Male or Female Dive Buddies?

[MissyP]

Do you have a preference for which gender you dive with? For those who dive with someone of the opposite gender (excluding spouses & friends), do you find that it's awkward.. or do you just think of your dive buddy as a "dive buddy"?
Or, do you find it more comfortable to dive with another female?

 

[mikktaho]

Do you have a preference for which gender you dive with? For those who dive with someone of the opposite gender (excluding spouses & friends), do you find that it's awkward.. or do you just think of your dive buddy as a "dive buddy"?
Or, do you find it more comfortable to dive with another female?

Don't see any difference to dive with different gender. I dive a lot of different people as working as a guide. Maybe i have get use to it. Don't know, but today it doesn't make any diffenrence for me.

Mikko

 

[Ann Marie]

I find that diving with other women works well because our air consumption is usually similiar and I can get longer bottom times. That being said, I find that most of my dive buddies are guys. I don't care if I dive with a male or female as long as they are competent divers and good buddies. I can't think of any instance where my guy buddies have made me feel uncomfortable. It is nice when you need a strong arm and they have one they can lend. My husband has met most of my buddies and doesn't have a problem with them being 'of the opposite sex' either.

 

[RICHinNC]

I dont care who I dive with......except for kids...no kid buddy diving....as long as they dont do stupid things.

The only problem with opposite sex buddy divng may be practicing ascents or similar practice of skills where "touching or brushing of certain body areas" may be interpreted incorrectly. I guess it would depend on how long you have known each other and undstand diving.
Just a thought

 

[raya]

I have had some horrendous buddies!So for me, I´m am really really picky when it comes to finding a buddy, I have to have 100% trust and confidence in them..so as long as I have that in them, I don´t mind if my buddy is male or female. I did my Rescue course with a femal instructor and I felt totally at ease with her, just like doing my ow and aow with a male instructor.

 

[El Orans]

Anybuddy'll do

Laurens

 

[hdogan]

I really don't care. Even during my OWD course, I was the odd (by number ) member of the group, so every lesson they paired me up with a different instructor or assistant instructor as a buddy. I continued the practice being the newbie in the local diving club and always got hooked up with a different buddy.

I guess I learned to be self-sufficient, and still cautious enough to alwas keep an eye on my buddy, and I really don't care if it's a he or a she, as long as we can communicate well, and they don't make a mess underwater

Actually, now that I think of it, there are two people I really enjoy having as a buddy, and one of them is female, and the other is male.

As raya said, it's a matter of trust, not of gender.

 

[The Kraken]

Equal Opportunity Dive Buddy:
Minimum Requirments;
Certified
Physically Fit
Ability To Communicate in English
16 years or Older
Can think and react under stress
Is SAFE

 

[KidK9]

Competence or incompetence in my opinion isnt gender specific. I'll dive with anyone and then figure it out from there.

 

[drbill]

I generally prefer diving with women. Almost all my regular buddies are very competent female divers. Why? Females generally have similar air consumption rates so we get comparable bottom times, they seem to be more attuned to relationships (the buddy relationship as well as ecological relationships), they do not need to cover the entire dive park in one dive and are happy spending the entire dive looking carefully over a single reef, etc. As an underwater videographer who always carries his camera, these factors are very important to me.

Having said this, I have dived with several men who are equally good buddies... and with a few women who were absolutely awful buddies.

Dr. Bill