I wonder why this guy felt the need to buddy up, when he obviously had no plans to remain buddied?
I'm usually by myself on the dive boats, meaning I might be there with some pals, but not particularly buddied up with anyone. I like it that way, and am certified and equipped for solo. I don't want to be anyone's instabuddy nor do I want one of them to be my instabuddy.
Sounds like this guy basically has the same attitude, but for some reason still feels the need to "buddy up" at least in name if not in deed. Perhaps he feels that the line item "buddy" must simply have a check next to it before getting into the water.
People who want/need/expect dive buddies should say so and make an effort to be good dive buddies. People who don't want/need/expect a dive buddy should say so and take their solo diving responsibly. The problem occurs when someone from either party claims to be the other.
One exception: Some narrowminded dive ops still insist that "all divers have a buddy" before entering the water. In those situations, I have sometimes connected with another odd-man-out diver just to satisfy the dive op's checkbox. But in that case I make it clear that we're "buddies" on SOSD terms only (same ocean, same day).
Everyone just needs to be clear on their intentions regarding the whole dive buddy thing. Sounds to me as if that's this guy's greatest failure.
I'm usually by myself on the dive boats, meaning I might be there with some pals, but not particularly buddied up with anyone. I like it that way, and am certified and equipped for solo. I don't want to be anyone's instabuddy nor do I want one of them to be my instabuddy.
Sounds like this guy basically has the same attitude, but for some reason still feels the need to "buddy up" at least in name if not in deed. Perhaps he feels that the line item "buddy" must simply have a check next to it before getting into the water.
People who want/need/expect dive buddies should say so and make an effort to be good dive buddies. People who don't want/need/expect a dive buddy should say so and take their solo diving responsibly. The problem occurs when someone from either party claims to be the other.
One exception: Some narrowminded dive ops still insist that "all divers have a buddy" before entering the water. In those situations, I have sometimes connected with another odd-man-out diver just to satisfy the dive op's checkbox. But in that case I make it clear that we're "buddies" on SOSD terms only (same ocean, same day).
Everyone just needs to be clear on their intentions regarding the whole dive buddy thing. Sounds to me as if that's this guy's greatest failure.