My observations on the buddy system

[MAKO Spearguns]

.......

 

[Diver0001]

....snip....

The inst asked the one still down with us where his buddy was, (with hand signs of course) his buddy had not clue and started to just keep swimming, but inst stopped him and asked again. This person had no clue his buddy was missing or cared where his buddy had gone when he noticed he was missing.

You're assuming that he/she didn't care where their buddy was. In my experience this is extremely rare, although possible. Ordinarily when I see a narrowing of situational awareness--and certainly one this severe--I see it as a failure of myself as instructor to provide an environment in which students have a healthy challenge but are not overwhelmed. In other words, it's almost always a result of doing "too much, too soon".

You should be complimented, btw, on your commitment to your buddy. Obviously your motivation is very high since it's your child but I wish that everyone took it as seriously as you do.

We should not be singing in our heads, "just keep swimming, Just keep swimming."

My intial reaction was to chuckle at this because that's just how it looks.... but upon reflection I think what's really going through these divers' heads is "OMG OMG OMG OMG", which is less amusing if you think about it.

R..

 

[tddfleming]

You're assuming that he/she didn't care where their buddy was. In my experience this is extremely rare, although possible. Ordinarily when I see a narrowing of situational awareness--and certainly one this severe--I see it as a failure of myself as instructor to provide an environment in which students have a healthy challenge but are not overwhelmed. In other words, it's almost always a result of doing "too much, too soon". You should be complimented, btw, on your commitment to your buddy. Obviously your motivation is very high since it's your child but I wish that everyone took it as seriously as you do.


R..

Thanks for your kind words. Reading the bold above makes this just a little more scary. As this person had a min. of 47 dives, as I saw his log book. He just came off a week long live aboard with a dive shop. The part that scares the bjesus out of me is the fact that when talking to some of the LDS, owner and experienced divers around here, some of the stuff that comes from their mouths makes me want to cover my daugthers ears and run as fast as I can. In my experience so far, I have come to realize that it is not uncommon to hear of the great stories that these people tell. All of them usually go this way:

When I run low on air I get with my buddy and use the octo to extend bottom time.
We penetrate wrecks x, y, and z. There are several that I would question the training they had for this. I think there are many out there that like to spout off at the mouth about what they can and do do. But if one just watches close enough even someone like me can pick out things that don't make much sense. I have heard some talking of all the wrecks they penetrate, yet when I see them uw I have to question their training. Their trim is way off, kicks are just like mine, not good, not what I would expect from someone that would have been trained for that.

I have used these moments to talk to my child about what they said and the proper training that would one would need to have to do that. The dangers of doing this w/o training and how dumb their thinking is. The dangers of doing what they claim. Entanglement, lost inside a wreck, the list goes on. The proper things to do when that happens. Granted my experience is very limited, but I know enough that when someone goes low on air you do not use your buddies to extend bottom time. I also know enough not to put us in harms way so we can swim though something.

One of the things that bothers me most, it is the dive shops, owners and inst. that sensualize this behavior to the newbies as something that we can do out of OW class or AWO. As this talk will put more people in harms way, as they do not know right from wrong. All these shops do not teach anything more than the standard padi type classes. Yes, one can get training in RB or trimix, but I would not take it from any of these places. I remember signing up for our classes and all the cool things we could do after we were cert. Thankfully I quickly learned it was all BULL****!

 

[tddfleming]

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.

Please do!!! Look forward to it.

 

[tddfleming]

Greetings tddfleming and be sure to congratulate your daughter for me as well as yourself!
AOW is a great step toward becoming a growing diver and as you have shared you have already learned the importance of buddy AWARENESS!
BA is not a impossible skill to master but it has to be stressed and in my training as a OW diver I was called out BIG TIME!
Not only was it made plan to me what I needed to work on it was put very plainly that if I did not I FAILED!
That alone provoked me to maintain good buddy contact and before OW was over I was spot on.

Since then I have dove with many students and used the same words to enhance their BA.
When you are diving a single tank recreationally you use the BUDDY SYSTEM!
End of story no debate on the issue.
Diving with a family member needs to be taken very serious and as you mentioned the strengths and weaknesses need to be frankly talked about.
There is no excuse to not master diving skills just because your buddy is better at it than you are.
I was just like you and I had issues with navigation in OW, by AOW it was starting to get better
In about 20 dives it was no big shake but I worked on it every dive!

When ever a skill is not fresh and clean attach it with a determination to master it and keep it fresh.
Do not fear a detailed dive plan that it will be the kill joy of a simple dive actually it makes every dive productive regardless of time and depth.
Skill building has taken me to some very interesting places and have had many dive opportunities to learn very much from others.

In my tight knit circle we train self rescue skills very seriously and do not allow these skills to get rusty but we never let buddy skills slide either!
Could we solo dive? Sure we could we have training and gear to do so but we dive as a team because as others have mentioned in some environments your buddy IS YOUR LIFE!
Find a mentor we always say but I am hearing that you are having trouble seaking one out.
Possibly a local dive club or LDS actively diving could help you find a willing participant.

In our area we have a group of divers who offer help with skills and offer advice while diving. Get involved in your local scene or the clubs here on SB.
If I get to Virginia this summer I will look you up, I have a good friend in southern OH who dives there on occasion.

CamG Keep Diving....Keep Training....Keep Learning!

Please let me know if you come to the area. I have joined a local club, but have yet to attend a meeting. The meetings are an hour from me, but I need to do better at getting to them.