Are you going back for your buddy?

[Steve_C]

Typically my dives are in 60-100 ft f water form an anchored boat. If you get separated you will look around for them (what this means depends on the dive) and if you do not see them go meet at the anchor. Note that if they get lost they will do an free ascent with a safety stop along the way (been me twice) in which case you will not see them. After waiting make your ascent to the boat. And go to notify the crew. You may well find them on the boat (happened 4 or 5 times) or the crew will look over and see them coming up later. Point is stuff will happen
-Talk over scenarios before the dive.
-Learn to become comfortable diving solo
-When in doubt run a line
-Get a smb that can be launched from depth
-Stay calm.

When you get separated you really do not know if they are ahead or behind you. When you look back they could pass you.

 

[northernone]

It's what ever we've agreed before hand.

Generally:
At the surface, look for bubbles.

If I can't see them, and there's immediate surface support, signal the crew and inform them the situation.

After that, I'm going back down, nothing I can do sitting on the surface. Even a blind lame cat catches a mouse sometimes.

I won't risk a double fatality.
Cameron

 

[Lobzilla]

I learned to dive together with my 12 year old nephew and made a firm commitment to never, EVER loose sight of him. The thought of facing his parents and having nothing more to offer than a shoulder shrug in explanation of his whereabouts was orders of magnitude more uncomfortable than thinking about my own death.

I also told my nephew that if he looses me, he will loose the gas that would keep him alive in an emergency. He got that point quickly and it was him who suggested to practice controlled air-sharing ascents with a timed safety stop. (After certification, we switched to long hose and necklaced backup regulator to make this easier).

We dove in wicked currents in the Pacific Northwest, through kelp forests, descended through a plankton layer that made everything below as dark as the night (we both carry lights on a hand strap or handle, which also makes it easier to stay "in touch" with each other). We screamed through a murky quariy, around and through the submerged attractions, behind DPVs (scooters) until the batteries were done. During all of this, we never lost sight of each other because we both made a point of covering each other's back AT ALL TIMES.

During the DPV "flying" it became really obvious that the dive buddy (or teammate) is the equivalent of a fighter pilot's wingman. In a hostile environment, you never leave your wingman and the wingman never leaves the lead.

We would communicate and agree to change the lead role if we felt like it. Of course he wanted to lead with the DPV. He could have easily "escaped" me since the little guy created much less drag behind an identical scooter. But he didn't loose me. He throttled back as soon as the distance between us got too big, which took only seconds.

That being said, if one of us gets eaten by a shark or is carried away by the Kraken, the other one will safely terminate the dive and move on. There are things even a good team can't fix but separation is not one of these things.

I dive solo occasionally in sufficiently benign environments but when I make the promise to be a team resource, I focus on keeping that promise and expect no less in return..

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I'm fortunate that most of my buddies past and present are self-sufficient. We know going into the water that we are each basically solo. Sometimes we don't see each other at all, other times we are nearby much of the dive. Our plan in case we lose a buddy is to meet up later on the boat and ask if they got any good photos.

 

[2airishuman]

If you lose sight of your buddy in an open water dive, ascend 10’ and don’t see any sign of them within a minute, I think most will agree their plan is to surface safely and look for your buddy.

But now what? Let’s say your buddy is nowhere to be seen on the surface. Do you descend and go look?

I usually dive with my son, who is 18.[...]

So, it does depend, very much, on the nature of the dive and the people involved and the expectations set beforehand.

A good deal of my diving is in waters where we would be generous to characterize the viz as 10'. It is very, very, easy to loose a buddy in these conditions. I dive with my kids, who are younger. We dive from shore. The dives are shallow.

Typically, if I lose one of my kids, I look for them. Most often it is more effective to search on the surface. initially, looking for bubbles.

In deeper water, where remaining air supply and nitrogen loading are a factor, well, it's a judgement call based on the overall circumstances.

 

[BRT]

Disclaimer: I don't have it, I recently met someone who swore by it. I think I want them for Xmas:
https://www.amazon.com/Dive-Alert-W...8&qid=1526758158&sr=8-11&keywords=buddy+alert

That will let you know if they are within earshot, but not where they are.

 

[TMHeimer]

I'm fortunate that most of my buddies past and present are self-sufficient. We know going into the water that we are each basically solo. Sometimes we don't see each other at all, other times we are nearby much of the dive. Our plan in case we lose a buddy is to meet up later on the boat and ask if they got any good photos.

 

[TMHeimer]

That will let you know if they are within earshot, but not where they are.

 

[KevinNM]

I learned to dive together with my 12 year old nephew and made a firm commitment to never, EVER loose sight of him. The thought of facing his parents and having nothing more to offer than a shoulder shrug in explanation of his whereabouts was orders of magnitude more uncomfortable than thinking about my own death.

I also told my nephew that if he looses me, he will loose the gas that would keep him alive in an emergency. He got that point quickly and it was him who suggested to practice controlled air-sharing ascents with a timed safety stop. (After certification, we switched to long hose and necklaced backup regulator to make this easier).

We dove in wicked currents in the Pacific Northwest, through kelp forests, descended through a plankton layer that made everything below as dark as the night (we both carry lights on a hand strap or handle, which also makes it easier to stay "in touch" with each other). We screamed through a murky quariy, around and through the submerged attractions, behind DPVs (scooters) until the batteries were done. During all of this, we never lost sight of each other because we both made a point of covering each other's back AT ALL TIMES.

During the DPV "flying" it became really obvious that the dive buddy (or teammate) is the equivalent of a fighter pilot's wingman. In a hostile environment, you never leave your wingman and the wingman never leaves the lead.

We would communicate and agree to change the lead role if we felt like it. Of course he wanted to lead with the DPV. He could have easily "escaped" me since the little guy created much less drag behind an identical scooter. But he didn't loose me. He throttled back as soon as the distance between us got too big, which took only seconds.

That being said, if one of us gets eaten by a shark or is carried away by the Kraken, the other one will safely terminate the dive and move on. There are things even a good team can't fix but separation is not one of these things.

I dive solo occasionally in sufficiently benign environments but when I make the promise to be a team resource, I focus on keeping that promise and expect no less in return..

that’s it. If you are diving with someone you should never get far enough apart to lose sight of them. This means you stay close to them. But it’s got to be a mutual commitment.

 

[seeker242]

that’s it. If you are diving with someone you should never get far enough apart to lose sight of them. This means you stay close to them. But it’s got to be a mutual commitment.

Sure, but what should happen and what actually happens, are sometimes two different things. I think the jist of this post is "What do you do when something that shouldn't happen, actually happens?"