Ever leave a dive buddy behind?

[stardiver]

Your buddy has more air than you. You're 50 feet underwater and you only have 500 psi out the 3,000 psi. you started. You give the thumbs up signal, he ignores it, maybe because he has more air than you.

Is it ok to go up without him and assume he'll go up whenever he feels good and ready?

Unfortunately, the buddy did not leave you much choice.

Will you dive with this buddy again? If so, will you first have a meaningful discussion on your expectations of a buddy?

Guessing that this is a theoretical "you," were there any other communications about gas supply before this point in the dive?

*

 

[ItsBruce]

The only time I left a buddy, I left him at home when I did a solo dive. He broke his leg and spent the entire summer and fall in a cast. I won't do that again.

If I had to surface after he refused to do so, I'd never dive with him again. Beyond that I second NetDoc's position.

 

[Peter McGuinness]

You are out of air not him. As long as there are no dangers, let him enjoy the rest of his dive.

Great nickname - very appropriate.

Peter

 

[gcbryan]

In addition to all the good advice already given I'll state the obvious...you shouldn't be at 50 fsw with only 500 psi.

 

[Peter McGuinness]

Your buddy has more air than you. You're 50 feet underwater and you only have 500 psi out the 3,000 psi. you started. You give the thumbs up signal, he ignores it, maybe because he has more air than you.

Is it ok to go up without him and assume he'll go up whenever he feels good and ready?

You phrase the question so as to ask about your responsibility to your buddy, however the circumstances place the emphasis on his responsibility to you.
Once you have signalled that you need to ascend, he must respond and if he does not, then your only course of action is to protect your own safety.

You are no longer diving as a buddy pair but as solo divers, with all that implies. The next step, having surfaced safely, is to decide if this is someone you would dive with again.

Peter

 

[japan-diver]

In addition to all the good advice already given I'll state the obvious...you shouldn't be at 50 fsw with only 500 psi.

Actually at 50 ft your rock bottom would be about 500psi (assuming a 80cuft/3,000psi tank) depending on your RMV. This would then signal you to start to ascend.

I have to say if you were diving as a team or buddy pair the signal to ascend means the team goes up together. In clear water on calm days we have had the odd man (air pig) out in the team ascend as the buddy pair with air escorts him back to the boat from below. The diver upon reaching the ladder signal OK and after the buddy pair sees him exit the water they can then continue their dive. This system works well if you have good viz and good divers. If its just a buddy pair we ascend together and end the dive.

If your team has good communication skills and awareness the three man team works great. RB doesn't mean you have to rocket to the surface you reach RB signal your buddies, get together and ascend - remember RB is enough air to get two divers to the surface so in a three man team if I reach rock bottom and take a minute to get my team together to ascend that is not a problem- even if he is taking a picture.

 

[Sharkbaithawaii]

I think it all depends on who you are diving with. When I first started diving i could put a dyson to shame. The other two guys I dove with, and have dove ith ever since, came up with some new signals. I basically would surface signal and then follow them on the surface. We now do that fairly regularly with all the new people we take out. I haven't dove with anyone else ever. But one rule always stands, you get a thumb and don't react. you never go with us again.

 

[IceIce]

Imho, we can't blame the other side only. When you signalled him, did you sure that he understand what were you trying to say?
I've seen my friend and his buddy, when one signalled that he was low on air, the other gave OK sign and kicked off to chase after fish. I know, the one who chased the fish was a terrible and ignorant diver (proven over time), but that time, it was obvious that he didn't understand. It's very debateable that a divers should know signaling language, but there are also minor possibilities that maybe you have different sign language and you didn't have enough briefing each other.

I'd say, in emergency moment, you did it right, you were low on air and you needed to get up. If he didn't understand or didn't want to go up, save yourself, but don't forget to think back why did it happen. If you didn't have enough briefing or familiarize with each other sign language, it can be worked out. Ask yourself whether you have been a good buddy before you dump someone else without really dig out the problem source. If he is proved to be ignorant, you'd know what to do.

I've seen and experienced that it's not easy to be happy buddy all the time. I have constant buddy but sometimes we still have problem. Such as, we've mad with each other when we tried to call each other underwater. Either one was too occupied with pictures or enjoy the dive too much that we didn't check out on buddy for some time. Although the distance between buddy is not too much apart, problem can occur when there was current, emergency situation if you can not communicate within a minute.
I've once did my safety stop with other divers after I tried to inform him I was LOA for around five minutes. I was swept by current up while he was busy with his picture. But we always have spare buddy as we dive in the group, so it was not that bad and we improved over time. There was time when his tank o ring burst and he went up because the tank emptied like crazy. When I saw him, he was on the surface. But I still blame myself for not realizing it on time, had it been deeper dive (we were starting the dive around 6 meter deep), I might not be able to assist him when he needed me the most.

Great buddy habbit can be improved overtime and can be done with stranger with good preparation.

 

[greg454]

Well, thanks for all the advice. So let me add a few details to the story. The other diver was far more experienced, I was following him. The captain told us to use the rule of thirds, which I think it means to start going up when you only have 1/3 left. When I reached 1000 psi, I gave the thumbs up. He shook his head. I gave an ok signal, i thought "I'll wait a while." But at 500 I started getting nervous. So I gave the thumbs up signal and went up, then I saw another group doing a 3 minute safety stop at 15 feet, and tried to stay with them until they started to move (next time i'm bringing a watch).

My buddy was a stranger in the boat, like me. We talked before the dive, but didn't get into details. Next time, I'll find out more information.

I will admit that on our second dive he did respond to my thumbs up signal, and then went back down (it was a 10 feet reef).

 

[Cudabait]

Greg,

An inexperienced diver should never deviate from the dive plan. (Plan the dive, dive the plan) A review of your profile indicates you are not certified, or just recently certified. So, speaking hypothetically, a new diver should pay particular attention to the plan. Also, a new inexperienced diver should never be out of proximity of his/her buddy....unless it is for an emergency. Inexperienced divers should remain together until the dive is ended. (In the boat, on shore, etc.) One big contributiong factor is that the majority of scuba emergencies occur at the surface. So to eliminate plausible deniability as to who signaled what......if a buddy does not seem to understand a signal, get in their face and give the signal. Shake them if necessary. An inexperienced diver should never become a SOLO diver for any period of time.

Regards,