How to be a good buddy

[Peter Guy]

OP -- as a new diver your skill level is not what it will be after you've done a lot more dives and had a lot more training. The better your diving skills, the better your "buddy skills" can be (but not necessarily will be).

It seems to me that a lot of what people have written here actually relate to physical skill levels that you may not have -- but don't despair. That doesn't mean you won't be a "good buddy."

I think NWGratefulDiver pointed out the most important aspect of "being a good buddy." It is the mental aspect -- the commitment to "our dive" rather than "my dive." EVERYONE, regardless of diving skill level, can have that mental commitment to "our dive." This is particularly important when a new diver is with an experienced one -- the experienced diver MUST commit to "our dive" and thus make sure the dive is done at the level of the new diver and not vice-versa.

The rest of the "good buddy" stuff comes with experience -- practice on the mental aspect from dive one.

 

[TSandM]

Diving with a buddy takes a certain mentality ... you have to think of the dive as "our" dive, rather than "my" dive ... because sometimes you'll have to modify what you want to do in order to accommodate your dive buddy. This is a matter of priorities ... and sometimes it can lead to interesting "conversations" underwater ... but in order to be a good buddy you need to put the team ahead of yourself. An example of this would be if you saw something off to the side you wanted to explore, before heading in that direction you need to signal your buddy, get their attention, and point out where you want to go. Either both of you need to go together or you don't go. This is putting team first, and self second. It's a mindset ... any time you want to deviate from the dive plan ... or even just stop and look at something ... you need to think of your buddy first, and make sure you're doing it together.​

This just sums it up.

You're a good buddy if you're committed to working WITH me to ensure both of us have a safe, fun dive. How much of the responsibility you can shoulder will change as you gain experience -- but the commitment can be there from the beginning.

 

[TMHeimer]

Can't add much to all the above. In a nutshell a good buddy should do all the safety stuff mentioned. But the most important thing is to keep together -- don't get sidetracked. If you're not together not much of all the good stuff mentioned above matters. Staying together is the most important, if not the ONLY priority. Separation is not only unsafe, but also annoying and frustrating. Of course defining "together" depends on conditions--mostly viz, but also current, surf, etc. One of my biggies is for a new diver to try to buddy up with an experienced one--if possible. And one with some rescue skills.

 

[mala]

jacqueline bisset would be a good role model.