Buddy left me on a shore dive.

[Herb-alaska]

Definitely agree I had some culpability in the matter. I think some/a lot of it was related to me just getting back into diving/being new and in new/mixed company so I was minding my tongue.

He knew he messed up, even offered to buy me lunch, so I didn't chide him too badly or really at all, and didn't show my disdain for the situation like I would have if I had known him better. I think that was a failure on my part.

I just assessed the situation mid-dive, said lets get under and around this fishing vessel, clear of entanglements and overheads and out of the navigable waters and finish the dive on the surface. I didn't really know what to say or how to say after the dive it without coming across a dick or rubbing his face in it.


To be honest, I don't think he will be a permanent fixture as a dive buddy but I cant count out that we may cross paths again. He is definitely not the same "style" diver that I am, a little more distracted and ditzy than me.

I think you are right that next time the pre-dive conversation will be much more in depth on my end of my expectations as a buddy and if I feel its going south ill thumb the dive mid-way instead of repeatedly chasing him down and saying get with me/your buddy. I think I learned I need to do a little better following up as well and not just HOPE that he understood what happened.

the bold and underlined could be translated to that he is a little more relaxed and not as uptight about things as you are. I wasn't there so I have no real idea what happened but I do know that some new divers feel that if I can't feel your bubbles on exhalation you are to far away while experienced divers go I see you I can swim to you in less than one breath so it is all good. The biggest problem was mismatched expectations and goals

 

[Agility]

The question is where is your diving heading to? If you ever mean to do deco dives you might as well get a 40cft tank which can serve you well for deco later on in your career.

 

[AfterDark]

OP, I sling a 19 instead of using an octo or I dive IDs either way I always use a redundant air supply for me or my buddy. I started diving before the use of octos, and never saw a good reason to have two 2nd stages depending on the same air supply. My buddy has the option of taking the 19 to surface or leaving it attached to me. Normally I only dive the IDs when diving solo.

 

[glassbottom]

The question is where is your diving heading to? If you ever mean to do deco dives you might as well get a 40cft tank which can serve you well for deco later on in your career.

I don't really have any desire or interest to really get into tech or other types of diving. In the near term I plan to do my AOW+Nitrox class but really that's about as far as I really want to go in that regard. I may do a rescue or independent/solo class as well as a fundies course to work on skills otherwise but no real plans to start deco diving or the like in the long term. Everything I like about diving I can find in <90 fsw.


I have, however, been heavily weighing the merits of a 30 Cu ft cylinder over a 19. Mainly as the 19 wont be of as much of a help at depths greater than 70 fsw, especially with my current SAC rate. A catalina al30 is only about 2.5 inches longer than its al19 counterpart and would show some added benefit at a little deeper depths (even though, again I'm really not planning on diving that deep regularly).

OP, I sling a 19 instead of using an octo or I dive IDs either way I always use a redundant air supply for me or my buddy. I started diving before the use of octos, and never saw a good reason to have two 2nd stages depending on the same air supply. My buddy has the option of taking the 19 to surface or leaving it attached to me. Normally I only dive the IDs when diving solo.

So this is similar to how I learned originally though I consider my self brand new now after getting back into SCUBA following a 15-20 year hiatus. I like the added redundancy of a totally independent gas supply however.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

I'm no dive professional but I think you handled the situation pretty well. I can't really fault you in water responses as you describe them you communicated with your buddy about staying together. You kept an eye on him and the nearby experienced backup team. You followed the plan best you could. When he went ahead you alerted the experienced back up divers, located him, stayed with him to exit in a safe manner. Sounds like a frustrating dive but well handled by you.

You indicate the guy struggled in your class. You also say he was quite apologetic afterwards. I don't see that "rubbing his nose in it" after would have accomplished anything. He knew he stuffed up, admitted it and apologized. It might have been worth it to ask if he had surfaced because he had trouble with his bouyancy That happens pretty often with divers struggling with their skills. Often they swim around a lot because they haven't got bouyancy under control and the forward movement helps them stay at the level they want.

Since it isn't likely he will be a regular buddy a long discussion after the dive might not have accomplished anything much except embarass him further.

Don't know abut the pre-dive talk. Perhaps more there but hey sounds like the DI laid out a pretty clear dive plan. Confirming it with instabuddy while you geared up might have been helpful.

Sometimes I play the... "I'm not sure of XX" card can I just clarify that with you? I don't mind taking the pressure off them and making it sound like I am the one who isn't on top of it.. :lol: hey sometimes I"m NOT

 

[Bob DBF]

You may have the start of a good buddy, he knows you are annoyed and he is sorry about the dive, that gives you a great place to start talking to someone who is more interested in listening. I don't usually write anyone off on the first dive, I see what happens when we talk after the dive, and perhaps after the second dive. Communications with a new buddy is usually shot when you hit the water, so it is what happens topside that makes the difference until you get into sync underwater.

Your call on the pony, I don't usually carry my 19 on a buddy dive unless I am deep or plan on doing something stupid.

As for the boat, I don't submerge under one unless I chat with the skipper and it is OK with him. There are too many things that the can do inadvertently, or on purpose, that could screw up my dive.



Bob
--------------------------------
There is no problem that can't be solved with a liberal application of sex, tequila, money, duct tape, or high explosives, not necessarily in that order.

 

[glassbottom]

You may have the start of a good buddy, he knows you are annoyed and he is sorry about the dive, that gives you a great place to start talking to someone who is more interested in listening. I don't usually write anyone off on the first dive, I see what happens when we talk after the dive, and perhaps after the second dive. Communications with a new buddy is usually shot when you hit the water, so it is what happens topside that makes the difference until you get into sync underwater.

Your call on the pony, I don't usually carry my 19 on a buddy dive unless I am deep or plan on doing something stupid.

As for the boat, I don't submerge under one unless I chat with the skipper and it is OK with him. There are too many things that the can do inadvertently, or on purpose, that could screw up my dive.



Bob
--------------------------------
There is no problem that can't be solved with a liberal application of sex, tequila, money, duct tape, or high explosives, not necessarily in that order.

Definitely agree. Im not writing him off, but will be more cautious.

I did ask/kinda tell the skipper at the surface that we were staying on his starboard (he had all his lines out port side) and going under and he didn't say anything. He moved off after we were through anyway, either because of us or the plague of dive flags behind us doing the same dive plan (which is a common one for this spot). I don't think he realized it at first. I didn't want to go too far starboard of him because them im just deeper in navigable waters which is a restriction point for boat traffic too. Didn't want a bigger boat coming through over me since I wasn't towing my own flag at the time.

Since then I have gotten a finger reel and now take my SMB on ALL dives, not just boat dives, as I would have used it in just that instance.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

You handled things well I'd say. I always dive with redundant air source, but that's because I'm into photography. I'm working on keeping track of dive buddies, but often I go solo. I feel strongly in being self-reliant and that my dive buddies primary responsibility is to tell the authorities where to look for my body. I'm joking of course, but I like being able to handle any situation where I deem the conditions are within my level of training and the equipment I'm carrying.

For boat dives, having your own DSMB is a good idea. Practice with it. If you have a large camera like I do, get a good solid system of clipping it to you so you don't have to worry about it. I have one of those plastic clips with elastic cord backed up by a heavy duty cord, so it could float below me, but it isn't going anywhere.

 

[USdiver1]

I think you handled things the correct way. Remember you have by your own admission 100+ dives (albeit it was some time ago), while I would suspect that your buddy was a complete newbie (as we all are at one stage). Being "excited" and swimming all over the place at various depths isn't something out of the ordinary for a person first experiencing the underwater world. Everything, even a jetty, is so new and different from what is topside. It is understandable, that someone new to our sport might become a little too energized on one of their first open water dives. I agree that a back-up air supply ( or diving doubles or 95s, etc.) is a good safety measure, especially when teamed with a younger/smaller diver with better of of unknown SAC than you. I would imagine that your buddy was only thinking of all the cool things he was experiencing for the first time, while you, the level-headed, experienced one, were concerned about all the things that could possibly go wrong, some of which did.

I would take this as a teaching moment, and use it to good effect to help the newbie diver become a better diver. He knows he done wrong, now use his enthusiasm for the sport to help him not only do right, but learn how to be a better diver, and a better buddy in the process. Personally, I would equip myself with the added security of more air, and then dive with him again, teaching him how to do things correctly, while still enjoying the hell out of the sport.

 

[Reku]

And people think I'm crazy because I dive with 2 tanks and at lest a pony everywhere I go.