My observations on the buddy system

[MXGratefulDiver]

That sounds like me

Until someone I was diving with got bent, seriously long term hospital may not ever be able to dive again bent, and was diving more conservative profiles than I was.

I got me an education real quick. And then I learned about all the stuff I didn't know I was clueless about for awhile. I am slowly catching up, but damn science keeps piling more stuff on that I haven't learned yet, at this rate I won't be able break even.

I got lucky because I kind of acted in the beginning like the rules were for other people. And if I can impart anything to new divers, it is that the rules apply to everyone, so don't get complacent...

It describes a lot of us, Drew.

I sure wish I had all the answers now that I thought I had 2500 dives ago ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[noreastDIVER84]

I can definitely see where you are coming from on this. I was taught to buddy up and stay with that person throughout the dive. But I have had so many instances with insta-buddies that I now treat any dive as a solo dive(which I am not condoning without the proper training).
I make a point to almost everyone I dive with that: if we are separated we will search for one minute and if no luck it is time to ascend, if safe to do so) I am usually the one constantly looking over to my sides to see where my buddy is, and with how often I am checking for them I get really irritated that they cannot do the same.
I will dive with almost anyone once, if they can follow a dive plan and stick together then they have the chance to dive with me again. There are not many people who get past a first dive with me.

 

[fjpatrum]

I think I know what you are saying, however, if one is not dependent on their team, then is that a team? Each person within that team serves a purpose or role. Teams work together for the same outcome, whatever that may be. I do think that each person of that team should be self sufficient. Each is going to have strengths and weakness, as a unified group the team can be made stronger. You can play upon and use the strengths of some. Each person of that team will have different strength and weaknesses to play off of.

Our nav class really showed us who had the stronger nav ability. It was my daughter, so we play upon her strengths and her ability of compass use. While I am still working on mine. This was also an eye opener of team work to complete the task at hand. This past weekend in AOW there was somemore team work for search and recovery and wreck. Again some of us were better at some things and we played upon each other to get the task completed.

Each person has strengths or weaknesses and knowing them will make you a better team. That said, I'd recommend you do the navigating and have your daughter confirm things, that way your skills improve much faster than just relying on her ability. I know you said you're working on yours still, I just wanted to mention that when we have a "weak" team member on our SAR team we basically put them in charge of handling that "weak skill" whenever we can so that they are forced to really learn it better.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Each person has strengths or weaknesses and knowing them will make you a better team. That said, I'd recommend you do the navigating and have your daughter confirm things, that way your skills improve much faster than just relying on her ability. I know you said you're working on yours still, I just wanted to mention that when we have a "weak" team member on our SAR team we basically put them in charge of handling that "weak skill" whenever we can so that they are forced to really learn it better.

This is a point worth emphasizing ... any time you realize you are weak in a particular skill you should take every opportunity to practice that skill. It's the only way you're ever going to get better at it, after all ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[tddfleming]

Each person has strengths or weaknesses and knowing them will make you a better team. That said, I'd recommend you do the navigating and have your daughter confirm things, that way your skills improve much faster than just relying on her ability. I know you said you're working on yours still, I just wanted to mention that when we have a "weak" team member on our SAR team we basically put them in charge of handling that "weak skill" whenever we can so that they are forced to really learn it better.

Once we can start getting out on a reg. basis, nav will be at the top of my list. The funny thing is we have done experiements to see if we can find our way around the quarry by not using our compass. Well...that failed. On the surface we picked out where we were heading, straight out. Dropped down, started swimming and could not find the bus. The viz was maybe 10-20 feet. During fall lake turnover. We get to the end of the quarry and we both just look at each other and shug our shoulders. Then we decide to go left, no bus, we decide to go right, no bus. We decide to just follow the ledge of the quarry around to the dock. We never found the bus. So what should have been a very easy drop down swim straight out was not that at all.

Lesson: Just because it sounds or looks easy, it may not be. We should have took a heading and then swam it. It also shows how just by being uw one becomes very disoriented.

I usually let her lead the dives. I feel it gives her some feeling of control. And that she is just depending on mom for everything. But when we come to a crossroads, together one of us will pick the direction and we both head that way.

 

[fjpatrum]

Once we can start getting out on a reg. basis, nav will be at the top of my list. The funny thing is we have done experiements to see if we can find our way around the quarry by not using our compass. Well...that failed. On the surface we picked out where we were heading, straight out. Dropped down, started swimming and could not find the bus. The viz was maybe 10-20 feet. During fall lake turnover. We get to the end of the quarry and we both just look at each other and shug our shoulders. Then we decide to go left, no bus, we decide to go right, no bus. We decide to just follow the ledge of the quarry around to the dock. We never found the bus. So what should have been a very easy drop down swim straight out was not that at all.

Lesson: Just because it sounds or looks easy, it may not be. We should have took a heading and then swam it. It also shows how just by being uw one becomes very disoriented.

I usually let her lead the dives. I feel it gives her some feeling of control. And that she is just depending on mom for everything. But when we come to a crossroads, together one of us will pick the direction and we both head that way.

Those are all good practices, I think. The concept of "can we get there without nav" is always a very humbling experience, in my opinion. I've done the same a couple times here in the quarry (and I've done it a lot on land) and it's a lot harder than we expect it to be. Even taking a bearing and staying on it is sometimes difficult, especially in a "low viz" environment. We used to do "leap frog" exercises for land nav, taking turns leading based upon a heading. That's another good exercise that makes nav training into a game so it's fun but still very effective. I think a lot harder to do underwater though as you often can't see far enough and can't verbally communicate when you're off by 100 feet or whatever.

I've always let my kids take the lead on these kinds of activities because it teaches them a lot more and it keeps them interested. Gaining the self-confidence of leading these kinds of things is amazingly helpful for young women, especially.

 

[Jax]

One problem with diving with the same buddy all the time is the experience lost by not diving with others.

I've had a buddy that went under the surface of the water with me, then took off after the dive guide and I had to catch up. I've had a buddy that was supposed to be following and a glance back showed he disappeared. I had a same ocean buddy. I had one that seems to think he can cover 30' in one breath . . .

Unfortunately, they were all the same guy . . . .

I've also had a buddy that thought being the buddy gave him the right to tell me what to do, to lecture me, to chastise me, etc . . . (the whole boat was chortling . . .). I've had a buddy that said he'd be happy to follow and was always right there, on my right elbow. I've had a buddy I've followed, and happily noticed he checked regularly, and I was always right there.

It's a crap shoot -- I trained to take care of my self (Solo Diver course), but I'll be as good of a buddy as the buddy to whom I'm assigned.

 

[davetowz]

I will definitely be calling you when I get back in the DC area. My daughter is in the first stages of her OW. I am also doing my DM with the same shop and made a rule that I will not work with any class she is in.(distraction for her and me) I look forward to that first dive together! I love hearing how wonderful the diving has been for you and daughter, I am sure my experience will be the same. The buddy stuff... yep it gets lip service by most instructors, I know a DM who is working on his instructor now in your area who I did alot of fun dives with and he mentored me through some of my roughest spots. Keep diving and enjoy the time together.

 

[TSandM]

There are a lot of reasons why people aren't good buddies. As already said, they may be maxing out their bandwidth just surviving underwater. (A friend was telling the the story of the "new diver song", which goes something like, "Look at the starfish! I'm going to die . . . There's a crab! I'm going to die . . . " There's way too much truth to this.)

They may never have been taught, and never thought through the idea of reserve gas, and where it lives. I don't want my buddy very far away from me, because he's my safe ticket to the surface.

They may never have been taught or considered where people can see each other underwater. My husband and I had battles royal over his habit of diving behind and above me (a friend calls that DFA, or "death from above"). He could see me just fine, and no way at all could I find him in the water. I spent my dives spinning like a dervish, trying to locate my buddy!

And they may have gotten all their experience in settings where true buddy pairs or teams don't exist. I have dived a number of places where everybody gets off the boat and stays in rough proximity, and no buddies are assigned at all. In fact, I shore dove with a group in Indonesia that wanted five of us to operate that way. I insisted on an identified buddy, which was good; she was a photographer, and within five minutes, the other three were absolutely gone.

I love operating as part of a well-oiled dive team. It gives me security and comfort, as well as being part of the fun. My husband did not have this attitude to begin with. He had learned to dive a long time ago, and he did it differently. I dragged him kicking and screaming into team diving -- but just a couple of weeks ago, he turned to me and thanked me for having done so.

Stick to your guns, tddfleming.

 

[k ellis]

Id say new divers are over whelmed with alot of task loading and it like anything else in time just takes a little time acclimate to the diving skills. Though I am not a dive master I do spend a great deal of my time pairing up with newer divers (I actually prefer new divers over veteran) and working with them to hone their dive skills.

I have found that diving is a lot like life if you start learning at an early on point youll do better then trying to teach someone who has thousands of dives a new trick.
Open Water has been so streamlined to get more divers diving at a faster pace that there are literaly dozens of diffrent things that should have been discussed that were ommitted for the purpose of making the class as simple as possible.

Dive buddies are shown how to share air and how to do some simple emergency proceedures but other then that they are not too any length of time taught to sit with their insta buddy and get a feel of things and what will you do in case of an emergency. you should know if you see that sight of a lifetime to not just swim off and leave your buddy but instead get their attention and go as a pair. You should also at minimum learn to see the key signs of immenent distress. things like unresponsive divers and divers whos reflexes appear to be significantly slowing down such as delayed reactions to your hand movements in front of their face and so forth

This is one very important reason I recommend as well as probably every diver on scuba board that one takes rescue diver!