Doomnova
Contributor
I guess part of the issue is training and where you are at. Diving here if your 20ft away half the time your not going to be seen as is due to how much algae and company are in the water for all but 4 months of the year. So most buddy groups are within about 10ft. Of each other or less. Conversly I also think the major issue with the buddy system is its "my way or the highway" style of diving that many people have. instead of a group of people diving it a bunch of individuals with differing goals. Some people are looking for large things like fish, octo's(in our ares) and the like. other are more interested in looking at the small things. Yet still some may just be doing to dive to work on skills as they go along. Others are looking in every crack and behind every rock. When you get all of this the main issue is compromise and/or finding those with like interests(which can be hard as I like looking around every rock). Which when I go out most of the time its 2 dives so pretty much we plan o do one dive as one person see's fit and then switch that way both get what they are after. This is also the main issue with most things in the world is many people its "my way or the highway" and all you have to do is turn on the tv to see this in pretty much every tv show and news run there is and since people are inundated with it they see it as "ok" which in truth is not.
So the answer to how fix the buddy system? Is simple but not easy people in general need to get off their high horses and compromise and people who do not do that when I'm diving with them well they after the dive get their 1 and only warning on the issue and then they find their way to my"I won't dive with you for reason x" list. Most of the time I go with the flow but there are some sites here where when your just swimming around you miss 90% of what is there.
So the answer to how fix the buddy system? Is simple but not easy people in general need to get off their high horses and compromise and people who do not do that when I'm diving with them well they after the dive get their 1 and only warning on the issue and then they find their way to my"I won't dive with you for reason x" list. Most of the time I go with the flow but there are some sites here where when your just swimming around you miss 90% of what is there.