No dive buddies?

[KyBuck]

Getting ready to do my OW cert dives so I have ZERO experience much less done a dive in saltwater but I already see an issue arising and wondered how it worked.

My two buddies that started the cert classes with me are obviously less enthusiastic about diving as I am and I think doing one or two dives a year is what they are looking at. I plan to go as often as I can.

My LDS is full of big time experienced divers and they do go on several trips a year and have made me feel more than welcome on these trips even as a complete virgin.

My issue is that I have a young family and in-laws with a place in south Florida that we frequent (when flights are cheap). I can already see that I will have lots of chances to go diving (even at local quarries, etc.) but if I am by myself in Florida and I want to go diving what do I do about a dive buddy? I have read enough to know that the charter will pair up divers but what if everybody else is with a buddy? Why would anybody with 250 dives want to be my dive buddy when I'm still trying to work on bouyancy among other things?

Just wondering how this works so I can start planning. Thanks in advance.

Buck

 

[nolatom]

Buck, I was there, some of my first dives were in Florida, where I dived with "insta-buddies" I met on the boat. Even now I usually show up at the boat alone and let the captain or DM find someone, they're usually pretty intuitively good at it.

It almost always worked out fine. First, admit you're new and don't try to fake it. You'll find with few exceptions the more-experienced buddies are pretty patient and want you to enjoy, and stick with, diving. it helps if you choose a relatively "easy" and "everyday" dive site, where your buddy isn't giving up going deep or long on a once-a-lifetime dive site in order to buddy with you. If it's a fairly common site, another diver may find it more interesting to guide you along than to just see the same place for the 13th time.

I've been on both sides of this. I've appreciated what the patient early buddies taught me, and some of the dives I've done with the newbie when I had 100 or so dives have been the most rewarding ones personally. So be honest, humble, willing, and attentive underwater, and you should get a good buddy while being a good buddy. Yeah, you'll probably hit 1000 pounds of air before buddy does, but that's the nature of new divers and buddies.

I view it as "paying it forward" for the favors shown to me when I was new.

And if you're the odd-number on the boat, you may end up in a threesome, which is not ideal but not that bad, or with the Divemaster (if on a boat where the DM dives, some do some don't), which is really good, almost like a private lesson in a way.

So don't be shy, and good diving.


Oh, wait, a P.S., I found this thing I wrote about buddying with a newbie a few years ago (and it wasn't an easy or common dive site, still worked out well), it's kinda long but may be pertinent:

http://www.scubadiving.com/node/99992671

 

[Bonairetrip]

I would just add that for local diving, seek out "shop dives" (dives, typically free, conducted by a LDS) as well as local dive clubs (both face-to-face and the internet based social networking variety).

 

[Mike Boswell]

As a new member, you may not know about all the resources available here on Scubaboard. There are a number of them, including some threads where people meet and get together to dive, and the Florida regional forums such as South Florida Divers, Inc. - ScubaBoard

Good luck and dive safely...

Mike

 

[OldNSalty]

You'll find people to go diving with. I would just pack my gear every time I headed to Florida. If you are doing charters-they will hook you up. If you are doing beach dives, then talk with a local dive shop, they might have a trip planed that you can join.

I usually dive alone but I have no issues being someones buddy if they need it-I think most people are more then happy to buddy up if needed.

 

[fisheater]

What they said. Plus, I've had GREAT luck in arranging for buddies when I'm visiting an area by posting in the appropriate geographical subforum her on ScubaBoard.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

The fact that you are honest enough to say that you are still working on things will get you lots of buddies. The guys who have trouble are the ones who think they are good enough that they don't need to work on anything. I won't dive with people like that.

 

[yarik83]

You are on the right track to becoming a better diver. It is important to acknowledge your own limits. Depending on where you dive.. it may come to diving with a group. I dive with 2 groups of 10 with my LDS and we always have people come up before other ones. As you get a little more comfortable in water you also get a little more practice of doing your safety stop before they do. In our groups we have divers, including myself surface 20 minutes before other ones. While buddy concept is fantastic, with more experienced divers they would not want to surface with less than 1000lbs of air.

Best thing you can do on the boat is tell people up front what your dive skills are. Tell them.. my name is this and I know that my bottom time is XX minutes. More often than not you will have someone on boat with similar bottom time. If not then you will likely be paired up with more experienced diver who will send you up on your safety stop while continuing to dive. Most dive groups in florida are always 3-5 so he wont be there alone.

Improve your bottom times, watch other divers breathe and develop your own relaxed breathing pattern. In no time you will be diving with them longer and more effectively.

 

[diver 85]

show up @ the boat-----you'll get your diving in.....

 

[GrandpaScuba]

but if I am by myself in Florida and I want to go diving what do I do about a dive buddy? I have read enough to know that the charter will pair up divers but what if everybody else is with a buddy? Why would anybody with 250 dives want to be my dive buddy when I'm still trying to work on bouyancy among other things?

Just wondering how this works so I can start planning. Thanks in advance.

Buck

This is what is known as the instabuddy. The reality of it is that some divers don't mind being paired with an unknown, perhaps, inexperienced buddy and some mind quite a bit. When the divemaster is pairing you up, if you sense that your instabuddy is not happy being paired with a newbie, then find a polite way to tell the divemaster, "I think Joe would prefer to dive with a more experience person, is there someone else that I could dive with?" Because, if he really doesn't want to be paired with you, chances are very good that he'll disappear when you get underwater.

Another option, most but not all, dive charters will have a divemaster in the water with the clients. You can usually just stick with the divemaster. Let him know that this is what you want to do.

Cheer-up! I went to Grand Cayman all by myself. My instabuddies on the first day turned out to be really great folks. We buddied up for the rest of the week.