Not to worry, the great Rock God in the sea is watching over them. Great photo!
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but someone is better than no one.
Sounds to me like you are trying to decide where to draw the line of personal responsibility for your own peace of mind.... The information shared gives me a lot to think about.
And what better reason to make sure my life is in my own hands.This is an activity where your life is literally on the line if something goes wrong.
I personally think anyone that dives without a buddy is insane.
It is a good idea to have protect yourself as much as possible (redundant systems, cutting tools, etc).
However, as prepared as you are, you are making the assumptions that:
1. You'll be able to make any decision at all (think black-outs, sudden strokes, etc)
2. You can make a good decision in various conditions (aspirated a bunch of seawater, caught a strong or downcurrent, have catastrophic gear failure that's not redundant such as BCD failure).
This is an activity where your life is literally on the line if something goes wrong. Why gamble?
I've had absolutely horrible experience with insta-buddies, so I understand your pain, but someone is better than no one. IMO the best thing to do is to TALK with your buddy in advance, have a rough dive plan, and stick to it. If buddy doesn't want to follow it, switch him out immediately.
Being in a strong down current might not be better with a buddy - in fact it might be a lot worse.. more to worry about, more coordination - a weaker buddy, a buddy with less lift in their BC.. etc.
I try to configure my gear so that if i have a catastrophic failure.. the dive is still survivable - without a buddy.
I think you are making a lot of assumptions that might not be so valid.. do you really have less than 24 dives?
and your biggest (and most erroneous) assumption that someone - anyone is better than going solo.. That is absolutely incorrect.
I am a beginner - but you guys definitely have me thinking about the bad buddy scenario. I guess I was thinking more about neutral to good buddy vs. no one. I can see how a buddy doing risky things could get you into trouble though for sure.
A pony bottle probably goes a long way for solving most issues. I guess I just worry most about scenarios where I wouldn't be able to help myself.
Especially if you can swim faster than your buddy.For me, the biggest advantage of a good buddy is to help deal with aggressive sharks. A good buddy really is a big advantage in those situations.