Approximately How Often Have You Experienced Buddy Separation?

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Th

Great idea! We offer a similar hand mounted mirror. Our original intent was to allow people to check the red light on their head mounted (or mask mounted) GoPro.

GoPro Status Mirror | MAKO Spearguns

For many folks that will work, but I have a dive light on my left hand and a compass on my right. Because the mirror I have has only one elastic band, I am able to put it more on the back of my right wrist, behind the compass.

 

[TMHeimer]

Yes great idea. I should've had one the 4 years I was assisting on courses. I'd get one now if 98% of my dives were not solo. How much do they cost?

 

[oldschoolto]

I lost my buddy (WIFE) twice...

Once was in a cold lake with less then 5' visibility when I was digging in the mud and it went to zero... The wife lost me in the cloud, She went back to the down line we have on the boat with the emergency Deco tank at 12' and waited for me... That is our plan when diving and lost buddy...

Second time was two years ago in Bonaire, I was shooting video and some diver swam by... One of the divers had the same wet suit as me and was swimming with this "CUTE" girl in a shorty... My wife started to swim off with them... I just watched her swim away to see what would happen... After a few seconds she looked back and saw me, and came back... When we got out of the water we talked about, A few minutes later the girl ( she was working as a dive master ) for the guy ... She came over and knew us from Dive Friends and asked what happened... This is what my wife said....... " I was thinking my husband had picked up some girl on the reef, You had a really cute butt,,, So I said what the hell.. He at least has good taste."

Jim....

 

[Bratface]

My regular buddy and I were separated when I made it through the cut and he didn't. There was current that pushed me through and when I tried to go see where he was, I couldn't get back to him. The leader in our group couldn't get through either so she surfaced to look for him. He made it safely to the surface but lost his fin in the ordeal. He made it back to the boat without incident.

Although he was right on my fins when I went through, he was carrying a camera which made it harder for him. I was upset about separating from my buddy and decided that in the future, I would do my best to make sure we could get through a passage like that together or neither of us would go. He never did find his fin.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Yes great idea. I should've had one the 4 years I was assisting on courses. I'd get one now if 98% of my dives were not solo. How much do they cost?

If that question was for me, I think it was $12. Way too much, but I just paid for it, as the inconvenience of trying to make one myself (and make sure it wouldn't puncture a hole in something) would be too much.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Bob,

I think that depends upon visibility. You being in the Pacific Northwest, if visibility is under five feet, then the buddies should be closer than a body length away. At a body length in five foot visibility, the buddy can disappear in about two seconds. Which way did (s)he go? Guessing wrong then can lead to buddy separation, and an unexpected solo dive.

Since we are in a three-dimensional medium, I suggest that the buddy should be able to reach out to the diver and touch him or her. If there is enough visibility, you can back off from that, but no more than about two strokes away (swimming wise). For photography, ask the buddy to be behind and above, keeping out of the frame and away if maneuvering horizontally. One should lead, and the other should follow.

I'm testing out a new device (to me) which is a convex mirror which goes on your arm or your counsel, which is used to keep the buddy in better view. I'll let you know how it turns out.

SeaRat

Of course it depends on visibility ... I did say "unless visibility limits you to being that close". Or did you miss that part?

As with most things scuba-related, "it depends" is the only answer that works in all cases. But we don't always dive in 5 foot vis here ... quite often it's better than that, particularly once you get below the plankton bloom. And it's also common ... almost always ... the case that we carry powerful lights to help us not only find stuff, but keep track of each other.

Above and behind doesn't work well ... it's great for the above and behind diver, but for the below and ahead diver it sucks, because you have to keep turning around and looking up to find your buddy. It can work reasonably well if the above and behind diver makes effective use of his light for passive communication, but then it can interfere with the photographer's ability to find or photograph the subject ... particularly since our most popular subjects around here tend to be small and well camouflaged, as in the example below.

Generally speaking, I don't encourage touching distance unless the visibility is such that it's mandated. And in that case you must also reduce your swimming speed and pay particular attention to maintaining visual contact with each other. Low-vis conditions require a bit more than just "huddling up" if you intend to stay together. It's also a good time to avoid dive sites that are known for strong current, as that just makes diving together that much more difficult.

But under normal diving conditions ... vis in the 10 foot or better range ... touch distance creates more issues than it solves, as it can impede the diver's ability to maneuver and increase the risk of getting your mask accidentally dislodged by an errant fin kick. Gotta always weigh the potential benefits against the potential drawbacks when making these decisions.

(And FWIW - if vis is less than 5 feet the chances are extremely good that my "buddy" is going to be an AL40 clipped under my left arm, where it's always within "arm's reach") ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Of course it depends on visibility ... I did say "unless visibility limits you to being that close". Or did you miss that part?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Yup, I missed that part. My apologies.

Concerning the mirror, check this out:

A Faithful Dive Buddy
Keep missing out your buddy in a tour with your dive master?SeawiscopeHelloBuddyis designed to keep your buddy always in sight. Scuba diving is six dimensional. Rolling over to check the presence of your buddy with all the gears is prohibitive. The sure way to get hold of a buddy is to hold his/her hand in a dive. If your dive buddy is not intimate enough to give his/her hand, use aSeawiscopeHB. A simple hand twist confirms your buddy is in pace.

An instrument of standard
SeawiscopeHBis a rear-view mirror especially designed for scuba divers. It provides an exceptional large field of view with a 70 mm diameter convex mirror. The glass mirror is protected with a replaceable plastic cover. Both the mirror and the cover lens are of optical grade, providing crystal clear vision.

SeawiscopeHBcan be handheld, mounted behind the pressure gauge, or be fastened onto one of the hoses with our accompanied lanyard and an adjustable slide. An option is also provided with a snap hook to hang onto your buoyancy jacket.
Seawiscope: Scuba divers' near vision aids and other small items

A friend of mine in Hong Kong, who is a licensed optometrist and taught optics in a university for over 20 years, developed this along with the SeawiscopeEY (see my avitar) for helping people see things underwater. There is a photo from their website below. It would make seeing someone behind and slightly above much easier (though I no longer recommend that as a position for a buddy, per Bob's analysis).

SeaRat