Buddy problems

[Bubblesong]

So, Chuck I am guessing?, did Jack explain, even to the DM?

 

[northernone]

The story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

The scene:
A 20-foot powerboat, loaded to the gills with people and dive gear, bobs in the gentle Pacific swell three or four miles due south of Long Beach, CA. A red-and-white dive flag droops lazily from the boat’s radio antenna, quietly rustling in the cool, intermittent ocean breeze. Just to the southeast, the Eureka, a gigantic oil drilling platform—a jumble of boxes and pipes atop a massive square steel plate, all perched on enormous steel pylons that descend hundreds of feet to stygian depths where eternal blackness reigns supreme and dig their feet into the bedrock of the continental shelf—looms overhead and casts a murky shadow on the clear, cheerful blue water.

The cast of characters:
Two representatives of a small scuba shop crew the boat; both are experienced rescue divers, divemasters, and scuba instructors. Today, Ron captains the boat, and Wally is the divemaster. Four recently-certified divers—Chuck, Eric, Bryce, and Jack—huddle uncertainly around the piles of scuba gear strewn about their feet.

Eric and Bryce are brothers, whom Chuck accompanied on this trip. Just over two years ago, all three got certified and, within a month, took their AOW class. They dive together a few times a year. Jack is a stranger; he seems to be a brand-new diver, but he talks big. He's a customer of Ron and Wally's dive shop.

Wally sets up the buddy teams: Eric and Bryce are one team, and Chuck and Jack are another.

The action:
Wally lectures Chuck, Eric, and Bryce about the upcoming dive’s profile, while Ron gently motors the powerboat into position and cuts the engine. All forward motion stops, and the ceaseless rocking motion of the waves sends Chuck hurtling beyond the point of no return; he spews the Dramamine-yellow remnants of his greasy doughnut breakfast into the water as the others look on in sympathy. Soon, though, Chuck rallies and joins his companions, who are already donning their gear. Street clothes off, wetsuit on...strap tank to BCD...connect first stage regulator to tank...test purge valves...power up dive computer...spit, rub, and rinse mask...gloves and booties on...weight belt on...BCD on...fins on...and splash! into the 62-degree water they go.

Wally splashes first, followed shortly by Chuck. The sparkling cold refreshes Chuck for a moment, but the open ocean swells heave him up and down as he waits for the other divers to enter, and he feels nauseated again. Eric and Bryce join Chuck in the water, and they half-heartedly attempt to gather near the boat as they wait for Jack, who's taking his sweet time, but the ocean’s rocking is too great, and the three men quickly opt to paddle 40 yards up-current, toward the lee-side eddy created by the Eureka’s northwestern-most pillar, where Wally already awaits them. The three novice divers bob their ungainly way across the rolling, open water into the sheltered spot.

A few minutes later, Jack paddles over and joins the group. Wally then makes a quick head count and reminds the assembled group of the planned dive profile before he stuffs his second-stage regulator between his lips and gives the thumbs down signal—time to descend!

Five mouths grip five regulators as, in unison, five left hands grasp BCD power inflator hoses and lift them skyward. Five left thumbs depress spring-loaded buttons on the hoses’ ends. Air whistles out of five BCDs, and each diver dips below the surface feet-first, trails of silver bubbles streaming from his inflator tube as he slips beneath the waves. At 6-to-10 feet underwater, Wally inverts himself, points his head southeast and downward, and begins kicking gently, accelerating his rate of descent and heading for the northeastern edge of the oil platform. The other divers imitate him, and Chuck forgets his nausea as he directs his gaze downward, goggling at the eerie forest of scallop- and anemone-encrusted steel trees that rise out of the inky blackness and the multitudes of sheepshead and other reef fish swarming around the rig's enormous legs. His mind is nearly blown by the incredible visibility alone—at least a hundred feet...

The group hangs together, each diver slowly kicking against the gentle current as he descends. But their angle of descent is crazy...and their rate of kicking increases; they're going faster and faster. Wally is simply rocketing downward. Chuck equalizes his ears with a mighty squeeeeee-pop! Down, down, down... Suddenly, without warning, at 50 feet under, Jack stops and goes vertical. He points his head skyward, pauses for a moment...and mashes his power inflator button. Compressed air flashes into Jack’s BCD, creating enormous positive buoyancy, and Chuck watches in disbelief as his insta-buddy Jack rockets to the surface, trailing fine bubbles in a turbulent wake.

Wally seems unconcerned about Jack's hasty ascent. The descent continues, and the dive goes on as planned: start at 100 feet, transit north-to-south while ascending to 60 feet, then return north through the center alley of interconnected pylons at 60 feet.

The remaining four divers—DM Wally; triple-group of Chuck, Eric, and Bryce—make their way across the Eureka's underside, the three recreational divers goggling in amazement at the sights. But on the other side, they see something odd...a lone diver. At 70 feet underwater. Slowly drifting away, out into the open ocean. Oh...it's Jack.

Jack rejoins the group, and everyone transits south-to-north, as planned. Back on the boat, Ron and Wally seem highly amused by Jack's impromptu solo excursion and cheerfully allow him back into the water for the day's second dive.

Chuck is pissed.

Brilliant literature! I'd love to read a few more misadventures in this style. Maybe don't toss Jack overboard just yet however deserving he was.

Regards,
Cameron

 

[stretchthepenn]

So, Chuck I am guessing?, did Jack explain, even to the DM?

To a degree. The explanation was, "Oh, I had trouble equalizing, so I surfaced." Nothing was said about the solo expedition, and nothing was mentioned about the whole "drifting away from the divesite into the open ocean is a really bad idea" concept, either.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

I went diving with a local club last weekend. I was given an insta-buddy ...

There are instructors and training agencies that focus on the team approach to diving. In cave diving, we can keep a team of three together in pitch black darkness. It takes training and commitment to create an effective team. Even like-minded divers would have growing pains. The best QB in the NFL might not connect with the best receiver in the NFL in the Pro Bowl. It takes practice. The most difficult part about team or buddy diving is the lack of instant verbal communication. If we were hiking and you were getting too far ahead, I could shout, "Slow down!" Underwater, divers must be aware of one another and understand various light, hand, and touch signals for easy communication. That takes training together and making an effort.

 

[Compressor]

As mentioned above, this is a debate that has been going on for a long time: my preference is to dive with buddies who can save my life if something happens although I plan the dive to be self reliant. If a buddy cannot save me in case of trouble (entanglement, out of air, blah blah blah... ) then they are not true buddies.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

I don't do lobster diving so I don't know if there is some kind of accepted procedure to ensure buddy contact. Is there some understanding that if you separate you will continue the hunt?

Did you discuss doing a same dive same ocean dive prior to entry or hanging on the surface? Do you know if your instabuddy was qualified and equipped to dive solo? Were you equipped to dive solo?

If the answer to those questions is "No" . IMHO that there were two bad buddies on this dive. If you agree to buddy with someone.. BE a BUDDY. That means you follow lost buddy procedures if you get separated. Clearly it is fool hardy to try to stay with a buddy when doing so puts you in danger.

 

[Bob DBF]

I don't do lobster diving so I don't know if there is some kind of accepted procedure to ensure buddy contact. Is there some understanding that if you separate you will continue the hunt?

Depends on the buddy and what we decide. If I am with a newbe, I insist on the standard lost buddy procedure. So far my buddy contact is good, if they take off, a couple of kicks and I have a hold of their ankle.

Did you discuss doing a same dive same ocean dive prior to entry or hanging on the surface? Do you know if your instabuddy was qualified and equipped to dive solo? Were you equipped to dive solo?

Yes. I usually know after chatting them up a bit. I won't do same ocean buddy with someone I think is not up to it, most of my same ocean buddy's are divers I have been diving with for a while. As for equipped to dive solo, there is a wide range of rational configurations, unless you believe it has to conform to the recent cert class manuals.

If the answer to those questions is "No" . IMHO that there were two bad buddies on this dive. If you agree to buddy with someone.. BE a BUDDY. That means you follow lost buddy procedures if you get separated. Clearly it is fool hardy to try to stay with a buddy when doing so puts you in danger.

Even though my answer was yes, I do agree the situation pointed out the lack of buddy diving skills and procedures of the group. May be it's me being a grumpy old diver but I believe that one makes an agreement (buddy dive) and that's the way you dive, same with SOB, team, and Solo. This is one reason why I find it hard to find reliable buddy's, some divers put their personal agenda ahead of the dive.


Bob

 

[drrich2]

May be it's me being a grumpy old diver but I believe that one makes an agreement (buddy dive) and that's the way you dive, same with SOB, team, and Solo.

I imagine people whose buddy system concept differs from the politically correct conservative version find it more daunting to establish a mutual understanding about that with an instabuddy, especially since the odds of ideological compatibility are iffy. Many boat op.s don't allow solo diving and wouldn't officially okay the 'same day, same ocean' approach, so everyone onboard at least by remaining silent on the subject has to pretend politically correct buddy diving is what everyone's doing.

Taking a page from online dating sites, where people input personal profile info. & the site matches up (hopefully) compatible daters, it would be interesting (albeit ain't gonna happen) if all recreational divers had a detailed profile stipulating what I expect from (and to do for) a buddy, in terms of personal proximity, frequency of visual observation and establishing eye contact, freedom to go off & do one's own thing vs. close-knit team to the end, etc... Imagine a dating site that didn't vet prospective daters beyond '18 and older, certified to date' and randomly paired people together!

Looking at it that way, it's surprising how often things go pretty well...

This might be worth putting together a poll about...for diving benign conditions (say, mainstream Caribbean vacation diving), if traveling alone and dive op. requirements were very liberal, what kind of 'buddy' pairing would you prefer (if the buddy's requirements were whatever you wished)? Anything from DIR-style team diving through mainstream buddy pair, loose pairing (glance at each other once in awhile, could be 20 feet apart no problem), loosely affiliated group following a guide, same day same ocean, or outright solo.

Richard.

 

[Bubblesong]

I imagine people whose buddy system concept differs from the politically correct conservative version find it more daunting to establish a mutual understanding about that with an instabuddy, especially since the odds of ideological compatibility are iffy. Many boat op.s don't allow solo diving and wouldn't officially okay the 'same day, same ocean' approach, so everyone onboard at least by remaining silent on the subject has to pretend politically correct buddy diving is what everyone's doing.

Taking a page from online dating sites, where people input personal profile info. & the site matches up (hopefully) compatible daters, it would be interesting (albeit ain't gonna happen) if all recreational divers had a detailed profile stipulating what I expect from (and to do for) a buddy, in terms of personal proximity, frequency of visual observation and establishing eye contact, freedom to go off & do one's own thing vs. close-knit team to the end, etc... Imagine a dating site that didn't vet prospective daters beyond '18 and older, certified to date' and randomly paired people together!

Looking at it that way, it's surprising how often things go pretty well...

This might be worth putting together a poll about...for diving benign conditions (say, mainstream Caribbean vacation diving), if traveling alone and dive op. requirements were very liberal, what kind of 'buddy' pairing would you prefer (if the buddy's requirements were whatever you wished)? Anything from DIR-style team diving through mainstream buddy pair, loose pairing (glance at each other once in awhile, could be 20 feet apart no problem), loosely affiliated group following a guide, same day same ocean, or outright solo.

Richard.

You left out, " Swimming along, holding hands" at one end and, "Let's play hide-N-Seek" on the other end of the spectrum.

 

[Bob DBF]

I imagine people whose buddy system concept differs from the politically correct conservative version find it more daunting to establish a mutual understanding about that with an instabuddy, especially since the odds of ideological compatibility are iffy.

Since agencies teach NDL buddy diving classes, the buddy system is pretty standard and well known. If someone can't pull that off they will be embarrassed when they find a rescue is in progress for them, depending on the skipper, when there is a buddy missing and has not surfaced.

Many boat ops don't allow solo and wouldn't okay the 'same day, same ocean' approach, so everyone onboard at least by remaining silent on the subject has to pretend politically correct buddy diving is what everyone's doing.

The boats I dive from in SoCal don't get involved in telling you how to dive. In your case above, I would not inform the dive op however I certainly would take my buddy aside and insure we were both on the same page.


Bob