Question about buddy distance while diving??

[diver 85]

I know some here have said you must be in your buddy's exposure suit to be considered a good diving pair(team)....Please look @ the linked picture & tell me if this considered too far...Photo is over the El Aquila wreck in front of AKR ie clear, comfortable water---My buddy is the one on the left, what, must be 20 ft. or more........Too Far????

.........http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/GEAUXtiger/?action=view&current=IMG01-1.jpg

 

[Charlie99]

Distance isn't bad, but the position is far from ideal. You can't see your buddy without rolling around to look back and up.

Either you'll spend a lot of time and energy contorting yourself, or you won't stay very aware of your buddy.

One way of mentally testing a buddy postion and distance is to imagine that he suddenly goes crazy and starts either finning away at top speed or holds down his inflator button to do a polaris style ascent. How likely is it that you'd see this before he gets out of sight.

The other way to mentally test positioning is to ask yourself what happens if he had total failure of his reg --- can he catch up to you in time, or is bolting to the surface more attractive and accessible to him?

Descents, ascents and other major transitions (such as turning the dive) are key points where closer than normal buddy distance is adviseable.

 

[Meng_Tze]

What Charlie said. One solution would be to be always swimming side by side, or have a means of communicating constantly (active or passive)...... lights. Then the position is less of an issue .

 

[nagel]

I can't say that I'm within arm's length of my buddy all the time, but I always have an eye on where he/she is at at all times. One thing we tend to get in a habit of is swimming behind each other. We typically have three so we are working on staying to the right and left of each other; instead of front to rear. As stated earlier the problem is whoever is in front has to constantely turn/roll/flip or whatever to look behind to ensure somebody is there. Doesn't lend itself to a calm comfortable dive.

I agree with Charlie99, I don't see too much wrong with the distance, the problem is the person in front really doesn't know if you are behind him or not without turning around.

S. Nagel

 

[lifeisfullofgooddives]

for me it's too far. I prefer to be side by side or either directly in front or behind my buddy.

although I do hate getting kicked by a insta-buddy if they get to close

 

[PerroneFord]

Next time you dive with him and you are that distance apart, take your reg out of your mouth, and then signal him OOA. If he can get to you and donate before you need to go back to your own reg, then the distance is fine.

Do NOT announce you are going to do this. Just do it, and see what happens. Use whatever method you commonly use to signal. Whether that's a powerful light, banging your knife on your tank, an underwater noisemaker, whatever.

Report back to us how long it takes him. Take a stopwatch if you can and time it. I strive for 10 seconds or less with my buddies and it's usually closer to 5-7 seconds.

 

[deepblueme]

You should be far enough away that we are not bumping into each other, but no farther than you want to swim when you run out of air.

 

[Charlie99]

You should be far enough away that we are not bumping into each other, but no farther than you want to swim when you run out of air.

And that distance varies dramatically based upon position and what you are doing.

In the worst case, when swimming rapidly from one place to another, a trailing diver is going to have a very difficult time catching up with the diver just 5 feet in front of him. I'll go to a much larger buddy distance when just puttering around slowly looking at a reef or wreck than when doing an ascent or a transit. When slowly wandering around a reef my buddy is a nearly stationary target, and more likely than not will see me coming.

Charlie Allen

 

[The Kraken]

You know, there is no one correct answer to your question. The variables are insurmountable. But it always seems to come back to "situational awareness".

Situational awareness is one of those intangible things that can be learned only by diving with different buddies and learning and understanding the capabilities and limitation of those buddies and those of the buddy configurations.

There are those with whom I'd fly. There are those with whom I'd fly formation. And there are those with whom I'd go into a tight LZ.

the K

 

[Meng_Tze]

Do NOT announce you are going to do this. Just do it, and see what happens.

............