Lets see what happens with this statement

[Gary D.]

This is not my statement but I will give credit where credit is due shortly. Just looking for your reactions. It could cover several areas.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The comment that "They were there when I last looked", indicates that buddy
contact was not a constant condition of the dive. To be effective buddy
contact between two divers must be a continuous, ongoing condition of the
dive. Buddy contact that is "checked" every few minutes is, at best, poor.
Unfortunately, this interrupted and non-continuous method of "buddy-diving"
is more common than many divers would like to admit. It is difficult to
criticize the survivor of poor diving practices in cases such as this
because his position is one of "a lost friend". This less-than-optimum
buddy-system is an error of omission which is common among most sport
divers. In short, "human error" is probably more to blame than negligence.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Some of you may know exactly where to find it.

Gary D.

 

[pants!]

Sounds pretty good to me.

I read some good posts lately that make me think "buddy diving" means something totally different from "team diving," and we need a lot more of the latter and less of the former.

 

[Uncle Pug]

That is why we use HID lights for continuous passive communication between members of the dive team.

 

[dbulmer]

UP,
What does passive mean in your post above?

 

[CIBDiving]

UP,
What does passive mean in your post above?

It means he's going to let this obvious troll go because it suits his bias

 

[scubatim2004]

It means he's going to let this obvious troll go because it suits his bias

I have dove with this one guy a few times and he sucks as a dive buddy never keeps track and always disapears. Talked to him many times about it to no avail. Hence I no longer dive with him.

 

[pants!]

UP,
What does passive mean in your post above?

It means that the presence of a bright, narrow light beam held steady within your field of vision is a PASSIVE reminder that your buddy is next to you and doing OK.

 

[dbulmer]

Thanks Pants!
I ACTIVELY shine light in front (below) of my buddy (which is why I asked the question). The question was one of semantics.

 

[gregor1234]

I think this description of two modes of diving communication is right on the money and I feel it would have been good to hear such a clear presentation in my basic training.

The continuous communication mode is obviously the most desirable especially under any less-than-optimum conditions But many divers (especially some teenagers I know) will dive in "buddy-checking" mode most all the time if you let them.

On the other hand, I feel that there are conditions under which "checking mode" is not really as bad as it sounds (shallow dive , good vis, no current, experienced divers, etc).

Buddy checking is most certainly is the mode you'll find youself in when an operator takes you on a guided dive as a "group" without specific buddy assignments.

I am interested in a previous post referencing the idea of "team" diving as opposed to "buddy" diving. Isn't a "team" (like the dive "group" mentioned above) more likely than a buddy pair to not notice one missing or otherwise fail to communicate continuously between all members?

 

[pants!]

A two man team as opposed to a buddy pair.

Losing a "team member" is a bigger deal than "losing track of my buddy over there." The dive is a team effort with a team objective and team resources split between the two divers. In this way of thinking, the "team" is something bigger than either diver and both divers are committed to the team, as opposed to each diver just being a diver in the water with another diver.