Best practices for being a good buddy

[jtpwils]

Hi all, I'm familiar with importance of pre-dive planning and buddy checks, etc, but I'm looking for advice on best practices for being a good buddy - underwater.

I read N.W. Grateful Diver's piece on his site but I'm interested in what else I don't know about being a good buddy.

For the purposes of this lesson assume that both buddies are inexperienced divers.

The only things I know are pretty simple, keep checking on them to make sure they are there and appear OK, ask OK, ask about air supply, and see if their breathing rate changes.

So what do I not know?

Thanks.

 

[CalgaryDF]

I think the most important thing you can do as a buddy is talk to your buddy before the dive. If you spend some time to talk about the dive plan, experience levels, and what each person expects from the other it makes a huge difference to the tone of the dive.

 

[RonFrank]

Discuss how you want to dive BEFORE the dive. This is just not a plan, or a gear check, what I am suggesting is discuss pace, acceptable distance from one another, etc.

Pay attention to your buddy. If you are checking out a Nudi, and he is off chasing a Shark, you won't stick together.

Really setting expectations is what I generally do. If I want to bury my head in my camera, and he wants to race around like a hyper dolphin, chances are the whole buddy idea just went out the door. You may want to choose a leader, but that is not always necessary. If you are going to navigate using a compass, it maybe wise.

If you are doing low vis diving, then maintaining close buddy distance becomes important, assuming you don't care to end up solo.

Another important thing to discuss is what to do if separated. If you do decide on a plan, stick to it. It does no good what so ever for you to both agree to surface after 2 minutes of separation if one of you does not do so.

As for UW buddies, that is something that takes a bit more time to develop. IOW's communication is not going to work perfectly especially with a new diver/buddy, and knowing how your buddy may behave in a stressful situation is also a total unknown.

If you want to do buddy drills, that is also best discussed on the surface.

I have a few friends I dive very well with. I have a few folks I don't dive so well with. Generally if you are kicking hard the entire dive, I'm not going to enjoy being your buddy. Non responsive buddies are also very annoying. If someone asks if you are OK, it's best to respond. If they ask every 2 minutes, punch them, and then respond!

This is somewhat of a personal thing, but I tend to like buddies who take a nice slow pace. After all, what is the hurry!

 

[teddyg04]

Pre-dive planning is all-important, as Calgary says. Another very important thing for fairly inexperienced divers: resolve to stay within your limits. Agree that either diver can thumb the dive at any time. Learn to be comfortable saying "I'm not ready for that yet," and you'll enjoy the learning curve a lot more. You have the right attitude; a good dive buddy is a real gem.

 

[gcbryan]

As everyone has said it's not crucial what the pre-dive plan is but that there is a pre-dive plan...conversation with your buddy about what you expect and how the dive should go. Maybe go over a few signals.

During the dive it's about staying together which generally means staying close and swimming side by side. Someone can lead the dive and still swim beside you. Following is easy but for the person in front it's not easy since they can't see you.

The leader should make sure they aren't going too fast and the follower should make sure they aren't stopping without giving notice to the leader. It doesn't matter what you do as long as it's predictable and communicated to the other.

Nothing is more irritating than to have a buddy darting all over the place. They may be having fun but you won't be.

Communicating and being predictable ...that's my advice.

 

[bburville]

In a perfect world your buddy should be 100% at home in the sea, have grace and agility, excellent swimming ability and a cute face helps too...
Meet my dive buddy.... "Hand in hand" at www.youtube.com/bburville

Safe diving,
Ben "Seal diver"

 

[Thalassamania]

What I tell my divers is that you must always be prepared and in a position that you are able to quickly intervene on your buddies behalf in an emergency. Most of that time that means one to two kicks and an arm length away.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

gcbryan touched on the most important aspect of buddy diving, to my concern ... predictable behavior. There should be no surprises, nor anything that creates stress in the buddy team.

As most folks have indicated, a good dive begins at the surface with a good pre-dive discussion ... not just about the dive plan, but about how you want to execute that plan. You should make sure both (or all three) divers understand the meaning of the hand signals you will use (and light signals, if appropriate). You should agree on who will be leading the dive, and talk about the pace of the dive ... for example, whenever I'm with an unfamiliar dive buddy I always make a point to tell them I prefer a slow pace. Every diver should understand that it's OK to call the dive at any time if something doesn't feel right ... too often divers who are unfamiliar with each other will push it because they're worried about ruining their buddy's good time, or afraid they'll be castigated for calling a dive "unnecessarily". This is especially the case with newer divers. The simple fact is that everybody should feel OK about calling the dive if they feel something about it is making them uncomfortable.

The goal here is to avoid conditions that will put stress on the team, or on any member of the team ... stress is not our friend underwater.

During the dive, descend and ascend together. Watch each other as you descend and ascend. Diving's like flying ... a significant percentage of diving incidents occur on "takeoff" and "landing", and with good technique these incidents are usually avoidable or easily fixable. Once the dive begins, position yourself in such a way that your buddy can see you ... ideally you will be beside your buddy, but in some cases that's not possible so you should think about where your buddy will expect to see you when they have to turn around or otherwise move to find you. Remember ... predictable behavior. It just makes life more comfortable for both of you.

Stick to the plan. If your buddy starts to wander deeper than planned, or does something you're uncomfortable with, or overstays the agreed-upon turnaround pressure ... get their attention and signal appropriately that you don't want to do that. If necessary, give a turnaround or ascend signal as appropriate to avoid breaking the plan in a way that causes you stress.

Keep an eye on your buddy, watching for signs of stress or discomfort. Such signs include struggling with buoyancy control, heavy or erratic breathing (notice their bubbles), or more subtle changes in what you've observed as "normal" behavior for the person you're diving with. If such signs go on for more than a minute or so, consider calling the dive. Lots of times, I'll notice my buddy struggling and signal that it's me that's having a problem and want to turn around ... that takes pressure off a buddy who might be pushing themselves because they don't want to ruin my good time.

Finally, if anything does make you uncomfortable during the dive, talk about it afterward. Make an effort to find constructive ways to put it, but don't just bury the issue because you're worried your buddy won't want to hear it ... most divers WANT to be good buddies, and if you bring it up in a way that expresses concern rather than criticism, most divers I've dealt with appreciate the feedback.

Good communication ... predictable behavior ... compatible objectives ... those are the best practices you're looking for ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[dhuskins]

Good buddies help each other. Some friends of mine play a game whereby they try to find the smallest juvenile. This keeps them together and gives them a reason to be near each other.

Each buddy team has different reasons for working together (in addition to the reason of redundancy of gear). For example, my wife is an artist and has a great eye for composition. I used to teach photography and can make cameras work miracles. She finds the shots and the angles. I shoot them. We have a common goal on our dives and work on the goal together. Having the similar reasons for diving helps keeps the buddy team together and working with each other.

Some friends of mine are REEF fish counters. Again, they have a common reason for their dives.

Yes, communication is important. Not just above water, but under as well. My wife and I took American Sign Language (ASL) so we would have a much richer vocabulary underwater. If you dive with the same dive buddy, I suggest you both find something like ASL or SeaSigns. The larger vocabulary allows for more interaction underwater. Imagine being able to tell your buddy, "Hey, the thermocline was more than I expected and I am not suited up to continue our original plan. There were some white and blue nudibranch back at the second turn. Want to head back and hang there instead? We can then resume our original return plan from that point."

A "best practice" for buddies is to be available to the other in case of need. That is very difficult if you are simply in the water at the same time with nothing else in common. By having something in common, proximity becomes a byproduct and not a goal. It also gives you something to talk about afterwards.

 

[Teamcasa]

Good communication ... predictable behavior ... compatible objectives ... those are the best practices you're looking for ...

Exactly.

I'll just add the being able to watch and be seen. When diving with a new buddy, watching them and being able to have them see you is very critical.

Go over this line with your buddy:
"I will not be behind AND above you and please, you do the same."
and
"When we have to go single file, I will lead, you follow and we will make face to face contact directly after we exit. OK?"

(BTW, here is SoCal, kelp diving requires this sort of diving practice. I'm not talking about caves or wrecks for new divers.)