Does your team dive in buddy teams or solo w/ waiting support?

[NorthWoodsDiver]

I am a volunteer diver on an all volunteer dive team. the members supply their own equipment but the team provides use of the aga mask with comms. everyone is trained by dive rescue international to the level of public safety diver, dive rescue 1, med diver, and current diving operations on top of normal open water and advanced open water training.

some of us carry a considerable amount of other training that is paid for on our own and on our own time.

Our meeting last night was to recap some ice dive ops from the previous weekend and to suggest any changes to the bylaws.

During the ice diving training the previous weekend I asked to dive solo and was denied that right. At the meeting I asked for confirmation that its a team regulation that all operations (training or otherwise) require 2 divers in the water and a support diver.

that question started a heated discussion about the issues with diving solo. keep in mind when I say solo that just means 1 diver under and 1 diver ready to splash. This turned into an argument and tons of finger pointing which lasted almost an hour.

The end result was me renouncing my diver status to non diver/surface support because the team refused to allow me to dive solo.

My argument was simply that I am far more comfortable in the water when I only have to worry about me and the mission. This is just speaking for team related diving not recreational diving in nice conditions with visibility and not attached to the surface via a rope and so on.

I'm a solo diver much of the time for recreation anyway and have developed a great degree of comfort in my self and my skills diving in various environments while alone
and only asked that the team respect my wishes and I didn't expect anyone else to dive solo or make solo a requirement just allow it to be an option. I was totally denied thus causing a certain degree of frustration.

I just wanted to kinda find out how other teams feel about the subject. not necessarily for whats right or wrong individually but what the team protocols are. Nothing is going to change my mind and nothing is going to change them but curiosity has got the best of me. T

 

[Gary D.]

We do both depending on the operation. I for one dive solo all I can. That way I can focus on the operation and not have to divide my attention. But is it really solo when you have that line to the surface?

Gary D.

 

[Orlando Eric]

THis is a common practice amoung FLorida teams.

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

THis is a common practice amoung FLorida teams.

which one is common, solo w/ backup or buddy teams?

 

[bridgediver]

HI NWD

I like the way you're thinking but your team is not totally wrong either. Even if solo diving the team must know how to support this method properly ie - proper contingency procedures, how/when a back up is deployed and most importantly what he needs to do when he does deploy.

solo diving for PSD I believe is the way to go IF you operate in poor vis (like most of us do). Your searches are faster, more efficient and safer without having a buddy diver to keep track of all the time (whether he's tethered to you or not). You do need to have a bullet proof back-up system that will work for EVERY scenario you might encounter and so proper gear, training and procedures will address that.
We always dive solo with a back-up + a 90% ready diver (a back-up for the back-up). The reason for this is when the back-up is needed we can't be held up if a weightbelt slips off, a fin is dropped or the diver can't equalize. Real life stuff that can occur to any diver about to dive.

You're in a tough spot. Since your whole team is trained and practiced into the buddy diving methodology you'll have a hard time trying to convince them to do something totally new (and it is!) by yourself. An outside instructor and class was the only way our team made the switch - and it wasn't easy.
In the end it made us a better and safer team so it was worth the struggle for us.

hope that helps

mark

 

[Anti-Hero]

It really depends on the situation, and the search. Some searches (anchor search for instance) require more than one diver to be implemented. If it's a basic pendulum search then on diver in the water, with a safety diver and a 90%er on stand by.

We've also in some instances with a vehicle in the water will have one diver hooking up the car while the other gets the plate, clears the vehicle if needed, etc.

 

[tc]

Most of our diving is in near zero or zero vis.

Our most common setup is a solo, line tended, diver with a safety diver ready to splash if needed.

We usually rotate divers through diving, standby, 90% (second standby). This keeps folks from waiting around too long and get chilled/overheated due to the conditions. (anyone else ever notice that we never get called out during nice weather?)

For a jackstay pattern or a search with some vis a buddy team will work fine, we still keep at least one safety diver ready to go though.

Probably 85% of the time we're on solo line tended patterns.

 

[oem3105]

I have to echo the majority here. We typically dive using the 4-person set up.
1. The primary/working diver (on AGA & hardline comms).
2. The secondary diver at the surface (also on AGA & hardline comms).
3. The line tender/comm officer.
4. The 90% diver out of water (usually next to and assisting the line tender).

Unless there is an issue where the primary has asked for or needs assistance, the primary diver is working solo.

 

[off the grid]

We also have the primary dive solo on tether, a secondary at the surface ready to go, a tender for each diver, and a 90% ready diver. Once the search is over and we are actually in recovery mode, we will have two divers under at the same time is and the 90% becomes the backup.

 

[ditch-diver]

If a diver is on a life-line..(which is most of the time) we are in alone with the lines and comms for communication. If the diver is free swimming..., (sledding, hull/pier searches etc) there are buddy teams (or several teams) in the water at the same time.

I can't think of a single good reason why you would need two divers in the water for most line tended searches.