How Close are you to your buddy?

[Splitlip]

LOL. Yeah. Pretty lucky. Can do it all year. If conditions are less than optimal, "there is always next week".

 

[scubadiveilat]

Unfortunately! not many bind my the rule to stay within a close range. While underwater we enjoy it so much we forget every around us. Never forget your dive buddy stay close and keep within reach. Communicate often.

Safe diving and enjoy!!!

 

[pixelpixie]

@TSandM- thank you for addressing the lights. That made a lot of sense. Obviously the answer differs for different divers, comfort with buddy, environment, etc. I know how I feel most comfortable and appreciate the perspectives on this post.

 

[lsorenson]

I read lots of material about diving with a buddy and see buddies who feel it perfectly ok to wander apart. I even had a DM do that with me....basically, we'll all just swarm around. With other divers entering the area, I had already started to do my one-minute look around before ascent. I recently read a post about the use of underwater lights to signal your buddy. It got me wondering....why would you need to do that if you were next to each other? If my buddy detoured to look at one thing and me another, how could we possibly help each other? So how close are you to your buddy?

All it really comes down to is trust... Until you trust your buddy and I mean really trust them and that means more than the token 2 or 3 dives together.... Don't trust your buddy...!!! Do a hundred dives with your buddy and both of you will know each of your idiosyncrasies... You have already had all of the arguments about this or that... My fault, your fault, whatever...

If you don't know your buddy... do not trust them! Best of intentions can get people killed...

You asked about the lights and TSandM (?) gave you food for thought but inappropriate in the daytime... Until you know your buddy, keep close tabs as some will leave because something caught their eye... You head in this direction for another 6-8 seconds before checking on them and low and behold, they went 8-10 seconds the other way...!

Best thing I can say is... don't trust your buddy until you can!!! Even then, my wife keep giving me grief!!! She; "I watched you for over 3 fricken hours and you never looked...!!!" Me, "yea I did... you were looking at your damn watch!!!"

Pain in the butt but she keeps good track of entry points and rock formations... Me, Its not caves... low on air, surface, head back to beach...!!! Ok, not that bad.... lol, well maybe... Not really sure...!!! (now where is that damn "embarrassed icon???)

Best to all... lee

 

[TMHeimer]

I like routines. My wife says I'm obsessed with them. She's probably right. Rule: If you are buddy diving BOTH of you take as priority ONE (other than the many other safety concerns) to keep visibility. I've had it go South both with known buddies and "Insta Buddies". If there is an agreement that you need not keep contact and if one of you splits to do your own thing, (a.k.a. solo dive for a while) that's OK. But if you are Buddies, stay Buddies.

 

[Thalassamania]

The "proper" answer is: "close enough to intervene on his or her behalf in an emergency." The "real" answer is reaching distance.

 

[Belce]

It is not your buddy's job to stay with you, it is your job to stay with your buddy.

As far as lights in the day time, you should come dive in zee inky darkness, that is our waters, 30' of halocline were you can't see your own fins to not bad vis below and lights work there. Many of us dive with lights all the time.

The amount of seperation you are comfortable with should be part of any pre-dive discussion especially if diving together for the first time and/or a new location.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I think there are some really scary comments among the preceding posts. To answer the original question, my buddy (wife Debbie) and I stay within fingertip touching distance. By habit she is always to my left and usually slightly above me. If I want to move away for a photo or video, I face her and communicate my intention. Similarly, if there is a distressed or wandering diver and I need to to retrieve them, I first let her know. That way she knows where I am going and we each know where the other will be. I don't think it matters if the viz in 10 feet or 100 feet, our practice is a safe and enjoyable one. We share the experiences of the dive, and we are at hand to assist one another when needed. On those occasions when I am not diving with her, I follow the same basic practice, because it is a good one. I think each member of a buddy team needs to know where their buddy is AND be in close enough proximity to assist as needed. Someone please tell me how you assist a diver who lost a weight pocket and is ascending too rapidly when you are 60 feet away, or how you share air from that distance, or remove an entanglement. Also, if you are 60 feet away, and each diver sees something interesting in a different direction, in 5 seconds you can be 120 feet away. And then??? I am conservative in my approach to buddy diving, and on those occasions when I have "split" to take a photo or video, my buddy has let me know my error and I correct. Please develop a similar practice for your safety and that of your buddy.
DivemasterDennis

 

[DevonDiver]

Dennis... an honest question... how do your customers feel about the proximity you maintain to them?

 

[c0r3yz]

Typically, my wife is my dive buddy. She isn't as comfortable in the water as I am, so I tend to stay closer to her than I would if I were diving with some of my other potential buddies. That said, I prefer to maintain visual contact with my dive buddy at all times with a 10'-15' max. Obviously, as we go deeper, or as vis conditions worsen, that gap can close considerably.

In all honesty, I think that the max distance between you and your buddy should be defined before the dive and be based on you and your buddy's comfort levels for the plan you are diving.