How do you find a dive buddy?

[NYCrecdiver]

I backmount my 13 alongside my 119 for deeper dives.

That's what I plan to use for my new setup but with 19 cf pony. Used to dive with 80cf alum and 13 cf pony backmounted. Changing now to steel 120 with 19 pony mounted alongside. With my SAC rate, 13 cf is a bit dicey to get me out of trouble when diving deep.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I have a fair number of people I can call to dive with. There are a handful I will dive with on certain dives like deep, deco, cold water. Then there are the dives I don't need or want a buddy on. That now is the vast majority of dives I'm planning for the future now that I have retired from teaching.
Even with the handful of people I would do riskier dives with, I was never able to totally relax. Even when we did some benign trips to the quarry where we never got deeper than 20 - 25ft, I always felt like I was "on duty" watching out for them in some way.
Only solo can I truly relax. Shallow quarry or deep deco with wreck penetration planned, if I'm alone I am relaxed and at peace.
I am going to be diving with some students I trained over the years. Not as an instructor, just as a buddy, but I know that I'll be watching out for them.
For an ethical instructor, all the ones I've spoken with feel a sense of responsibility to the person they are diving with above and beyond the usual dive buddy dynamic.
I think that's because for so many years, not having that sense of responsibility could result in some very bad legal stuff happening to you.

 

[BoltSnap]

I have a fair number of people I can call to dive with. There are a handful I will dive with on certain dives like deep, deco, cold water. Then there are the dives I don't need or want a buddy on. That now is the vast majority of dives I'm planning for the future now that I have retired from teaching.
Even with the handful of people I would do riskier dives with, I was never able to totally relax. Even when we did some benign trips to the quarry where we never got deeper than 20 - 25ft, I always felt like I was "on duty" watching out for them in some way.
Only solo can I truly relax. Shallow quarry or deep deco with wreck penetration planned, if I'm alone I am relaxed and at peace.
I am going to be diving with some students I trained over the years. Not as an instructor, just as a buddy, but I know that I'll be watching out for them.
For an ethical instructor, all the ones I've spoken with feel a sense of responsibility to the person they are diving with above and beyond the usual dive buddy dynamic.
I think that's because for so many years, not having that sense of responsibility could result in some very bad legal stuff happening to you.

Same here.

 

[Gandalf-the-Diver]

I've been to 124 solo before but I usually don't have reason to be that deep around here. I backmount my 13 alongside my 119 for deeper dives. I hate my 100s so the 119s are my go to for pretty much every dive. More gas is better imo

I use a 100HP Faber, and my 30cu Catalina. My 1st pony was a 13cu Catalina, dives 5 - 75, then I moved to the 30, always slung. Most of my buddies all dive self reliant. I don't mind my 100, now my SAC rate has gotten better.

 

[Searcaigh]

Finding new dive buddies when moving to a new location can be challenging, it's a bit like finding a new barber (for those of us who have hair that is )

When I moved from Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) in 1997 to Dubai (UAE) that proved to be difficult for me initially mainly due to the fact I was traveling a lot and although one of my new colleagues (Japanese) and assistant (Filipina) told me they were qualified divers, it was about two years before I dived with either of them. Probably took me about three years to find some reliable people to dive with after many instabuddies. Nowadays I just solo dive even when on a dive boat or when shore diving.

Nowadays with the internet and of course ScubaBoard, finding new buddies before moving shouldn't be as difficult. However, I do know that I will be moving from Dubai possibly in the coming 24 months, but don't know where I will be moving to. Original plans have changed slightly but highly probable that it will be Malaysia, which isn't too bad, but it won't be as easy as it has been for me over the past 31 years to dive by throwing gear in my car and setting off on a two hour drive.

I don't do Facebook, but prefer to rely on "real people" that I've personally met to give me feedback or introduce me to reliable buddies.

 

[apedai]

Here is a good answer from reddit

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Finding dive buddies seemed more like a beginner thing for me. Freshly minted OW divers all excited about diving and need buddies to go diving with, almost anybody will do. Everybody is still in the phase of figuring everything out and may not know what a good or bad buddy really is yet. As more dives pile up and different buddies come and go, you begin to see a pattern of who is compatible and who is not. At first 95% of buddies seem great and you’re just glad to have one. After a few years of being ditched, chasing each other around the ocean, having your dive day ruined because they’re hung over or on some trip, or a multitude if other little annoying things, you soon realize that there are only about 10% or less of people that are compatible. And in many cases almost no compatible buddies, and this is generally where a diver makes the decision to go solo. Call it selfish or whatever you want but it’s true.

I found that finding dive buddies on the internet to be less than satisfactory. I’ve started two dive clubs in my time, both were internet based and both ended up dissolved. Just because people share a common activity doesn’t mean that their personalities will jive.
To me, still the best way to find buddies is in person. Become friends first then go diving.
However in this day and age the connection starts on the internet, that’s just the world we live in. It used to be the dive shop and dive clubs but unfortunately that structure is in a state of decay.
I also know there are a lot of people who fabricate an online persona and when you finally meet them they are nothing like what they touted themselves to be. It’s kinda scary actually, been there seen that.
But on the flip side, some of my dearest friends and best lifelong dive buddies were people I met through the internet (people who attended my dive campouts). So it’s kind of like a gold mine, for every ten thousand lbs of tailings you might find one nugget worth a million.

*Adding:
Lately I have been organizing and talking about purple urchin clearing dives in my area. This is completely different than finding dive buddies for fun dives, these are working dives that serve a special cause. I don’t want people to think that just because these are internet based dives that people will be judged in some way as to their worth as participants, that is not the case. I want to reinforce the fact that we are very glad people want to help.
These dives will have organizational guidelines plus there is a dive shop involved so this is completely different from personal buddy fun dives. The internet in this case is serving as a vital tool to pull people from a wide source.
Thank you.

 

[BlueTrin]

Local clubs, classes and talking to people on hard boat dives?

 

[KenE]

I moved across the US last year and had the same problem. I found a LDS and asked the best way to find buddies and was given some decent information. I also visited the local dive sites early and talked to divers and got even better information. Since then I have found a half dozen buddies that I call when planning dives, at least one is available. I am several hours from dive sites so I have to plan a weekend outing and usually someone is available on that weekend.

Edit: I will admit that I did find a couple buddies that I will not call, personalities/priorities/dive style did not click.

 

[scubadada]

When I am not diving with my family or the occasional trip when I am diving with an established friend, I dive solo. In SE FL, I will take a new diver or divers for an orientation dive on the reef. I never look for buddies