out to get to where you want to go.

I am sorry that you lost some close to you. Please understand that we all want the sport to be as safe as it can be. Questions asked about the accident and the answers and clarity given can help a future tragedy from possibly happening again.

 

[Julius SCHMIDT]

Unsuitable for my appointed position wow what position was I appointed? Answer that

Self appointed ambassador of a just cause that through your unsuitable nature are failing abysmally

 

[Wibble]

The buddy system is weak with many problems and massive limitations. However "it's the best we have".

It's best in limited circumstances and probably of most use for novices.

The worst aspect is it can weaken self-sufficiency and encourage dependency on others. It can cause problems -- the process becomes more important than the actual issue it's trying to resolve.

Solo diving is a perfectly good and safe diving paradigm

 

[drrich2]

I disagree from what I've learned isn't a dive buddy who agrees to go out as one taking the responsibility of being the more experienced diver and ultimately yes so to speak being the baby sitter being the teacher being the one responsible.

No. A dive buddy is not necessarily more experienced or more capable. They can be approximate equals. And no, a dive buddy doesn't necessarily take on the responsibility to be a baby sitter, teacher or 'the one responsible.'

You research the meaning of dive buddy and say ur right. If u want just someone to dive with u take a friend but u don't take on the title dive buddy if u can't handle the full position that it holds.

Unfortunately, I believe your understanding of the term is lacking, particularly in how it often works in real world situations.

When divers dive together as buddies, each is the dive buddy for the other. It's a 2-way street.

dive buddies are supposed to be what arms reach away aren't they yes they are.

And this is where real world experience (which I have some measure of, diving and buddying) trumps what you read somewhere. How close dive buddies 'should' be depends strongly on conditions, such as visibility. If you ever get certified and start diving, you'll see arms length is often not what happens.

Ur comment has no valid points just nonsense why be a dive buddy then right exactly.

No, but I imagine it seems that way to you because you lack the frame of reference that comes with diving.

What you seem to think your cousin ought to have had is not called a dive buddy, it is called a private guide or private DM (dive master, which is actually a certification level but the term is often used loosely (albeit inappropriately) for dive guide).

Relatively new divers entering situations they're unsure of that may stretch their capabilities sometimes hire a private guide who can focus on them. Such divers, if they are certified and not taking a class, are still expected to be competent divers responsible in substantial measure for themselves.

 

[OTF]

I think SDSA might be a very young person, or perhaps english is not their first language. I don't intend that as an accusation that demeans or discredits, to the contrary we might all be more accepting if we knew that was the situation in this bizarre thread.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I am sorry but getting certified has nothing to do with trying to help and hope other divers can be reminded of its importance.

I think you getting certified as a diver would help your cause by giving you more knowledge of what you're trying to promote, not to mention giving you "street cred" from your audience's perspective. I am a proponent of the buddy system, but from what you have written I respectfully have to agree with those who said you do not appear to understand how the buddy system is taught to divers. Your understanding of it appears to be superficial and does not reflect what is taught in the certification class. For example, most divers are taught that as soon as they no longer know where their buddy is, the procedure is to search for no more than one minute, and then surface by themselves if the buddy is not found and wait at the surface. Following this procedure, no diver is ever alone for more than a couple of minutes unless there is some catastrophic event that occurred beyond simple buddy separation.

I am sorry but getting certified has nothing to do with trying to help and hope other divers can be reminded of its importance. So when people support cancer awareness do they have to also have cancer, for anyone to show support in raising awareness they to have to personally be the one affected. It can not be a family member or friend showing support or a stranger showing support.

I appreciate the analogy to cancer awareness, but most people involved in cancer awareness understand the principles they are trying to promote, such as the benefits of early cancer screening, self-screening, etc. Of course one does not need to have the disease to know the principles of early screening and detection. However, to be an effective promoter of cancer awareness one does need to have been taught those principles.

I support what you're trying to do, but I also believe you need to be taught the buddy system in a dive certification course to become better and more credible at promoting your cause.

 

[johndiver999]

Lots of good comments. To fix a problem, you need to identify it as specifically as possible. Then it might be necessary to gain sufficient knowledge about the topic/problem in order to make understand how and why the situation developed. After all that is accomplished, then you might be able to offer some potential solutions to the problem. The overall goal seems worthwhile, but the op seems unwilling to do the work necessary to gain an understanding of the current state of affairs. We also should acknowledge that this issue includes aspects of trading, ethics, legal responsibilities and cultural and environmental aspects as well. Not as simple as “just be a better buddy”.