predive checklist

[Peter Guy]

It is one thing to know the concept of buddy diving, but quite another to put it into practice because of the variations in diver's training and mentality. Maybe the best solution is to learn how to solo, and be self-reliant?

yes!!

NO!!!!!!

Well, sort of no.

Way too many people have exactly the wrong idea about what it means to be a "buddy" and that somehow being a "buddy" means you are not "self-reliant." WRONG! The BEST "buddy" is a very capable and self-reliant diver -- knows her limitations and can take care of herself at all times. You do not "rely" on your "buddy" for help, assistance, or whatever -- you "rely" on your buddy to be a backup, a second brain and IF there is a mishap, to be available to assist. But YOU, the "buddy" are the one responsible for your dive -- in other words, YOU must be a "self-reliant diver" which is very different from being a "solo diver." Please, do not confuse one with the other.

By-the-way -- I believe I'm a pretty self-reliant diver and that (for the most part) a pretty good buddy. That said, I really enjoy "group" dives in the tropics -- the last couple were perhaps great example of why. I ended up "buddying" with a newish diver whose "buddy" was having problems. I gave up my dive to be her buddy and help her have a good dive -- that is I gave up my dive until the DM sent her and her buddy (I believe they were married) to the surface. At that point, the DM and I paired up and had 30 more minutes of a privately guided dive that was just a lot of fun. We pretty much repeated it the next dive too.

 

[Lee Taylor]

My personal position is:

I will save myself.

If I cant save myself and need help, it is my responsibility to have someone next to me.

I never, ever, swim off and leave others that are dependent on me, and I expect the same of them.

You come to a point, in recreational diving, where you are confident in your gear and your skills.

You come to a point where you fear the behavior and skills of others.

 

[TSandM]

It is entirely possible to be a strong and largely self-reliant diver, and still operate as a part of a cohesive and coordinated team. It is possible to learn to dive together, and stay together, in a way that really doesn't utilize much of your bandwidth and leaves you free to enjoy your environment and share the fun with your buddies. It's quite possible to do this in teams of two, or teams of three -- but it does require that everyone involved put in some effort toward making it work. I am very hard to lose, if I realize I'm the one that is going to have to do all the work to make sure that doesn't happen, but it ruins my dive. On the other hand, I've done dives in some pretty poor visibility, both swimming and using scooters, where we had no trouble staying together, because both, or all three of us, were putting in the effort required.

Bill has it nailed -- people are told to dive as buddies, and then not taught very much, if anything, about how to do that. And they often don't have the diving skills that are required, either. For example, if you cannot control the speed of your descent, then it's impossible to coordinate that descent with another diver or divers.

To be a really good buddy, you have to be a good diver, AND you have to want to be a good buddy.

 

[fengz]

Thanks again for all the great tips!! I think what I will do in the future is to identify a buddy early on, discuss with him/her as much as I can think of, and try to stay together with the buddy for the entire dive. I am so grateful that there is a place like scubaboard for all my questions

feng