OOA at 75'

[Puffer Fish]

I must be way too anal, I would bet if you asked any one of my regular dive buddies they would say I check everybody's air at least every five to seven minutes. It is just something that stuck with us from day 1. nobody had an octo, guages failed, and computers didn't exist. We just planned (plan) and dove the Navy Dive tables and double check(ed) everything....... My guess is TSandM (Lynne) and I would get along fine.....

Don't think that is anal at all. On gas limited dives, the fastest user controls the dive, nice to know who that is and when that is before it actually happens.

Go back another decade, and those fancy new gauge things were not in use. Take 50 divers out on a dive trip, and you could expect at least one to have accidentally pulled their j valve down and would run out of air on every dive. Now that we have gauges, it is kind of nice to actually use them.

I've never been on a dive where I did not check my buddy's air (or J-valve position). It is part of being a buddy...but I check more often with an insta-buddy.

 

[TSandM]

Interestingly, on the VAST majority of the dives I do, I never check my buddy's gas, or ask him what it is. Diving as a part of a trained team with standardized procedures, I assume that my buddy is monitoring his own gas and keeping it within the parameters we agreed upon before we got in the water.

I only check, or ask, with new divers or visiting divers whose training is different and who I don't know well.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Interestingly, on the VAST majority of the dives I do, I never check my buddy's gas, or ask him what it is. Diving as a part of a trained team with standardized procedures, I assume that my buddy is monitoring his own gas and keeping it within the parameters we agreed upon before we got in the water.

I only check, or ask, with new divers or visiting divers whose training is different and who I don't know well.

I pretty much follow the same protocol, but I figured my practices would not be consistent with what most people consider to be safe diving. From what I read on the internets, you guys (DIR) practice shairing air on most dives with the team and yet fail to check eachothers air even once during a dive?

I'm surprised by this attitude toward gas supply, especially when the DIR system is based on the assumption that a buddy will provide redundancy. I honestly think that if I dove without my own redundancy (pony bottle) I would be somewhat anal about keeping an eye on my buddy's air supply since my life might depend on it.

As it is now, most all my expereinced buddies are carrying their own redundancy, so I don't worry too much about their gas supply. I figure (hope) that he or I will have to run out of air twice before we think about shairing air.

 

[TSandM]

Part of being a team is trusting your team. If I don't think I can trust someone to monitor his gas, I don't do dives with him that will go south if he doesn't.

Obviously, this is not true for people who don't have the same diving philosophy, and when I dive with them, I may ask them when I think we ought to be getting to turn pressure (based on what they told me before we got in the water). But on those dives, I either stay shallow enough to be happy on my own, or I carry my own redundancy (doubles, or a third buddy).

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Part of being a team is trusting your team. If I don't think I can trust someone to monitor his gas, I don't do dives with him that will go south if he doesn't.
Obviously, this is not true for people who don't have the same diving philosophy, and when I dive with them, I may ask them when I think we ought to be getting to turn pressure (based on what they told me before we got in the water). But on those dives, I either stay shallow enough to be happy on my own, or I carry my own redundancy (doubles, or a third buddy).

Thank goodness you are not doing "trust me" dives..

 

[T. Bix]

Interestingly, on the VAST majority of the dives I do, I never check my buddy's gas, or ask him what it is. Diving as a part of a trained team with standardized procedures, I assume that my buddy is monitoring his own gas and keeping it within the parameters we agreed upon before we got in the water.

I only check, or ask, with new divers or visiting divers whose training is different and who I don't know well.

I was refering to my sometimes overbearing need to ensure that every diver in our group knows his/her responsibilities to the team and that everyone else knows the plan as well...... The constant checking gas thing is just a small part of it but it is interesting to hear what the current philosophy is....... BTW I'm not being critical I am always interested in and open to others.

To the OP good self assessment! keep an open mind and trust only your own double checks!!

 

[Puffer Fish]

Part of being a team is trusting your team. If I don't think I can trust someone to monitor his gas, I don't do dives with him that will go south if he doesn't.

Obviously, this is not true for people who don't have the same diving philosophy, and when I dive with them, I may ask them when I think we ought to be getting to turn pressure (based on what they told me before we got in the water). But on those dives, I either stay shallow enough to be happy on my own, or I carry my own redundancy (doubles, or a third buddy).

I have to admit to being surprised at your trust in others gas management. Understand that with a team, but with an insta-buddy, I've seen pretty much every possible gas mismanagement possible. So much so, have learned to make sure I am prepared to do their gas management for them. Our diving in the northern gulf involves usually a first dive to 80 - 100 ft, about 6 miles off shore. Not the place one would like to find out that your new buddy did not really know their SAC rate or how to do even reasonable gas management. If the buddy is competent, then we check each others gas usage about 10 minutes into the dive... agree on who is controlling it and go on with the dive... bet that happens (even though we discuss it before hand) in 1 in every 4 or 5 trips.

Note: I just do a passing check with regular dive buddy, at the same time he asks me for mine.

I have the same issue with people getting lost (finding the anchor can be really, really important on some days)...I now take it for granted that one in every three dives or so I will have to take divers back to the anchor...