Buddy Checks

[Snowbear]

True, sometimes you can't choose your buddies "Buddies of Circumstance".

Though it may mean you don't get to dive, you can always say, "No!" if you are not comfortable with the BOC...

 

[Web Monkey]

I started checking my valve again before going in after I watched a "helpful" boat hand walk around and turn off everybody's air on the way to the dive site.

I guess it's just another reason to inflate your BC before entering the water. If you can get a cubic foot of air out of the tank, it's probably on.

Terry

We do an equipment match to make sure we have everything we need and that each knows what the other has and where. We do a bubble check to make sure nothing is leaking. We do a modified S-drill to be sure all regs work and are deployable. A modified valve drill is a good idea too.

I prefer that no one touches my valves but if they do I just reach back and check them myself anyway.

 

[Web Monkey]

Diving with a spouse/regular buddy also gives you an idea of what to expect.

When your buddy is "whoever else doesn't have a buddy", you never know if you're getting Jacque Costeau (assuming he was still alive and in good shape ) or some guy who went diving twice in 1970 and just found his stuff in the garage and wants to "see if it still works".

Since my wife doesn't dive, I get a new buddy on almost every trip. Some are great and some are scary, and it's really hard to tell the difference before you get in the water (although no exposure suit in 70 degree water is a good place to start)

If anybody has any ideas on how to size up a buddy before getting in the water, I'd love to hear it.

Terry

All the comments are very enlightening. I think what struck me the most about this situation was the fact that everyone on the boat except these two were buddied with a spouse. I felt we all had some sort of psychological edge in the amount of trust and responsibility we felt in and toward our buddy/spouse.

 

[String]

If anybody has any ideas on how to size up a buddy before getting in the water, I'd love to hear it.

Terry

Well a good hint as to buddy quality i found was when she asked me "Can you help me with this BC, i cant fit my regs on properly". One look soon showed she'd actually fitted the BC to the tank upside down.
The dive we were about to do was about 35m (110ft) without roughly 15 mins of mandatory deco.

Needless to say i wasnt THAT impressed

 

[voop]

Well a good hint as to buddy quality i found was when she asked me "Can you help me with this BC, i cant fit my regs on properly". One look soon showed she'd actually fitted the BC to the tank upside down.
The dive we were about to do was about 35m (110ft) without roughly 15 mins of mandatory deco.

Needless to say i wasnt THAT impressed

Sometimes Darwin just has it too easy.....I may be getting way of topic here, so excuse me in advance.

I am sometimes wondering....I see dives where I feel comfortable doing them, and I see dives where I feel uncomfortable. The dives where I feel uncomfortable, I call as soon as the feeling creeps up. I may be crazy, but I am not stupid (or something like that...)

I then also see people, who themself seem to be absolutely fine about a given dive dive -- while I am almost certain that the dive is going to hurt them, unless they're lucky (or under the wing of someone). Yet somehow, a lot of the times the divers themself are oblivious to the danger.

And so it is that I am wondering....what is it that's wrong in the divers' education when a diver doesn't realize that they're obviously in "over the head" (excuse the pun....)

Sting has a good point: a diver who fits the BC onto the cylinder in the wrong way is likely not going to be ready to do a deep dive with mandatory deco. Yet somehow, the potential danger -- or rather: the required minimum skill-set -- doesn't sink in. Or if it does, the concequences aren't clear. Yes, I know, you don't know what you don't know -- but still....

Diving with a buddy who ain't got the required skills for a given duve is bad enough, but essentially what any instructor do in a small amount for each student. Doable, but it requires attention. Diving with a buddy who ain't got the required skills for a given dive, and who's oblivious to the fact, doesn't seem ... prudent (in lack of a better word).

 

[String]

In a way its like the "deep deep dive" thread here a while ago. Assuming it wasnt a troll, someone with no idea thinking diving to 200ft wouldnt be too much of a step.

It takes some knowledge in the subject to realise just how dangerous it could be. The rest are blissfully ignorant.

 

[voop]

Yeah, it takes some knowledge to realize how dangerous it could be . But presumably the people who go do these dives are trained divers and, as such, should (or at least "ought to") know better.

 

[String]

A lot of that is directly related to the quality of teaching.

Lets just say im not a fan of 3 day wonder resort courses

 

[tinman694]

You buddy is an extension of your safety, not checking him is stupid.

Completely agree--I run into burning buildings (often in a real hurry!)
and we still have a quick once over before commencing the attack...Otherwise one or the other would become a crispy critter! (and being burned isn't fun). So why not take a few seconds to check if the air is on and the releases work???

 

[Coogeeman]

I dive with a regular buddy and although I'm familar with his gear evey now and again I'll check it just to be on the safe side.

With new buddies or dive holidays where you are pared with a new buddy you have to do a check. Worse case senario something happenes and they die and you were asked at the inquest why you didn't dump their BCD and you reply I didn't know where their dump valve was...man, for the sake of a 2 min check I wouldn't want to be sitting there with that answer

Coogeeman.