In warm clear water with younger divers or less experienced ones the entire team should be able to see each other with a slight turn of the head. No one should have to look up, down, or be an owl to see where the divers are. Also position as to how close. If I'm diving with a buddy and we are actually diving as "buddies" then I want to be able to respond in less than a good powerful fin kick. Distance wise would be a body length at the most to the side of me. Otherwise I am assuming they are no use to me or I to them and adjust for that. It takes only a split second of inattention for one to suddenly shoot up or take off. This would be with newer divers. If I'm diving with those who I know to be self sufficient then we can get more spread out.
Speed is the next consideration. Regardless of experience the slowest diver sets the pace for ALL facets of the dive. Descent, swim, and ascent. There is no reason except perhaps a hot drop into high current for anyone to be leaving the team. If one is slower to equalize then all stay with him/her until everyone is down. None of this I'll meet you on the bottom nonsense. It is ok for them to meet at the surface on the line after jumping in but conditions need to be such that this does not cause an issue itself. I prefer to enter at the same time with newbies and swim to the down line together.
We have all heard the stories of someone jumping in way overweighted (the predive check should eliminate this though), and dropping out of control. A buddy in the water at the same time might just be able to stop this. Of someone hitting the water without their fins or losing a mask, for new divers all potentially stressful but if the buddy is there easy to deal with.
Teams of three work very well when communication, planning, and attitudes are compatible. When they are not it is a recipe for trouble.
And one line that no one else picked up on bothered me a bit. Barring an equipment failure there is no reason for anyone to go OOA on a recreational dive. This is clear evidence of poor planning, inexperience, poor training, and lack of attention. If you are going to dive threes, just as the slowest diver sets the speed the one with the poorest air consumption sets the duration. Unless all of you are experienced enough to handle a multiperson OOA( I doubt many who are not pros could do this with today's level of training that seems to be evidenced by alot of these threads- have you taken rescue or did you do rescue skills and buddy breathing in OW class?) , better to use your SAC rates and plan a safe profile.
Speed is the next consideration. Regardless of experience the slowest diver sets the pace for ALL facets of the dive. Descent, swim, and ascent. There is no reason except perhaps a hot drop into high current for anyone to be leaving the team. If one is slower to equalize then all stay with him/her until everyone is down. None of this I'll meet you on the bottom nonsense. It is ok for them to meet at the surface on the line after jumping in but conditions need to be such that this does not cause an issue itself. I prefer to enter at the same time with newbies and swim to the down line together.
We have all heard the stories of someone jumping in way overweighted (the predive check should eliminate this though), and dropping out of control. A buddy in the water at the same time might just be able to stop this. Of someone hitting the water without their fins or losing a mask, for new divers all potentially stressful but if the buddy is there easy to deal with.
Teams of three work very well when communication, planning, and attitudes are compatible. When they are not it is a recipe for trouble.
And one line that no one else picked up on bothered me a bit. Barring an equipment failure there is no reason for anyone to go OOA on a recreational dive. This is clear evidence of poor planning, inexperience, poor training, and lack of attention. If you are going to dive threes, just as the slowest diver sets the speed the one with the poorest air consumption sets the duration. Unless all of you are experienced enough to handle a multiperson OOA( I doubt many who are not pros could do this with today's level of training that seems to be evidenced by alot of these threads- have you taken rescue or did you do rescue skills and buddy breathing in OW class?) , better to use your SAC rates and plan a safe profile.
