DAN missed the boat ...

[Gregordo]

Everybody likes to call this guy stupid. The article doesn't say if he carried a working octo or not. It says he rested on the surface not in the boat. I'm not going down with 500psi, but I don't know the experience level of the buddy but I would be wondering about a buddy who hadn't surfaced after 15 minutes alone.
I do know that Joel Dovenbarger will never dive again, I think that is enough punishment, he does not need me or anyone else to call him stupid.

 

[backprop]

I agree with most points but find it ironic on this forum. I was amazed at how many balked at the use of tank bangers. Without audible signals, it's not easy to signal a buddy. Such a device may have made signaling easier.

I don't recall anyone balking at tank bangers per se; people including myself don't like the over-use of such devices in non-emergency situations. In fact, doing so can increase people's tolerance of constant tank banging and make divers oblivious to a real emergency when such a noise could be useful in getting a buddy's attention.

 

[seaducer]

Everybody likes to call this guy stupid. The article doesn't say if he carried a working octo or not. It says he rested on the surface not in the boat. I'm not going down with 500psi, but I don't know the experience level of the buddy but I would be wondering about a buddy who hadn't surfaced after 15 minutes alone.
I do know that Joel Dovenbarger will never dive again, I think that is enough punishment, he does not need me or anyone else to call him stupid.

I didn't see anybody call him stupid. People are saying he made a stupid decision. Going down to 100 feet to search for someone when you only have 500 PSI IS stupid.

 

[drbill]

I'd rather trust a pony than a buddy almost any day. I do have a few regular dive buddies with whom I feel very comfortable, but rarely am I comfortable with a pick-up buddy. Bob's OP makes a number of very valid points which support my position relative to pick up buddies. It is a good argument for unified team diving as well.

 

[Web Monkey]

I agree with most points but find it ironic on this forum. I was amazed at how many balked at the use of tank bangers. Without audible signals, it's not easy to signal a buddy. Such a device may have made signaling easier.

If signaling your buddy requires more than poking him in the ribs, you're diving solo. He should be right there if you have trouble.

Terry

 

[TSandM]

The only thing that's different about unified team diving is that we are taught that situational awareness is one of the highest priorities in diving, and that begins with buddy awareness and communication, although it does not end there.

Imagine how diving across the world would be different, if people were taught the same way, and practiced it? You could get on a boat anywhere and know that the buddy you were assigned would accept a commitment to help, and a commitment to having and exercising the skills required to stay close enough to do that. No more of these stories.

I proselytize; I admit it. But there are things about the system I dive in that are very much to be admired and emulated, I think, and this is one of them.

 

[Oxy]

Having just read your article on gas management then hearing this guy went back down to 50ft with 500psi to start. makes me wonder if he actually survived the first ascent. I say his first mistake was loosing contact with his buddy (either stay together or go alone).
Will you be our DAN watchdog?
P.S. thanks for the gas management training.

 

[SPG3K]

I think the two are more inter-related than they seem at first glance.

At present, I don't own a Pony Bottle, and most of my dives have been in water and viz in which touching a buddy was required to see him/her.

Therefore, in my best efforts to BE a good buddy, I always make sure I'm within grabbing distance for an Octo or at least to be grabbed for the purpose of getting my attention.

I think, honestly, that if I had a pony bottle, I would be a lot less inclined to stay within 12-24" of my buddy at all times. If I can count on myself and myself alone during an emergency, the self-preservation instinct of staying close for a share-air scenario fades. Which does not result in a conscious effort to lose the buddy, but a less survival-instinct-fueled desire to always see a tank or fins, or something that belongs to your next breath of air.

Likewise - if both me and my buddy had pony bottles, the easier I think it would become to be seperated.

To date, on all my dives, I've been extremely and acutely aware of where my buddy was, for his safety and mine. I'm not saying a pony bottle will make me a bad buddy, it just increases the potential for that situation.

I should also add the following. And you can call me what you like or say what you want, but at the end - you all would do the same thing, so throw the rocks, but think long and hard before you pick up the first one.

My main dive buddy is my shift partner at work. I trust him with my life if I get into a situation where one of us has to use deadly force to effect an arrest or bust up a domestic dispute where someone is shooting at me. I know his wife, his family, we do everything together. I would be the one to tell his wife if he bought the proverbial farm underwater.

Every second he and I are underwater, we look out for each other. Either one of us would risk personal injury to help the other. It's happened at work several times.

ANYONE who says they will give that level of personal devotion to an instabuddy on a random boat somewhere is LYING to you.

Anyone who says otherwise is only fooling themselves.

You have to be self reliant if you are entering into a situation like diving. Which is why I have already ordered my Pony Bottle and setup.

 

[RJP]

I'd rather trust a pony than a buddy almost any day. I do have a few regular dive buddies with whom I feel very comfortable, but rarely am I comfortable with a pick-up buddy.

Agreed. I'd rather KNOW I'm alone than THINK I have a buddy.

 

[Oxy]

....snip....I'm not saying a pony bottle will make me a bad buddy, it just increases the potential for that situation.

leave it to someone else to have a different view.
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just when i was starting to like the idea of a pony. what with buddy's disappearing and all, i'm thinking i would rather be safe. but i am the self reliant type and may not make a very good buddy outside a very small circle.
not to worry, you haven't talked me out of a pony entirely.
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ha i see you added to it and i was on the right track after all