Bad Buddy... no cookie!

[BiggDawg]

I had just received my Rescue card, when I went on an afternoon boat charter out of Key Largo. I was alone, and there was one other diver alone, so the DM put us together. She was 10 years younger than I, and had her newly signed (wow, the ink was still wet) OW Temporary Card, signed that same morning by her instructor.

The dive was no biggie, French Reef, but the first thing she did once we descended was to bolt off down current, not looking at anything but seeing how far and fast she could go. :fruit:

By the time I caught her (uh, Buddy? Aren't we supposed to stick together? :no ), she was 500 or 600 yards downcurrent, and had only 600 psi in her tank. I turned her, but with so little air, decided to surface swim back. :bubble_fi

What? That wasn't enough? Nooooooo! :shakehead
At the surface, she decided that she was "too tired" and I got to do the tired diver tow all the way back 500 yards.

 

[Diver0001]

We all the the potential to be a bad buddy. I'd say in most cases a bad buddy is just someone who isn't on the same page as you are ..... Expectations are not getting met and the buddies aren't able to sort it out above or under water....

..... and don't forget, if your buddy isn't on your page then you aren't on their page either! It's easy to blame the other guy for that but he could very well be blaming you and with good reason.

Having a bad buddy means you both failed to communicate in the sense that expectations and planning were not clear before you got in the water and communication under water fell short of dealing with deviations to the plan.

I would submit that people who are natrually good communicators will generally have better, or at least less frustrating, experiences diving with (insta)-buddies than people who are not. There will always be incidents where it just doesn't click but if a person has a lot of trouble diving with strangers then certainly part of what is needed is self-reflection. If you've had a bad buddy, start by asking yourself how it happend that you as a team failed to get on the same page... And talk to your buddy about it. Chances are he/she will be as frustrated with you as you are with them.

R..

 

[trucker girl]

Good stories and tips from all of you!

If you have had a bad buddy, were there any warning signs that should have tipped you off? The guy I wrote about earlier from Arkansas may have been a little self-poofing, but conceit isn't necesarily a sign that he's going to do something stupid.

I don't mind diving in the quarry with a newly certified diver- the guy I normally buddy with used to be at my level (now he has far, far surpassed me ) and we were both a little dry behind the ears (ha ha). We learned a lot from those shallow dives. Also, I dove last summer with a couple of relatively new certs- mainly shallow and it was fine. They were both very competent!

I feel capable of "handling" an emergency situation at the shallower depths and more relatively confined locations as compared to the one boat dive in Florida with 3 newbies teamed up in the open ocean. That one probably should never have happened- we should have paid for a guide. Depth was only 30 feet, but still...

 

[BarryNL]

Well, I looked through 10 pages on a "dive buddy" search and didn't see this so I am wondering what BAD dive buddy experiences people have had. We can all talk about GOOD dive buddies- but what are some red flags or bad experiences you have had?

Getting punched in the face by the wildly flailing hand of an instabuddy in Playa del Carmen who seemed to have no idea that he could swim with his fins as well as his hands. For once I then spent most of my dive well out of buddy contact.

 

[mikerault]

Should have calmly taken your dive knife and lacerated his tires...so much for his appointment (or at least his BC bladder to keep him from getting someone killed.)

Mike

 

[Charlie59]

A bad dive buddy is sometimes easy to spot. They carry cameras. I know when I have my camera, and take pictures of little stuff, my buddy could spontaneously combust and I would miss it.

Dang, and it wouldv'e made a great picture!

 

[nerobanchee]

I just have issues when my buddy is not paying any attention and I end up trying to follow them around while they space out.

Another thing is when they dont tell you they only have 200psi left in their tank... Really comforting when you ask them how much air they have and you can tell they havent been paying attention to how much they have left. Its not your responsibility to make sure your buddy has enough air. He must have been breathing like crazy because I still had plenty left and I started off with slightly less air then him...

 

[~Scuba_Steve~]

I think that any conversation that starts out with when paired with a new dive buddy "I am Advanced OW, so I am better than you" would definatly not be a dive buddy with me. :11: Sounds like a complete Jack@@s

Steve Courtemanche

 

[BiggDawg]

I think that any conversation that starts out with when paired with a new dive buddy "I am Advanced OW, so I am better than you" would definatly not be a dive buddy with me. :11: Sounds like a complete Jack@@s

Steve Courtemanche

Agreed.

I might also add,

Any conversation that starts out with when paired with a new dive buddy "I was certified by {insert name of dive agency here}, so I am better than you" would definately not be a dive buddy with me. :11: Sounds like a complete Jack@@s ​

:death2:

 

[bradshsi]

We all the the potential to be a bad buddy. I'd say in most cases a bad buddy is just someone who isn't on the same page as you are ..... Expectations are not getting met and the buddies aren't able to sort it out above or under water....

..... and don't forget, if your buddy isn't on your page then you aren't on their page either! It's easy to blame the other guy for that but he could very well be blaming you and with good reason.

I think that is a very good point. Personally if I'm paired with someone I haven't dived with I'm always concerned that I don't ruin the dive for them by doing something stupid. As a newbie to the diving game (and by no means a natural at it), I am acutely aware that my skills fall far short of where I would like them to be.

Bottom line if you dive with me and find it not to your liking, please tell me before you post it here .


Worst dive buddy pairing I had was not a pairing but someone who invited themselves along with my regular dive buddy and myself. This person was a photographer (and a very experienced diver). However he tagged along at the last minute with no agreed dive plan. Descending he immediately made off to photograph stuff. I didn't know what else to do but keep close so we spent the rest of the dive circling within vis range of him.

Not the most enjoyable dive. I don't like it when you have different goals (sightseeing vs photography). Plus threesomes are pretty horrible to monitor. I spent the whole dive twisting my head back and forth to check on both "buddies."