Diving in larger groups than pairs

[Dr Neil]

Group diving can be tolerated if the rules are clear to everyone. However large the group, the key is to keep away from the clump.

What I try to avoid at all costs is odd man out groups. There is a reason why buddy diving is singular. Task loading with only one diver to look after is significantly lower.

 

[k ellis]

I agree with many of the above posters. I do some solo diving but in groups I always try to break into buddy teams. If you do cattle boating for example some ops do boats of 14 or more and to me that makes 7 buddy teams or more.

Its all good until someone gets lost then its a pain to try to locate one single diver in an ocean with trillions of gallons of water. At least with 2 divers there are 2 heads and twice the chance of being found

 

[bleeb]

...I recall several times when I had to put up my arms to defend myself from being kicked in the head, not intentionally, of course, but if 4 or 5 people are trying to stick together, this problem seems inevitable.

Another aspect of the problem that kicking people and removing masks suggest is the lack of situational awareness. Maybe it didn't happen the way I'm perceiving it, but it sounds like there was a certain amount of being physically out of control (other divers flailing around) and/or not paying attention to what's going on around them. In a buddy pair, this lack of skills wouldn't make for a very good buddy, and the additional cognitive load of having them try to dive as a buddy group would probably make things worse.

 

[rk288]

I agree with the majority...assigned buddy pairs with assignment of a dive leader (the weakest diver) is optimum. Plan the dive and dive the plan...

For a trio a similar scenario with a dive leader and a dive plan...suppose someone needs to thumb the dive? What's the plan then? Do all 3 surface and exit as a group? Or, all 3 to the safety stop and the one safely out? This should be a part of the dive planning as well I think...discussed ahead of time and agreed by all...

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

I agree with the majority...assigned buddy pairs with assignment of a dive leader (the weakest diver) is optimum. Plan the dive and dive the plan...

For a trio a similar scenario with a dive leader and a dive plan...suppose someone needs to thumb the dive? What's the plan then? Do all 3 surface and exit as a group? Or, all 3 to the safety stop and the one safely out? This should be a part of the dive planning as well I think...discussed ahead of time and agreed by all...

All three surface together would be my choice. Make sure the diver that needed to thumb the dive makes it safely to shore or all the way aboard the boat... in other words, watch to make sure the diver has safely exited the water. I'd feel best having verbally confirmed on the surface that the diver was indeed "ok" and not having a health issue, and made it all the way to safety before resuming my dive.

Best wishes.

 

[tomboyy]

The only problem with group diving in good viz is there are people who don't understand there's nothing wrong with a little space between divers, and invariably someone gets kicked, or someone with an agenda tries to crowd in to see what other's are looking at.
More often than not, if someone gets kicked in the face, it's not the kicker's fault. You kind of have to swim within another diver's turning radius to get kicked.

I think for the most part thats right. If you get kicked your to close or

someone will do something like come up fast and furious underneth you and raise up or something along that line. Thats where you'll see me swimming with my hands trying to back up as fast as I can .

 

[kanonfodr]

Another aspect of the problem that kicking people and removing masks suggest is the lack of situational awareness. Maybe it didn't happen the way I'm perceiving it, but it sounds like there was a certain amount of being physically out of control (other divers flailing around) and/or not paying attention to what's going on around them. In a buddy pair, this lack of skills wouldn't make for a very good buddy, and the additional cognitive load of having them try to dive as a buddy group would probably make things worse.

I would tend to agree, even very experienced divers do not necessarily possess fine control skills. But on the other hand, some very new divers can exercise amazingly precise control. It depends on their training to that date, and to what extent they practice such training.

Peace,
Greg

 

[bilsant]

I had this discussion the other day. I prefer to dive with one buddy I can dive with regularly and learn their pattern and they learn mine. I have a few other divers that I like to buddy with - still pairs - because every time we go out I learn something new from them.

...A three buddy approach seems to work best with new divers who then have two experienced buddies looking out for the newbie in the middle.

In my personal experience, virtually every other permutation eventually ends up with someone getting left behind at some stage of the dive.

 

[KeithG]

Group diving sucks!

But it is unavoidable in some situations: drifts & deep. Best done in a group!

Worst case is the forced guided dive when not drift or deep. Stay away from these trips. Unless you like being kicked in the head.

We avoid group diving due to all the reasons noted in the previous posts.

Group diving often means guided which means a forced schedule, which means I have to swim way too far since I am old fat & lazy and really want to take it slow and look at the small stuff.

It can also lead to some dangerous results! Most recent case of under water stupids was a non guided dive that turned into a guided drift dive after we were all underwater. The almost guide did write "drift" on his slate and showed it to us. We said ok (reluctantly!) and went with the flow. 25 minutes later, one of the group bolted back towards the entry point - likely low on air and confused about the new mission. A few minutes later another diver pealed off. Neither was noticed by the guide. Neither re-acted to signals to continue the drift. They both survived. The drift ended happily as expected with no further excitement.

 

[DevonDiver]

I see no possible excuse why a group of divers could not be paired into effective buddy teams.

All recreational divers are trained and recommended to dive according to the buddy system. Some divers, with specific training, experience and equipment opt to dive solo.

'Herd' diving is neither of these.

IMHO, it results from laziness... on both the part of the dive-master/controller and the divers themselves.