Buddy system flaw?

[gcbryan]

If the DM is responsible for the group and the OP was buddied up with him it would be just as irresponsible to ascend with the OP as to not do so. He's neglecting his responsibilities either way.

If you choose to dive with such arrangements you should be able to see this conflict and not be surprised. In this case you would be be better off being the 3rd buddy with a pair of divers not responsible for the rest of the group.

You should discuss this and anything else that concerns you before you jump in however.

 

[Peter Guy]

OP -- Thank you for writing this for it brings up an interesting issue -- as you can see!

In fact, I don't know what is the least worst solution to the several issues "gaggle diving" create. I've been on dives (primarily in Maui) where the DM has sent up pairs who have hit their minimum air levels and have been sent up solo. I've also been the person who stayed down as others have hit their minimums and as a result got the opportunity to see (and video) a humpback whale.

As a paying customer I would certainly be upset to have my dive limited by the diver with the highest air consumption -- just as you, as a paying customer, were upset to have your dive safety compromised by being sent up solo.

I'm just not sure what the best (or least worst) response to the "solo diver in a gaggle of divers" should be? There are two conflicting issues -- maximizing safety for one and maximizing the diving experience for all.

 

[DevonDiver]

Gaggle diving is an illustration of everything wrong with the scuba industry. People like to agency bash... but I do think that most divers are well trained in their OW course. The trouble is that as soon as they end the course, an awful lot of divers end up fun diving in gaggles...and rapidly stop applying the rules and procedures that they'd learnt in training. There is literally no role modelling, mentoring or progressive reinforcement of their training with these sloppy dive shop practices.

Personally, I would not pay to go gaggle diving. You're not actually getting anything from the dive op other than a lift to the site by boat.

 

[vladimir]

I'm just not sure what the best (or least worst) response to the "solo diver in a gaggle of divers" should be? There are two conflicting issues -- maximizing safety for one and maximizing the diving experience for all.

The problem lies in pretending that a solo diver is not one. Either have buddy teams--three, four, or however many is in a gaggle--or have divers equipped and qualified to dive solo.

 

[diver 85]

I just returned from a great week at a small dive resort in Bali with my non-diver wife. On several occasions I was "buddied" with th dive master as all of the other divers had their partners. I was often less experienced than the other divers (AOW with 55 dives) who had a superior air consumption rate than I (mine is about 15 slm). On a few occasions I approached my 50 bar limit first and signaled to the DM that I needed to begin my ascent and safety stop. He motioned to me to begin my ascent alone and pointed in the general direction of the dive boat. I am a confident and reasonably competent diver and decided that the solo ascent was the superior option to running low on air but I felt the solo ascent violates the safety protocol inherent in the buddy system. The unexpected may occur. I am responsible for my own gas management and dive plan and I did not feel particularly nervous about a solo ascent other than it runs counter to the buddy system that was meant to be in operation. I would welcome the comments / advice of others about how to handle such situations. Thank you all for taking the time to comment.

good case for a DM carrying a 7' hose & letting you share some air toward the end.....Plus, in 'these days & times' it's always good to be prepared to be a solo diver....

 

[ronbeau]

I just returned from a great week at a small dive resort in Bali with my non-diver wife. On several occasions I was "buddied" with th dive master as all of the other divers had their partners. I was often less experienced than the other divers (AOW with 55 dives) who had a superior air consumption rate than I (mine is about 15 slm). On a few occasions I approached my 50 bar limit first and signaled to the DM that I needed to begin my ascent and safety stop. He motioned to me to begin my ascent alone and pointed in the general direction of the dive boat. I am a confident and reasonably competent diver and decided that the solo ascent was the superior option to running low on air but I felt the solo ascent violates the safety protocol inherent in the buddy system. The unexpected may occur. I am responsible for my own gas management and dive plan and I did not feel particularly nervous about a solo ascent other than it runs counter to the buddy system that was meant to be in operation. I would welcome the comments / advice of others about how to handle such situations. Thank you all for taking the time to comment.

Since the dive master is leading the dive he should have made the low on air protocol part of his dive briefing. Many times the dive master will indicate that he will send the divers with the least amount of remaining air to the surface as a buddy team so that divers with plenty of air left are not forced to end their dive.

When I first started diving I seemed to always be the first person back on the boat so I have had personal experience with this procedure.

I have also seen situations where the dive master accompanied the diver that was low on air to the surface and then returned to the other divers. This procedure was announced within the dive briefing.

 

[jcfahy]

I have benefitted from the diversity of responses that I expected. A few additional pieces of info. First, I had discussed the buddy protocol with the DM on day 1 and said I would not share air to prolong the dive but it did not occur to me to ask about solo ascent. Secondly, my companion divers agreed that the dive briefings were virtually non-existent and the dive plan not apparent but the issue was never raised with DM by anyone. Mea culpa. Thirdly, my air consumption is not horrible at 15 slm - probably average - and I got 45-55 minute dives but this is NOT the point - safety is. I was mentally prepared for solo ascent as I had some training but had not brought redundancy equipment. An interesting finding for me was when I asked the other divers how much air they had when surfacing, a significant number had between 20 and 40 bar - not a compromise I would make. In all honesty, as you can see from my original thread, I was not especially worried about the process of a solo ascent but more concerned about losing sight of safety procedures so well articulated by DevonDiver. I observe the relaxation of safety standards by much more experienced divers but it only takes one low probability event to occur to result in a serious accident. I understand that I alone am ultimately responsible for my own safety and I will continue to prepare myself for solo protocols but I am also aware of the perils of the buddy system when thorough advance communication is not always easily achieved. Going along with the group is even implicit in many of the reponses to this thread. If solo ascent is indeed what I should expect until I improve my SAC as several of you imply, then I need to be better prepared.

 

[cbm32]

The more I read on this board the more I become convinced that to NOT dive with a redundant air supply is something I will never do again. Even if it is only a small spare air. As a matter of fact, prior to diving again I plan to purchase at least two redundant air units (probably 3.0 spare air units) and either carry them both or have one for any buddy I am diving with. I aint rich but I have a lot more money than I do lives (only one of those as far as I know LOL)

 

[danvolker]

The more I read on this board the more I become convinced that to NOT dive with a redundant air supply is something I will never do again. Even if it is only a small spare air. As a matter of fact, prior to diving again I plan to purchase at least two redundant air units (probably 3.0 spare air units) and either carry them both or have one for any buddy I am diving with. I aint rich but I have a lot more money than I do lives (only one of those as far as I know LOL)

You are trolling with the Spare Air nonsense, right?
DanV

 

[D_B]

he's a new member, new diver ... maybe a response like ... that is commonly thought that is not enough air ..that you could be better served by getting something larger like a 19cf .. 19 Cubic Foot Pony Bottle reviews and discounts, Catalina
Or that much has been written about it, look at doing a search

would be a better, more informative post here in basic scuba?