How to stay w your buddy in murky water

[BCCroney]

I live in the MidAtlantic region in the United States, so many of the available dive areas are quite murky. What are some techniques for maintaining contact with your dive buddy in very low visibility conditions? Additionally, what are some recommended contingency plans if you lose visual contact with your buddy in unfamiliar waters?

Thanks,
Brendan

 

[Peter_C]

We use really bright flashlights to keep in contact with our buddies (Think 21 watt HID's). Braille diving I am not into, but if it is around 5' then we generally stay underwater. If you loose your buddy you spend one minute trying to find them, then surface to hopefully find them there, just as you were taught in open water.

If the vis is really bad, then touch contact. I end the dive at that point, only because there is nothing to see. Rather just close my eyes and sleep on the beach.

 

[aquaregia]

How murky is murky? I've only dived a few regions, so I'm not sure what counts. If the vis gets below 5' we switch on lights. If we have to go single file we can point them at each other. I've looped arms or held hands with my buddy, which also makes me feel warmer . Below about 3' I get kind of uncomfortable so it's pretty much constant physical contact or call it.

The contingency plan I usually use is a 1 minute search at depth followed by a 5 minute surface search followed by 911. I've never gotten close to 1 minute though, usually after 5 seconds I find my buddy about three feet away from me.

 

[JohnB47]

In low visibility, you should swim side-by-side, not single file - unless you are ascending/descending on an anchor line, or following a wreck or cave line. If the visibility is really bad, use a buddy line or hold hands. I have not tried it, but it seems like a strobe would be useful if you get separated.

 

[tkdgodess]

If I can't see my own fins.....we stay closer together, arm to shoulder, and pick a side to dive on and stay on it. If we are wall diving and both want to be close to the wall, one leads, other follows, then reverse on the return swim. Dive lights for making OK circles, and good u/w communications. If we get seperated then we do a 1 min search then surface. If you are diving with just 1 buddy it's pretty easy to stay together. Larger groups of certified divers should be in teams, teams stick together, but if group breaks apart that's OK. Students in poor vis is another story.

I dove in bad vis yesterday, 6 of us, teams of 2. My buddy couldn't equalize so we surfaced together, the rest continued,(vis was bad enough if you were 1 body length apart you couldn't see) he got sorted out and we dove. This was all discussed in our dive plan.

 

[dbulmer]

Brendan,
Invest in a good quality light such as a HID light or an LED with a very strong beam. These type of torches are expensive but you appreciate them in dark and or low visibility conditions.

The diving I do is mostly wreck diving and having a decent light really helps - you put the beam in front of your buddy so he knows where you are and he does the same so you know where he is.

If you get separated from your buddy look around you 360 degrees and up and down. If you can't see your buddy after a minute, start your ascent.

One other thing - if vis is so bad that you cannot see why you went on the dive in the first place terminate the dive - there's always another day
On wrecks you have to be very careful that you do not inadvertently enter a wreck so try to stay still as long as you can while looking around for your buddy. You might also find that the stress of losing your buddy increases your gas consumption so keep an eye out on your your contents gauge (particularly at depth).If you find yourself breathing very quickly, try to calm yourself down by breathing deep and slow for a minute.

Before you dive , discuss with your buddy what you will both do if one of you gets lost and then stick to that plan.

In some areas divers attach a line to each other to remain in contact. I can understand why some people do this but I don't like line of any shape so it's not something I would do. (line has a nasty habit of getting in the way).

The main thing you both need to do is fin slowly and signal each other whenever one of you wants to change direction or stop for a second. As I mentioned using a good torch helps in this regard.

One other thing: if your buddy gets nervous extend your hand so that it touches his/her hand - it helps reassure the other diver that you are there

Try to swim side by side rather than follow the leader. Its harder for the leader to see a buddy and very easy to lose contact in very poor conditions.

I'm sure you'll get some better feedback but hope that gives you something to consider.

 

[seaducer]

If you are diving on a wreck, you can always make plans that if seperated you meet back at the anchor line, which is where you would start your ascent anyway. Hopefully both, or all of you are able to independently navigate back to that point.

 

[crd_kats]

We usually:

• Discuss the dive plan before hand and all possible contingencies.
• The diver with the weakest light leads; it's easier for the diver with the brightest light to shine it ahead and be able to ask the lead diver if he's ok by drawing an "O" with the light, which we do about every 5 - 10 min. Or flash the light back and forth for attention. Slower, not a problem, but want attention; faster, there's a problem and need you now.
• Go to touch contact (holding lead divers elbow - easy to get lead divers attention with a squeeze) if visibility is down to 4' or less, swimming side by side with lead diver ahead by a head. Unless, as previously stated by someone else you're on an anchor line, in a cave or wreck and it's too narrow.
• If by some totally twilight zone chance you become separated... search for a min or two, then surface.

Diving in low viz is fun. Just remember to communicate the plan with your buddy before the dive.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I live in the MidAtlantic region in the United States, so many of the available dive areas are quite murky. What are some techniques for maintaining contact with your dive buddy in very low visibility conditions? Additionally, what are some recommended contingency plans if you lose visual contact with your buddy in unfamiliar waters?

Thanks,
Brendan

Rules for diving in murky water ...

1. Communicate well before the dive ... make sure you BOTH know what to expect from the dive plan and from each other.

2. Keep your buddy teams small ... no more than three, preferably two.

3. Descend facing each other ... watch each other all the way down. Descend together.

4. Swim side-by-side ... lead-follow doesn't work in murk because the front person can't watch the back person, and all it takes is one kick to provide enough separation to lose each other.

5. Slow down ... it's more difficult to lose each other when you're swimming slowly. Besides, you can't see very far anyway ... so go slow and pay attention to what you CAN see.

6. Use good dive lights ... lights are more visible than dive gear. Shine your light such that your dive buddy can see it ... if your buddy can see your light, they know you're there.

7. Slow down ... the faster you swim the easier it is to lose each other.

8. Communicate! If you see something interesting and want to stop or veer off to check it out, tell your buddy first ... THEN change speed or direction. Make sure they know what you're doing before you do it.

9. Swim slower ... that wasn't a rock you just swam past, it was an octopus. Things look way different when your vis is impaired, and it's way easier to pick out recognizable objects if you're swimming slowly.

10. When you're ready to come up, ascend facing each other ... watch each other all the way up. Ascend together.

What to do if you lose each other ...

1. Shine your light completely ... slowly ... in a circle, while looking for your buddy's light.

2. Shine it up above you just a bit, looking for your buddy's bubbles ... bubbles are more reflective than dive gear, and will sometimes reflect back even when you can't see them.

3. Kick back ... slowly ... in the direction you last saw your buddy. They might have just stopped to look at something a few seconds ago, thinking that you knew they were stopping.

4. If you don't find them within a minute or so, begin ascending. Regroup on the surface and discuss your options.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Kingpatzer]

While somewhat off-topic to this area, being a newly minted deco diver, what's the general idea if this happens once you're into decompression obligation?

My inclination would be to look around for my buddy but stay on my plan in terms of depth and time.

Would that be the right course? Or would I be more correct to surface early (of course doing the deco stops as planned to make sure I'm not being rescued).