People embarrassed to do pre dive buddy check?

[Jeff_O]

Yeah...... Good point. I guess I just always figured that if PADI gave a 5 Star designation to a shop, along with all the promotions and fees, memberships, con-ed, etc.....that they were somehow involved...

I was wondering if anyone had ever had the dive plan that on one dive one of the buddies leads the dive an other follows. Next dive visa versa. Sounds like a way when low visibility that you don't get separated. Just it was this flim flam agreeing I spouse as it never was ever adhered to when I tried. But most I dove with a buddie that had a shoulder zip drysuit. So this made for some checking for zip up anyway. The worst case of a buddy paired with guy on boat was this. I learned about about doing a dive navigate with compass. Distance by kick strokes or just figured included too. It was for a night dive, my first. Told the guy we should do this. Go to front anchor on bottom. Go straight into current. Then the idea of air used, 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 rule. Out, back, and reserve for emergency. So at some point out into current, make left or right 90degree degree turn. Swim a bit and make a 45 degree turn toward the area you were swimming on the first part. You might find something you already had seen. Maybe the boat ankor. But this dive the pickup buddy swam much to far into the current. I kept trying to tell to turn. Then at a point he did turn and air was getting low. Then I indicated another turn but he kept on going. I felt responsible some for him. Both so low on air and we both surface to see the boat far away. Choppy water enough to make snorkeling difficult. Current line was out and we swam for it. I think I remember the crew lengthening the current line. The boat also I forget but might have dragged the ankor. OK we got back alright after having a surface swim from hell, but pickup buddies that are not friends from dive club that I had already done easy shore dives with before, I am more knowing what you might be paired with. I've done many night dives off dive boats after that first and had much better times since that. Diving since 80.

 

[diver_pirate]

This is exactly the reason I avoid "instabuddies". I don't want to be responsible for someone whose
skills level I don't know and I certainly do not want to be potentially reliant on them.

Good plan, I subscribe to the idea that the most dangerous thing in the ocean is your panicked buddy.

 

[60plus]

I think some posters are forgetting that this is the basic scuba section and therefore would not expect it to include 200ft dives etc. To me basic scuba is 18 or perhaps 30m and at those depths and typical basic recreational dive duration being on the wrong gas for a few minutes to ascend is not going to matter. I generally take part in a buddy check but not if others are not doing so. In that case I do all my own checks as usual then ask someone to have a look at my back to make sure all looks ok, no twisted hoses of tank clamp undone etc.
What I always do with or without a buddy Is go through BWRAF. As per basic PADI training.

 

[Karloss]

My wife and I were taught that a "buddy check" was not just a check of your partners gear, you are also checking your backup gear.

 

[Satrekker]

I solo dive and don't like people touching my stuff. I'm not a fan of same ocean buddies, and rarely have any, so aside from my own predive checks, I don't worry about others.

If I have to be buddied up with somebody, then I'll point out my necklaced backup and 6' primary and go over hand signals for underwater communication, and since I always dive steel tanks, I let the other party know that I won't be ascending with them when it's their time to surface, since I'll have another 10 minutes or more left in my tank.

 

[Marie13]

I think some posters are forgetting that this is the basic scuba section and therefore would not expect it to include 200ft dives etc. To me basic scuba is 18 or perhaps 30m and at those depths and typical basic recreational dive duration being on the wrong gas for a few minutes to ascend is not going to matter. I generally take part in a buddy check but not if others are not doing so. In that case I do all my own checks as usual then ask someone to have a look at my back to make sure all looks ok, no twisted hoses of tank clamp undone etc.
What I always do with or without a buddy Is go through BWRAF. As per basic PADI training.

What would you do with a buddy trained under, SDI, for example, that uses ABCD, etc.? Recreational buddies who were PADI trained are just baffled by the ABCD. I’ve found a tech style check (I’m cave trained) - where you name each piece of gear out loud and the other person responds OK - works well regardless of the other person’s diving level/experience. Work head to toe.

 

[pauldw]

Yeah...... Good point. I guess I just always figured that if PADI gave a 5 Star designation to a shop, along with all the promotions and fees, memberships, con-ed, etc.....that they were somehow involved...

Dang, that's funny!

Anyway, I just realized that the worst thing that happened to me when diving with others is that my buddy in a course was all geared up properly, it appeared. However, when it was time to descend I started down slowly due to being close to neutrally weighted, and she dropped into the gloom and out of sight quickly due to being considerably overweighted. Which isn't something that buddy checks normally look for, I believe.

 

[inquis]

she dropped into the gloom and out of sight quickly due to being considerably overweighted

Her descent rate is totally on her unless the BC failed. "Descend together" is definitely in-bounds for a pre-dive discussion.

 

[johndiver999]

Decent rate is a critical aspect which needs to be discussed on many dives. I try to remember to ask.. do your ears work? And then I usually give mine a quick check and confirm I can eaqualize myself. Getting separated on a free descent … say on a drift dive is a serious possibility and a more important topic than what hand sign you might use for ?? Asking about their ears and equalization should remind everyone to address Descent rate.

 

[GF99/99]

Long story short, I don’t like the mentality in the various communities I’ve dove with. From now on, even when diving with master divers, I’m going to take a leadership role in the pre dive planning and safety of others. It’s not worth the risk.

Spot on.

between all my dive buddies and myself, we always perform a proper pre-dive check before getting into the water and we all have thousands of dives. No reason to be embarrassed to do a pre-dive check.