Being a good buddy, or looking at "stuff"....

[offthewall1]

OK, First post.

I am starting my OW class in two weeks, very excited. Been doing A LOT of reading online, researching gear, best practices etc. (I know that experience is the only real tool for skill/safety development, not the "interweb", or "book learnin' ").
I've worked professionally as a Mountain Bike instructor, Full time Rock and Ice Climbing Guide for over 20 years, so I understand risk management very well.
I have, (unfortunately) learned that I have a very cool head under extreme pressure and first aid situations; having lead or assisted in everything from guiding parties in deterioration conditions, to S+R in the woods, to splinting broken bones in the backcountry, to body recovery.

Here's the thing: I've done enough snorkeling to know that I am a "mission focused" person in the water. I want to look at stuff, and specifically hope to do a lot of shark tooth hunting/fossil hunting in Florida. I tend to follow fish, explore nooks and crannies, see the "little stuff" and appreciate it.

I've been reading up on DIR concepts, and Hogarthian rigs, best practices etc.
I'm pretty bummed out. It looks, initially, like I will be a really crappy "Buddy" due to my desire to not just swim next to other divers using scuba, but instead to be doing "things" while diving. I want to be a good buddy, I want MY buddy to be a good buddy.
How do you reconcile enjoying the underwater world while still being a good buddy?
What if I'm really focused on looking for sharks teeth, doing a very careful and thorough search of a pile of debris? Will I need to find a buddy who will take turns with me, and me with him, watching each other v.s. looking for stuff? What do you do?

Being a Good Buddy starts long before the dive. It starts with Dive Planning. The simple answer to your question is to dive with someone who has a similar interest to your own. This way you can stay interested in things while side by side and sharing the things you discover.

The more realistic answer is that you'll be buddying up with a variety of people with a variety of interests... and this is where dive planning comes in.

My agreement with most dive buddies is that we take turns being the "good buddy." In other words, if I'm into shooting underwater video and my buddy is into digging for sharks teeth... then one dive is mine and the other is theirs (since normally you'll be doing at least a 2-tank (2 dive) dive trip.) So on the first dive I shoot video and my buddy follows me around and basically hangs off my shoulder looking at the cool things I'm finding and shooting video of. On the second dive, while he digs, I hang off his shoulder and if I'm in the mood, I dig right next to him. Maybe I shoot some video of him digging and of his finds... or maybe I just hang out and watch him dig.

In any event, the critical part of buddy diving is not straying too far away. I often see buddy teams 30, 40 and 50ft or more apart underwater and I just shake my head. In a true out of air emergency it would be difficult at best to reach a buddy from these distances. Worse yet, when you're more than a few feet away, you may find yourselves becoming seperated (and even lost.) Heck, I've seen seperations happen from a distance of two feet in poor visibility.

Being a good buddy means being amenable to sharing the experience. By alternating as "lead" and "follow" buddies, you'll be able to share each others interests and perhaps see something you may not have otherwise experienced or seen because of your single focused interest.

Remember sharks teeth or cool... but while your head is buried in the sand, the sharks might just swim up and bite you in the arse... so having a buddy there looking out for you is a pretty cool thing... just ask an abalone diver : )

Cheers

 

[Jim Lapenta]

There are classes though in which buddy skills will be taught and insisted on just as much as any other skill. I buddy my students up from day one and insist they maintain proper distance and position. It becomes second nature after about pool session 3. By the time we hit 6-8 they are like one diver. I also go over it in classroom sessions and not only tell you to do it as well as how to but give you all the why's as well. When you know the real reasons for maintaining proper position and pace it is not as difficult to do. By the time we get to OW I do not have to remind students to buddy up. There is no excuse for buddy separation in my class. I also teach the number one skill in good buddy diving is communication. Before, during, and after the dive. This is the area that causes the most problem for new divers and experienced ones as well.They not only do not communicate effectively, but many don't even know how. Poor buddy practices and the lack of true education in them has directly led to the deaths of a number of divers in the last two years alone. If you have the same objective and interests but cannot communicate with each other and set guidelines for the dive things are likely going to go wrong. Find your self a class where the instructor insists on you maintaining contact and staying in position with your assigned or chosen buddy. You will get more out of the class and may find a new friend who you can rely on. If the instructor does not do this ask him/her why, and to justify talking about good buddy skills but not putting them into real use. And post their reply here. I'd like to hear it.

 

[TSandM]

You are going to be a crappy buddy at first because you are going to stink as a new diver!

I'm sorry, but I'm going to take issue with this. As a new diver, you aren't going to have the polished buoyancy control, trim, situational awareness or communications skills that I have after almost a thousand dives. BUT -- as a conscientious new diver, you WILL be able to stay in contact, you WILL be able to communicate when you need to, you WILL be able to monitor your gas within pre-agreed limits, and so on. I have dived with any number of new divers who were very nice dive buddies. Did they have the resources I have to cope with things if the excrement hits the rotatory air mover? No. But you don't have to have that to be a good buddy.

I think it's EXTREMELY important that new divers reading these threads realize that they can be very enjoyable buddies, because otherwise, they're afraid to ask anybody to go diving with them. Some of the most joyful dives I've done have been with new divers, because I get to share their excitement about everything we see. I can bring skills, discipline and experience to the table, but there is nothing like the wonder in the face of someone who is seeing the richness of the underwater world for the first time.

 

[spectrum]

jjjameson,

As others have said, it's all about common objectives. Become a good navigator that others will be confident in and you will get your share of dives where you set the pace.

Some will depend on your love of diving. If you have a very narrow scope of what you want to do while diving then you will pass up a lot of dives. On the other hand if getting neutral is half the joy then you will dive often, meet lots of buddies and have diversified experiences. It will be what you make of it.

Pete

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Being a good dive buddy comes with practice ... just like being good at anything else. But it helps to understand some simple "rules" that will make it easier.

First and foremost, get in the habit of "looking around". What I mean by that is that we humans are used to a certain amount of peripheral vision, and we tend to "look around" by moving our eyes, or by simply noticing motion out of the corners of our eyes. Putting a scuba mask on your face takes that ability away from you, and so you have to get in the habit of turning your head from side to side in order to see what's going on around you. This is effort you're not used to making, so spend some effort learning to turn your head to glance at your buddy four or five times a minute. With practice you can easily learn to do that and still have plenty of time for the fish.

It also helps to swim shoulder-to-shoulder rather than lead-follow. With shoulder-to-shoulder, both buddies can see each other more easily with a simple turn of the head. With lead-follow, the person in back can see their buddy easily ... but it sucks to be the person in front. That person has to constantly be turning around and looking around to see their buddy. And because it takes effort, lead divers tend not to do it as often as they should ... and if their buddy stops to look at something cool, it's easy to swim away and become separated before noticing that they're not behind you.

Swim slowly ... it reduces the chances for separation. People who speed around like baby harbor seals needing to see everything often spend more time looking for their buddy than they would if they just went slowly. You'll also tend to "see" more, because you're giving your brain a chance to recognize that pattern that often proves to be an interesting critter blending in with the surroundings.

Sometime back I wrote an article on being a good buddy that you might find helpful. And as others have mentioned, it's important to be on the same page as the person you're diving with ... so share your thoughts with them. Involve yourself with them in planning the dive. And make sure you each understand what the other expects from a dive buddy.

Remember ... being a good dive buddy is all about predictable behavior ... both yours and your buddy's.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[trappist]

Thanx to everyone so far... I appreciate the responses.

Hey Ron, just so you know, trust me, I'm no super hero, and I don't think that I am. I was just making the observation that I am accustomed to be able to be counted by others when things get weird, and trying to see how others do the same, while still enjoying the underwater world.
I won't "stink as a new diver" I will be a "new diver" no more, no less.
I will stink compared to someone who has hundreds of dives under their belt. I may find it's all I can do to keep from hyperventilating, or spitting out my reg, or I may be as comfortable as a fish. Time underwater will tell, making posts on the interweb won't.
I plan on being a good buddy, just as I plan on diving with good buddies. Just trying to sort it all out.

That being said, this is the newbie forum, right? Hopefully I can feel comfortable asking questions here.....

There are many posts already that help end guide you in the right direction. One thing I want to emphasize is that you seem to have the right mindset to become a good diver, and right after a good buddy
From your posts, I would easily get together, have a good chat, a good dive and a good debriefing afterwards Many have said it, communication is key in UW world. Before, during and afterwards. Since I'm not instructor I can't dive until you have a first cert, but I would definitely try it out any time once we are allowed to do so !

 

[Bonairetrip]

I am sure you will do fine. I did some climbing back in the 80s (the pre-sport climbing and rock gym days) so I will try and draw some analogies.

If you watch a new rock climber, they tend to be very jerky and use lots of arms. Watch someone with a lot more crag time, and they will seem fluid, relaxed and balanced. Same thing with diving. An experienced diver is usually much more fluid and relaxed.

If you watch someone leading for the first time (say something like a 5.9 they have seconded before) and you will see some of that beginning climber come out anew. They will be less relaxed, more jerky as they work out their next move and place pro. That is task loading in action. The same thing is true in diving. You will get to the point where, like driving a car, you no longer notice all of things you are doing (check the side view, check the rear view, look in front, glance at the speedometer, adjust the wheel to stay centered in your lane). Except, in diving, it is things like where am I in the water column, am I neutral, am I in trim, where is the reef, where is my buddy, how is my gas supply, am I navigating correctly, etc.

As others have noted, the key is to keep an eye on each other and have similar dive goals. Enjoy your training!

 

[Sas]

How do you reconcile enjoying the underwater world while still being a good buddy?
What if I'm really focused on looking for sharks teeth, doing a very careful and thorough search of a pile of debris? Will I need to find a buddy who will take turns with me, and me with him, watching each other v.s. looking for stuff? What do you do?

Well you really have to find someone who has just your style. I've dived with a fair few people and some are fine, safe buddies but we just don't *click*. My favourite buddy searches for old relics under the sand so is basically an underwater silt machine and I mostly dive with a camera. You'd think we'd be totally incompatible but it just works. I stay out in front and take pictures and he searches for buried treasure. We have the same pace and we don't get in each other's way, we don't lose each other and we rarely have to communicate.

There are no set rules to what makes a good buddy imho, although some people here have posted some good starting points, you just have to kind of work out through diving with different people what you like in a buddy - eg. I've dived with people who much prefer the 'same ocean' principle rather than close and side by side. A lot of people would not consider that buddy diving but I do, just a different style for people with different risk tolerances to others and a wider 'personal space' area

So yea I think just start of simple with new buddies (I tend to stick to shallow, easy shore dives with new buddies) and hopefully you'll meet one that clicks. I have met most of my buddies on internet forums, Facebook and my dive club.

 

[RonFrank]

I was not taught this in PADI OW nor do most of my dive buddies that are Padi trained. they do not do equipment checks, bubble checks, and swim ahead of me in a dive, every now and then looking back to see if i am "ok"/ this is NOT to say that all divers padi trained are not good buddies.

PADI most definitely teaches the buddy system. It is a major focus of OW diving for every agency that I am aware of. If you were not taught this, then you did not read the materials well, and did not pay attention -OR- you had a poor instructor. As this is a major theme in PADI and others, I can not image how it got left out, and in fact, I doubt it did. If you did air share drills, well that is part of the buddy system. Equipment checks are also taught in PADI OW.

I have to wonder if those bashing PADI are just not paying attention during class, and skipped reading the book, or if some instructors are REALLY that poor. I'm guessing the former, but the key work is *guessing*. However a lot of new divers are overwhelmed by the entire experience, so I think selective memory comes into play.

I know a number of excellent PADI instructors, so I always wonder why PADI get's such a bad rap on SB. From what I have observed (and I have observed PADI instructors from several states) every PADI instructor I know does a great job, and goes above and beyond during certification classes.

We dive at Blue Hole NM which is a huge training facility, so I see OW instructors in action on the regular, and know a good number of them personally.

 

[offthewall1]

PADI most definitely teaches the buddy system. It is a major focus of OW diving for every agency that I am aware of. If you were not taught this, then you did not read the materials well, and did not pay attention -OR- you had a poor instructor. As this is a major theme in PADI and others, I can not image how it got left out, and in fact, I doubt it did. If you did air share drills, well that is part of the buddy system. Equipment checks are also taught in PADI OW.

I have to wonder if those bashing PADI are just not paying attention during class, and skipped reading the book, or if some instructors are REALLY that poor. I'm guessing the former, but the key work is *guessing*. However a lot of new divers are overwhelmed by the entire experience, so I think selective memory comes into play.

I know a number of excellent PADI instructors, so I always wonder why PADI get's such a bad rap on SB. From what I have observed (and I have observed PADI instructors from several states) every PADI instructor I know does a great job, and goes above and beyond during certification classes.

We dive at Blue Hole NM which is a huge training facility, so I see OW instructors in action on the regular, and know a good number of them personally.

Ron,

I know why PADI gets a bad rap... because it sits atop the mountain as the 900lb Gorilla of Scuba diving. Everybody else is just a jealous PADI wannabe.

Now lets get serious. I started as an SSI diver, Dive Con and eventually Instructor. From there I crossed over to PSAI, then to SDI and finally now I'm PADI. I actively teach SDI, PSAI and PADI... and I'm inactive with SSI.

So having done all of this, here is my take on the bad rap PADI gets and why in some cases it is deserved - but in many cases not.

PADI operations around the world certify a lot of divers. Many of these divers pass the basic OW class (barely,) fall in love with the sport - quickly move on to an advanced rating then Dive Master and finally Instructor in extremely short order. They obtain these ratings by paying enough money to the right person to rush them through. They do not have a well rounded diving background behind them before becoming Instructors.

Just speaking from my personal experience, I dove a couple hundred dives around the world before I decided I had enough experience to actively participate as a dive leader. I believe this is critical to do before becoming an Instructor.

There are basically two types of Instructors - those who can speak and teach from experience and those that can push a button and teach from a slide show. In other words they'e book smart - but not street smart. We all know what it's like to work with the kid fresh out of college who thinks he knows it all... maybe even gets promoted over us - and then we have to teach him how to do his job.

Well imagine this in Scuba. A professional educator, just graduated to Instructor level, but has little or no practical real world experience. In many cases the student in his/her class who reads the OW book has about as much knowledge as his Instructor and about the same experience. I've actually seen students pointing things out to PADI DM's and Instructors (that they missed or forgot to mention)... and that should never happen.

To be fair, is this strictly a PADI problem? Of course not. It's a problem for SSI, SDI, NAUI and a host of others. PADI gets the brunt of the attack because there are more inexperienced PADI Instructors out there than all the other agencies combined.

Much of this has to do with who the Instructor Trainers and Certifiers are and how serious they take their jobs. In a race to get more numbers - all of the agencies are turning a blind eye to quality.

As the shortage of new divers grows, current divers are being rope-a-doped into taking DM and Instructor courses - solely as a source of Income for the shops and agencies.

For many years I stayed away from PADI. I didn't want to succumb to the idea. I had too often run into PADI Instructors who seemed brainwashed into the "PADI way." They would indicate to me that if I wasn't a PADI Instructor, I was somehow inferior.

I knew then - what I know now. The agency doesn't matter. The Instructor matters. When looking for an Instructor or a shop to train with - potential divers delve into the proverbial box of chocolates - having no idea what they're going to get.

Does PADI as an organization deserve the abuse - absolutely not... but some PADI Instructors cerrtainly do. Offer a quality course or don't offer a course at all.