How long would you wait before raising alarm?

[BarryNL]

I managed to lose buddy contact yesterday during a dive due to a combination of bad visibility and a large number of other divers in the water. Anyway, it was someone I'd not dived with before but we had the usual plan of search for a minute and surface.

So, I searched and surfaced and waited, and waited, and waited.

Eventually after about 5 minutes he surfaced - for some reason he'd decided he needed a 3 min safety stop before surfacing on a dive to only 8m for 15mins.

By that time though I was beginning to wonder whether to raise an alarm; I had no particular reason to assume he was in trouble but the problem is, how long realistically should you wait for a lost buddy to appear before deciding to treat it as an emergency.

 

[DeepSeaDan]

...on a number of factors:

> Dive profile ( how deep, how long submerged prior to separation, bottom conditions such as current & visibility )

> Circumstances prior to the separation ( panic, confusion, loss of visibility, low air )

> Familiarity with buddy ( new / unknown, familiar / known - in other words, is the individual prone to making this mistake)

After all factors have been considered, it's decision time. You don't want to cause an unnecessary stressful situation without due cause; however, if a true emergency exists, you must act quickly & decisively as time is of the essence.

I would err on the side of caution, meaning if circumstances suggest a real possibility of a diver-in-trouble, I'd opt for initiating a missing diver protocol ( hopefully, those present to assist are familiar with the process ).

Regards,
DSD

 

[Walter]

I agree with Dan.

I would make two other suggestions - always cover what to do if separated in your predive discussion and always carry a buddy line. If viz is bad, pull it out and put it to use.

 

[HowardE]

always cover what to do if separated in your predive discussion

This has become a regular part of my pre-dive discussion, especially when I dive with newer dive buddies.

If we're on a drift or beach dive (where I'm towing a buoy with a flag on it)... I tell them to surface - find my flag, and come back down.

Otherwise, I think it's important to find a comfortable number for both you and the buddy as far as how much time until surfacing. I would think that depending on your comfort level... between 2-5 minutes is fair. But whatever you pick... it should be discussed and agreed upon during your pre-dive buddy chat.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I agree with what the others have said and have one other small suggestion. Depending on the circumstances of the dive site, before raising an alarm I would calmly ask someone (preferably someone with a higher vantage point) if they see my buddy's bubbles "he should be coming up any time but may be doing a safety stop." Gives you an extra set of eyes but doesn't freak people out.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[BarryNL]

I agree with what the others have said and have one other small suggestion. Depending on the circumstances of the dive site, before raising an alarm I would calmly ask someone (preferably someone with a higher vantage point) if they see my buddy's bubbles "he should be coming up any time but may be doing a safety stop." Gives you an extra set of eyes but doesn't freak people out.
Ber :lilbunny:

Unfortunately, one of the major problems was the sheer number of other divers in the water. We actually got seperated when another diver trying to get a photo dropped on top of us. On the surface I could see a number of sets of bubbles appearing but had no way to link any to my buddy.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

Unfortunately, one of the major problems was the sheer number of other divers in the water. We actually got seperated when another diver trying to get a photo dropped on top of us. On the surface I could see a number of sets of bubbles appearing but had no way to link any to my buddy.

That's why I said it depends on the circumstances, just something for future reference. Most divers remain stationary for their safety stop and that would be the clue in an area where there are lots of divers, most will be moving. However since he should have been looking for you he may have been moving during the stop making finding his bubbles difficult.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[dherbman]

Is a lost buddy reason enough to blow off a safety stop? I don't think so.

I think this is a great situation to shoot a smb during your safety stop. In fact, I'll make that part of my lost buddy procedure.

 

[HowardE]

Is a lost buddy reason enough to blow off a safety stop? I don't think so.

Wouldn't that depend on how far into the dive you were? I wouldn't feel the need to do a safety stop after 15 minutes @ 23 feet - would you?

I think this is a great situation to shoot a smb during your safety stop. In fact, I'll make that part of my lost buddy procedure.

This I would most certainly agree with. If you are surfacing by yourself, unmarked, definitely shoot your SMB from the safety stop depth.

I know that in FL, you must be marked in the water. If you're surfacing away from a flag or other SMB, then you should Always make sure you'll be seen by boaters or other idiots (um I mean jet skis or the like) on the water.

 

[dherbman]

:15@23', no... I would make a very slow ascent and shooting a smb might still be a good idea. The down side is that you have to surface after shooting the smb, even if your buddy finds you.