Anatomy of a dive buddy

[Water Monkey]

I read a post earlier that said that if you have a buddy you don’t need a redundant air source.
What is your definition of a dive buddy?
If you travel to a third world country, get on a boat full of strangers, and nobody has paired you up with someone, are the all divers your dive buddies?
If you are paired up do you sit down before the dive and do an interview? Do you sit on the anchor and go through skill sets before you continue your dive?
PADI certifies 10 year olds. Is a ten year old a dive buddy?
I once dove with a 78 year old man off of an aggressor boat. He was an interesting man, he was one of the navy officers that did the nuke testing at Bikini. He wasn’t to bad in the water but he couldn’t get in or out of the water by himself. Was he a dive buddy?

 

[Rick Inman]

Good question. There has been a ton of good talk on this issue -buddies. A quick search brings up a few recent ones:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...iving/302143-what-kind-buddy-do-you-want.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/317486-responsibility-insta-buddy.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/310348-good-buddy-dive-natzi.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...ng/313701-being-good-buddy-looking-stuff.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/258854-how-buddy.html

And here's a good post from one of them:

I was taught that I should be a good buddy in OW and AOW. I was not taught how one does that.

In my opinion, a good buddy:

Is responsible for his own dive. That means he participates in the dive planning, evaluates the proposed dive for safety according to his own parameters, and assesses his own skills and fitness to accomplish the dive as described in an honest way.

Participates in, or insists upon, a good equipment check before getting in the water.

Commits to remaining with his buddy or buddies throughout the dive. This is the prime imperative, and supercedes all other purposes of the dive (photographs, artifact recovery, etc.) As part of this, he commits to retaining a safety reserve of gas sufficient to get him and a teammate to the surface from any point of the dive.

Presents himself as a sufficient buddy. That means he has solid skills, recent proficiency with emergency procedures, and good quality and well maintained equipment. He should also have good situational awareness and an ability to communicate clearly and effectively underwater.

Has fun in the water.

Is willing to participate in a critical debrief of the dive, especially if he intends ever to dive with those buddies again. A kind but honest debrief is how we learn and improve.

My mentoring from Bob Bailey, and my course work with Steve White, Joe Talavera, Andrew Georgitsis, and Danny Riordan, taught me TONS about being a good buddy. So did the many dives I have done with my excellent teammates, like DoubleDip, Mo2vation, HBDiveGirl, rjack, limeyx, KMD, and others.

I was a useless buddy at the beginning. It is something that can be learned, once you understand that there IS something to learn, and decide you want to learn it.

 

[TMHeimer]

dive buddy- the person who is with you.
3rd world strangers- I'd pick who I though was the best one- or 2 or 3.
dive plan discussion- on the boat only as skills underwater would take up most of bottom time.
10 year olds- not for me. I taught them band for years. Think they must go with a DM anyway, no?
78 year old- yes, a buddy. Getting in & out is probably the least risky time overall, as you usually have unlimited air.

 

[DCBC]

What is your definition of a dive buddy?

To me, a dive buddy is anyone that you agree to dive with as a member of the dive team. This may be a second diver (buddy) or multiple divers.

Who can be my buddy is dependent upon my choice, as well as the other diver's. What do I look for in choosing a buddy?

1) Competence to do the dive planned.

Obviously what's necessary for a 30' reef dive is different from a 1300' saturation. The diver has to have the required training and experience to do the dive. They should be trained in rescue, so as to be able to operate as a functional member of the team. It is imperative that I am satisfied that the buddy is competent. The buddy has to satisfactorily answer my questions and support it with a certifications(s) and log book(s). This works both ways and I'm prepared to answer and substantiate my diving experience and certifications.

2) An agreed upon dive plan.

This can be quite extensive at times and it includes every piece of equipment to be worn or used in support of the dive. It also may include specific safety personnel, equipment, mixtures, decompression plan and emergency plan.

3) Agreed upon conditions to do the dive.

This is confirmed at the dive site.

4) Either Buddy can thumb the dive at any time.

This rule cannot be broken and there cannot be any sour grapes as a result.

5) Pre-dive equipment check and familiarization.

Must be completed including a review of equipment maintenance, how the kit is worn and the location of axillary equipment.

In any regard, once the dive is commenced, the buddy relationship must be maintained throughout the dive (come hell or high-water). There are no excuses for lack of attention unless this is agreed beforehand in the dive plan (for example, if I was hired to act as a safety person for an underwater cinematographer). Everyone has to know where they stand before entering the water.

 

[Walter]

If you travel to a third world country, get on a boat full of strangers, and nobody has paired you up with someone, are the all divers your dive buddies?

No. In that case, you are diving solo.

If you are paired up do you sit down before the dive and do an interview?

It is a very good idea. Cover expectations, comminications, equipment, lost buddy, how not to lose each other, explain what you will and what you will not do.

Do you sit on the anchor and go through skill sets before you continue your dive?

If you feel it is necessary.

PADI certifies 10 year olds. Is a ten year old a dive buddy?

I don't dive with 10 year olds because, in my opinion, it isn't safe for a 10 year old to dive.

I once dove with a 78 year old man off of an aggressor boat. He was an interesting man, he was one of the navy officers that did the nuke testing at Bikini. He wasn’t to bad in the water but he couldn’t get in or out of the water by himself. Was he a dive buddy?

Yes.

 

[Water Monkey]

I read TS&Ms post on the merits of a good buddy and they are all true in a perfect world.
But I find that most of the people you end up in the water with are somewhat less than good buddies. You can go over all the details during a pre dive checkout but then at 100 feet with a little narcoses it can all go right out the window. Many people will tell you that they are not under the influence of narcoses at 100 feet but everyone is, regardless of whether you think you are or not. So at 100 feet, or even less you are literally mentally impaired, and you never know what you’re going to get.
All that said in my humble opinion, you are frequently diving with a liability rather than a buddy.

 

[Mike Boswell]

I'm sure an "insta-buddy" works out okay more often than not, and I'm sure great new friends can be made this way. That said, I keep an especially close watch over any new dive companion - and their air supply - for the first few dives. And I never consider anyone to be my emergency air supply.

One of the things I have learned is to discuss "expectations" with people. It never ceases to amaze me how two people can have such completely different expectations about things, and this can lead to problems underwater, where communication is difficult.

Fortunately for me, I am one of the blessed few who is married to my dive buddy, and my wife fits all the criteria listed by TSandM above. We practice drills, we learn from past mistakes, and we get better, individually and as a team, with every dive.

Just as important as safety and proficiency, my wife/dive buddy provides companionship and the joys of a shared experience both above and below the water. My wife is more observant than I am, especially of smaller things like eels or octopi in holes, while I am usually looking around for the larger critters. That means we see more as a team than we would if we were apart.

 

[TSandM]

Water Monkey, I'm always floored by the people who travel alone and expect to find a dive buddy on a boat in some far-off place. My husband has done this, but I'm not sure I'm that brave. I'm powerfully risk-averse, and one of the early decisions I made with my diving was what I wanted from a dive buddy, and I gravitated to a type of diving that ensured that the buddies I got would be the kind I wanted. I have been fortunate enough to travel to a variety of places and get in the water with people I had never met before, and have had a completely successful sequence of dives (some easy, some out on the far edge of my personal capability envelope) due to that pre-vetting.

At home, I dive with other kinds of people -- visiting divers, new divers -- but there I can skew the odds in my favor by using redundant equipment and keeping the dives to fairly simple ones in well-known sites.

BTW, regarding your last example -- I don't know who you are or what you're like, but I can almost completely guarantee that I wouldn't be able to get your butt back on a boat by myself, no matter what. Am I a dive buddy?

 

[The Chairman]

Three of us travel all over the world together: me, myself and I. We grew up together, have many dives together. Therefore, we are always confident of how we will react and to speed things up, we have a system.

I am in charge of the dive. I make the final decisions about where, when and if to dive. I evaluate conditions as well as other criteria to arrive at this decision. I always have a back up plan and I try to be ready for every contingency before it happens. However, I know the importance of delegation.

So, I put myself in charge of all dive preparation. There is only myself to blame should we encounter any equipment failure or if anything is forgotten. I also rely on myself to resolve any in water issues and to make sure we are diving within our experience and certification levels.

All other details of the dive are then left to me. You can expect me to have fun and to be learning during the dive. You can also expect me to lend a hand to other divers before they ask as well as to give a kind word to the captain and crew. Yes, thoughtfulness and kindness always comes down to me.

No, not everything depends on me, but sometimes it seems that way. After all, what would I do without me? I would be beside myself with grief.

That being said, I would happily accompany anyone on a dive, but I probably won't rely on them until I get to know them, like I know myself. After all, I rely on me to take care of myself. I hope this helps.

 

[ScubaInChicago]

Three of us travel all over the world together: me, myself and I. We grew up together, have many dives together. Therefore, we are always confident of how we will react and to speed things up, we have a system.

I am in charge of the dive. I make the final decisions about where, when and if to dive. I evaluate conditions as well as other criteria to arrive at this decision. I always have a back up plan and I try to be ready for every contingency before it happens. However, I know the importance of delegation.

So, I put myself in charge of all dive preparation. There is only myself to blame should we encounter any equipment failure or if anything is forgotten. I also rely on myself to resolve any in water issues and to make sure we are diving within our experience and certification levels.

All other details of the dive are then left to me. You can expect me to have fun and to be learning during the dive. You can also expect me to lend a hand to other divers before they ask as well as to give a kind word to the captain and crew. Yes, thoughtfulness and kindness always comes down to me.

No, not everything depends on me, but sometimes it seems that way. After all, what would I do without me? I would be beside myself with grief.

That being said, I would happily accompany anyone on a dive, but I probably won't rely on them until I get to know them, like I know myself. After all, I rely on me to take care of myself. I hope this helps.

Talk about split personalities...you know your in trouble when you start answering you own questions OUT LOUD....