From my Januray Blog, "Keep your friends Close and Your Dive Buddies closer:
"How close should your stay to your dive buddy?" This question has been raised and discussed regularly here on scuba board for years. Lately it has been coming up quite often. Responses have been quite varied, and some have been a little disturbing. In my observation, some divers think being in the same ocean with their buddy is all that is required. The simple truth is that you should stay close to your buddy throughout a dive. But how close is close? First of all, that depends on conditions. If the visibility is limited, if there is current, especially strong current, then buddies should stay within touching distance. Next, how close you should be depends on who your buddy is. Diving with a buddy whose skills and habits are well known to you, and with whom you have done a lot of diving, it may well be ok to be a little "less close" than when you are diving with someone you just met. My wife Debbie is my dive buddy when she is on a dive trip with me. We have hundreds of dives together, but still stay close- fingertip touching distance. It's a habit. When diving with others in similar conditions, I always want to stay within a close enough distance so that I can respond to them, and they to me, in the event of any emergency. Emergencies are not limited to air depletion. They can include entanglement, equipment malfunction, injury, or I suppose even coming under attack from an aggressive sea creature. Not just proximity to a buddy, but awareness of where they are, is important for safety, and for just sharing the joy of the dive and the things seen during the dive. It doesn't take long for buddies to become separated if they are not focused on an awareness of where each is. I think people need to be taught to do that. Look around and mark your buddies' location and activity regularly- often- even constantly. Debbie has a habit of staying to my left and about a foot above me. She is comfortable there, and it makes it easy for each of us to keep track of the other. If you have a regular buddy, there is a lot to be said for having a standard "formation" like we have. So, stay close, be aware of each others location, confirm it regularly, and share the dive. There is never an excuse to be separated from your buddy. If you are diving with someone new, maybe someone you just met for the first time on the dive boat that day, talk before the dive. Learn their dive history and competence level and share yours. Note their equipment color and configuration,so you can recognize them. Clarify your expectations, and don't be timid about admonishing them if they suddenly take off chasing something, oblivious to your whereabouts.
How close should you stay to your buddy? Close. And close is not enough. Stay close AND be aware of where they are. Diving with a buddy is fun and safe. It reduces stress and anxiety, and it gives you extra spotting of interesting stuff to see, and someone to share the experience. Keep your friends close, and your dive buddy closer. All the time.
DivemasterDennis