Buddy Positions w/ the Frog Kick?

[g1138]

Yesterday I went on a very murky dive. With the recent plankton bloom viz was cut down to a brown murky 3'.
My buddy and I stuck very close, side by side with her following me at my shoulder level.

This was great and all, except I kept nugging her with my right foot while frog kicking. Eventually halfway through our dive, my right leg started feeling a bit too strained and cramped because I wasn't extending it all the way with my kick.

I signaled several times to widen our spacing but conditions/buddy comfort just wasn't there that day. I thought about staggering myself at a higher depth, but then I couldn't really scan the bottom for life.

So I'm wondering if you guys have any ideas on how to solve this issue on future dives, besides using a different kick?

 

[ferris213]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who added a 'kick my buddy' phase to the frog kick...

I had to switch to flutter kicks.

 

[idive2]

You got your frog kicks then you got your city block frog kicks. I have a buddy with
a city block frog kick. If I am within five feet I just hold on to my mask !

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Use a modified frog kick where you're basically using your ankles to do all the work ...



This kick works very well for the conditions you're describing. You won't go as fast as with a regular frog kick, but in vis like that you don't want to go fast anyway. Besides, this kick is so relaxing you can use it for hours on end ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Dive the World]

push the buddy away? and tell them to keep that distance?

but then again was your buddy a new diver - could have panicked if not used to those conditions.

 

[Peter_C]

Nothing wrong with gently nudging your dive buddy with a fin every now and then *shrugs*

It is not like you are kicking their mask or regs since they are right next to you. If you are kicking them hard that is another story, but bumping into your buddy is a good way to know they are next to you. (On that note, if I do kick someone and am not sure where they are I stop using that kick and more importantly the fin that made contact. Then switch to something like a modified flutter gently kicking until I know I am clear.)

Bright lights help keep a dive team together, yet separate a little.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

In 3-foot vis I would never push my buddy away ... I'd way rather be kicking them (and vice versa) than losing them. And in murky conditions, all it takes is one or two kicks out of synch and you're beyond each other's visual range ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[g1138]

I figured the only way around this would be ankle frog kicks and flutter kicks.
We had lights, although her's wasn't as bright I don't think she was used to using lights as a means of buddy contact. It was something we never discussed in our pre-dive planning.

We did manage to accidentally get my arm hooked in her regulator loop on our second dive, so I guess I got a bit of payback for the cramped leg.
Maybe I'll try back kicking in front of her next time.

 

[TSandM]

The fact is, when you have to dive shoulder to shoulder because the viz is poor, you can't frog kick unless you want to kick one another all the time. The mechanics of the kick dictate that. Since you should be equally comfortable with mod frog and mod flutter, just look at low viz as an opportunity to practice those kicks!

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Actually, I am surprised that the solution to the problem has not yet been stated. One buddy just needs to be slightly ABOVE the other buddy. As a matter of habit, Debbie is about 1 foot above me and 2 feet to my left on nearly every minute of every dive when we are moving. Use all three dimensions for positioning and you problem should go away. If vis is under 2 feet, then this is a problem, but then, diving i 2 feet of viz is it's own problem. For two bootm crawlers to stay in contact and both explore the bottom by braille, as it were, consider a short buddy cord. I have used them with no ill effect - about a feet of 1/4 inch nylon line with large knot in each end. Each buddy holds an end. It's like adding 18 inches to each buddy's reach. ( I suggest holding it, NOT attaching it to you wrist or bcd. )DivemasterDennis