Advice for traveling without dive buddy

[DevonDiver]

Hogwash and BUSHWAH!!!!! Seriously arrogant and pedantic, dude. How about if your insta-buddy and you are at 130' on a wall ready to ascend and he drops his camera and instantly shoots down after it - keeps going even though the camera is unreachable. I'm supposed to follow him down to 200' because he's a moron? Don't think so. How about an insta-buddy that screws up big time and makes an immediate and totally uncontrolled ascent from 80'. Race after him and get bent? Ef that. I'll make a safe ascent and see if I can help on the surface, sure. There are a lot of things, large and small that I can't help an insta-buddy with during a dive - no matter how much experience or how many dives I have. Perhaps you should rethink your overconfident attitude. Even you can't handle every situation. If you think you can you are dangerous.

As mentioned, I accompany unknown divers as a daily routine. I don't have the problems that some, less experienced, divers have with that situation. Ergo - experience and approach has an influence on the outcome.

5000+ recreational dives, 22 years diving, no buddies bent, no customers lost, no dramas.... and no complaints.

I've tried to share my approach - because it works for me...and it works for the 000's of dive pros I know.

If you want to write that off as "hogwash and bushwah", that's your decision. You seem to have the problem, I don't.

As for any of your 'hypothetical' scenarios... all of them are nullified by proper buddy procedures. i.e. you are close enough to intervene and prevent a dangerous situation from developing. If you choose to passively stare at a buddy as they encounter difficulties, or make erroneous decisions... and idly float along whilst watching them disappear into the blue... then you failed to act appropriately, didn't you?

If I have a buddy whose buoyancy is suspect, then I am close enough to them to pro-actively assist them and prevent a problem occuring. Can you imagine if dive instructors used that pathetic scenario as an excuse? If we gormlessly stood by and watched our students rocket to the surface without intervention?

As I said, the myth of 'insta-buddy' has its roots in weak diving... that of the observer, not the alleged. It takes two weak divers to make an ineffective buddy team..

---------- Post Merged at 11:32 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 11:17 PM ----------

....where he and I disagree is how much of that management one should be expected to do. All of the very nice advice he has written about being patient and helping someone else is entirely pertinent, if you have agreed to do a mentoring dive. If I've paid for a $100 or more charter boat trip to a nice site, I didn't do it to mentor somebody....

I understand where our perspectives differ - the advice I give is in relation to the original issue posed by the OP: the unavailability of quality divers.

You have a plethora of solid divers in your network. So do I. We choose, for our leisure to dive with selected buddies from that network. My preference is technical wreck exploration - not many of my network can, or will, do those dives with me. I can count on one hand the divers, per year, that I get to enjoy those types of dives with as peer equals (i.e. not instructional dives).

My network, especially for specialist diving, grows over time - primarily because I make an effort to mentor and develop like-minded divers towards an acceptable level for me. Yes, it's an effort. Yes, it limits me. But it's also rewarding in many ways... and it also has a long-term benefit - creating an adequately skilled pool of buddies. That's a great pay-back.

The OP is complaining because he doesn't have such a network. The answer to that dilemma is to create one. He can search for regular, skilled, divers who'll accept him and/or he can make an effort to bring 'lesser' divers up to a level he is content with. Both are effective solutions and neither is mutual exclusive.

I'd suggest that the OP, and friends, should look for a dive mentor themselves... but I their attitudes towards advice seem to disincline them from such relationships...

With regards insta-buddies on vacation etc, you don't have the luxury of a pre-established network. You do the best with what you have. I've described an approach which does that - 'the best with what you have'.

 

[Searcaigh]

I have been fortunate whilst traveling solo on dive trips, as I have only really had one bad experience with an instabuddy, although locally I have had several less than desirable experiences and my choice to dive solo locally is respected by the operations I dive with.

Traveling on overseas trips though it can be difficult to get the same time off for some of my buddies, especially if they live in another country, so I tend to work around major local public holidays when I know I will have 3-5 days off and work that round a weekend and then plan accordingly to somewhere that does not have a high risk of hurricanes, typhoons, monsoon, etc during that particular period.

When spending hard earned cash on overseas dive trips it would be nice to have some insurance that whoever you dive with is not going to be a disaster

 

[diverdorr68]

Not going to mention names. Not a flame zone.
There are a few people in this thread who are very quick to point out situations such as ascending far too quickly, going below or well below agreed depth, etc. No doubt anyone paired up with an unfamiliar buddy has dealt with these things at least once. The problem I have, and a reason for concern for me as I may be paired up with one of your types, is that for someone very quick to complain, you yourselves are unaware of your 'actual' responsibilities. In short, though you profess to be well versed enough to challenge the opinions of pros with thousands of dives, you do not know what is and is not expected of you. You lack knowledge and do not remember your training. If you do not remember your training on the buddy system, what else could you be in the dark about?
Just to aid you in your worries, if your buddy decides to drop an extra 50 or 100 feet below your agreed upon max depth, you do not and should not follow. If your buddy has an uncontrolled ascent from depth, why do I even need to type this, you do not and should not follow him at that rate. If you will say you are already aware of these, why do you complain you do not want to be 'responsible' to do them when you already know you are not?
If you are not willing to accept that your dive may be cut short by a buddies poor luck or skill set get certified to dive solo, hire your own DM, or dive with a buddy you know. In almost every dive, you are the only person forcing yourself to dive with an unfamiliar buddy, you have options.
For someone to say that a pro diver is overly concerned about the details of their trade is reason enough for me to disqualify that individual as a possible buddy. You make me nervous. It is down right idiotic. We 'learn' on the surface so we can 'react' underwater. The more we know, the better prepared we are. For those who have logged thousands of dives training others, I guess it goes without saying they have actually 'learned' alot of things underwater as well. That is called experience. Drawing from their experience using your own 'accurate' knowledge as a divining rod is a great idea. A big ego or extended vocabulary may go a long way in a thread, but are as useless underwater as a pack a matches. Just my thoughts.

 

[DevonDiver]

When spending hard earned cash on overseas dive trips it would be nice to have some insurance that whoever you dive with is not going to be a disaster

I believe GUE created a philosophy purely with that in mind.

In reality though - every diver has the opportunity to gauge their buddy before getting into the water with them. Few do so. Few spend a couple of minutes chatting about experience and qualifications.. doing some proper dive planning...confirming parameters... agreeing emergency protocols... and generally aligning their expectations.

I don't see any reason to whinge, if these steps are neglected... then disappointment results.

It's quite simple... go through the proper steps -as taught- and see how your potential buddy responds. If they are disinterested in joining you for that process, show resistance... or are unable to offer you the assurances that you deserve, then simply refuse to dive with them... seek another insta-buddy.

 

[Kharon]

As mentioned, I accompany unknown divers as a daily routine. I don't have the problems that some, less experienced, divers have with that situation. Ergo - experience and approach has an influence on the outcome.

5000+ recreational dives, 22 years diving, no buddies bent, no customers lost, no dramas.... and no complaints.

Dude, you are getting paid to babysit. I'm not.

As for any of your 'hypothetical' scenarios... all of them are nullified by proper buddy procedures. i.e. you are close enough to intervene and prevent a dangerous situation from developing. If you choose to passively stare at a buddy as they encounter difficulties, or make erroneous decisions... and idly float along whilst watching them disappear into the blue... then you failed to act appropriately, didn't you?

Again - HOGWASH & BUSHWAH!!! When this happened even you would have had to be joined to the moron at the hip to intervene. Both cases were spontaneous with no hint of what was going to happen and the diver was racing as fast as they could. And NO I didn't fail to act appropriately. - endangering mysellf as well would have accomplished NOTHING. Waiting at 130' to be able to assist and proceeding to the surface at a safe ascent speed were the appropriate actions. Again, I wasn't getting paid to risk my life.

If I have a buddy whose buoyancy is suspect, then I am close enough to them to pro-actively assist them and prevent a problem occuring. Can you imagine if dive instructors used that pathetic scenario as an excuse? If we gormlessly stood by and watched our students rocket to the surface without intervention?

You seem unable to differentiate between the instructional setting where you are getting paid to teach skills and situations where one has paid (usually a significant amount) to dive. Can you really be that dense - or is it ego and the need to be right?

As I said, the myth of 'insta-buddy' has its roots in weak diving... that of the observer, not the alleged. It takes two weak divers to make an ineffective buddy team..

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts.
-- Daniel Patrick Moynihan

 

[Quero]

But I really empathize with people who travel alone.

Bottom line, hire a buddy and hope the vis is outstanding! You will rarely be disappointed.

Believe it or not, I travel as a rent-a-buddy with otherwise buddy-less divers who want to be certain of having a competent buddy (as well as not eating dinner alone every night). I'm going to Wakatobi in less than two weeks in that capacity. When I'm doing this kind of job, I am exactly the kind of buddy that Teamcasa describes--I let my buddy set the pace and I pay really close attention to the situation and circumstances of the dive. As TSandM said above, when I do these kinds of dives, even in wonderful places like Wakatobi, there's an element of "work" to it. But I still manage to enjoy myself, of course! (Really looking forward to the Fluo dive, to be honest!)

 

[MMM]

I don't have a buddy either (husband can't swim) so I have resorted to any number of tactics to solve that little problem. Although the OP indicates having left the thread, something that has not yet been suggested is seeking out diver operators with multiple boats. When they have multiple boats, they often group divers by skills, abilities and experience and you stand a better chance of finding a suitable buddy. That said, I love diving with people more experienced than me because I usually learn something, but I have also learned things when diving with those of lesser experience. I really appreciate those who not only put up with me and my crappy skills when I was a new diver, but also encouraged me and suggested how I might improve.

I will never forget a great group of divers (ALL of whom were far better divers than I) I met in Boynton Beach area and who agreed to buddy me with one of their party, even through they were all diving nitrox and I was diving air. I know for a fact that I limited their bottom time. After diving, we all went out together for lunch and they made me feel welcome. That was one of the most fun and memorable dives I have ever been on.

 

[TMHeimer]

In general, my experiences have been OK. It was suggested that if the instabuddy you have seems to be one you don't want to go with, select another one. On most charters I've been on (always as a single) there seemed to be one other diver who was alone. How would I select someone else? I guess I could ask around to make a threesome, but where does that leave the ditched buddy? It has also been suggested that to avoid the possibility of a poor instabuddy you could buddy with someone you know. Obviously this works locally. Someone you know means someone you've dived with. That doesn't help you on a trip unless he travels with you, then you don't have the problem to begin with. As I suggested on page 1, --luck of the draw. Not much else you can do but discuss everything with the buddy and make the best of it.

 

[KCrofoot]

I often take solo trips and one common sence piece of advise is to buddy with a pair of divers that you are comfortable with instead of another solo diver. I also stay at a hotel that caters to divers where the average diver is going to have more experience and you might meet an experienced solo diver that you can buddy up with prior to getting on the boat.

I have been buddies with solo divers that cannot control their boyancy and just beat up the reef and it just kills me to watch them.

 

[racerx_]

I think one of the issues here is the constant pointing the finger back at the OP instead of addressing what is actually an issue when traveling without a buddy. I'm not saying he or any of us are obsolved of responsibility as a dive buddy, but it is a tricky situation. To say you wouldn't want someone as a buddy who has concerns about their instabuddy rocketing to the surface or doing a sudden descent beyond the dive plan is ignoring the fact that the instabuddy is violating protocols and IMO the dive op should have vetted them or at least forced a refresher on skills after the first dive.

Devon has given valuable input. My only issue there is that 1) we aren't dive pros with the level of experience or training that you have, plus you are in a position of authority when acting in a professional capacity so I think that makes it easier to implement in some regards 2) it doesn't give any support to the notion that being paired up with a crazy dive buddy stinks and is not always easy to resolve.

My last dive was with another couple and a DM. DM said I'd buddy up with her and to stay behind her so she could locate us, etc. fair enough. We buddy checked, talked through the plan, etc. Except she spent most of the dive in turbo mode pointing out the next box fish that she found. It ended ok, but I'm not sure how situationally aware of me she was the whole time although I kept my Eye her and the couple who were bobbing up and down like corks taking pictures and constantly on the verge of getting separated from the group. The dives were alright, but I wouldn't say the buddy situation was ideal.