Saving Myself from my Buddy

[TSandM]

Reading this makes me extremely sad. Nothing about what this person did would have been taught to him in any DIR training. And here we have another incident where DIR divers, and DIR training, are tarnished by association with someone who may or may not ever have taken a class, but certainly did not act within the guidelines he would have been taught.

 

[drbill]

My experience is that the ones that loudly declare that they used to be a Seal are the most dangerous.

It sounds like DIR wannabes are as dangerous as wannabe or bogus UDTs and Seals.

Also beware of divers whose warm up coats are covered in patches.

I was once buddied with a certified instructor. She was the absolute worst buddy I've ever experienced... I'd much rather dive with someone on their first open water dive after certification. Of course I didn't really dive "with" her... she couldn't descend and spent the whole time at the surface while two of us dove the reef off Belize. I should have known though since earlier she didn't know how to put her own mask strap on and put her BCD on 90 degrees off.

Then there is the instructor in Tahiti who grabbed my legs and tried to hold me down as I ascended after realizing someone had turned my tank off before I jumped in. The only thing I could figure was that she turned my tank "on" (but in the wrong direction) after I had already done so. Back on the boat she told me never to ascend so quickly (I had been down to a depth of only 15 ft less than 30 seconds). I tried to explain to her that I had not been breathing compressed air and the only air in my lungs was from the surface so I was perfectly safe.

These are reasons I dive solo. However, you have your own buddy and I think you have learned that it's best to stick with someone who know and trust! Hope I don't encounter your third out here.

TSandM... I don't think any of us here would consider associating real DIR divers or the philosophy with these bad habits by one who appears to have suggested having the training.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

He was actually unaware of the whole situation until he was back on the boat after the dive (as was everyone else). He was buddied up with someone else and realized about halfway through the dive that I was no longer in the water, but under the circumstances (shallow dive, no current) he had no concerns...he actually thought that the other guy had run out of air before me and we had surfaced. When he got back on the boat and heard the other guy telling his story, he came over and I filled him in. My husband is 6' 5" and weighs about 230lbs. Believe me...I had a hard time restraining him. The one good thing that did come out of all of this is now he realizes why I don't tell people I'm a DM when I'm diving and I don't think he will ever again.

Why would you restrain him? In mexico they would have probably gien your hubby a medal for punching buttheads lights out. If they would have even bothered to bring him back to the dock.

 

[diverdiver]

Reading this makes me extremely sad. Nothing about what this person did would have been taught to him in any DIR training. And here we have another incident where DIR divers, and DIR training, are tarnished by association with someone who may or may not ever have taken a class, but certainly did not act within the guidelines he would have been taught.

I actually seriously considered leaving out the part about DIR specifically for the reasons you have given, unfortunately, it was the main reason I agreed to the trade so I included it. I am not DIR certified, nor have I ever dove with anyone who is, and from what I have read on this board, chances are, I still haven't.

I made an assumption about someone's skill level based on statements that he made. If he had asked "how deep have you gone?" I would have run in the opposite direction. But, because of the excellent reputation of the certification, I made the assumption. Most likely, as was pointed out earlier, he had never taken a DIR class in his life.

 

[24940]

He could very well have taken a DIR class or workshop. It takes a more than instruction and gear to be DIR. A person could fail miserably in Fundies and still lay claim to DIR instruction without embracing the philosophy.

Don't let his spew sway you one way or another towards DIR anymore than you would let his regulator choice steer you away from Apeks(or whatever).

 

[liberato]

I hope he at least retrieved your Zeagle weight pouches!

If you must use a swivel I recommend the Atomic Aquatics Universal Comfort Swivel.

 

[Mike Edmonston]

Reading this makes me extremely sad. Nothing about what this person did would have been taught to him in any DIR training. And here we have another incident where DIR divers, and DIR training, are tarnished by association with someone who may or may not ever have taken a class, but certainly did not act within the guidelines he would have been taught.

I agree,

It's the wannabe divers that "think" they know that end up making the others look bad. Although, in this instance I would hope that they would not associate this guy with DIR divers in general. But as we all know, it only takes one...

sad...

 

[crpntr133]

Well I have read the original post several times and I don't see where the insta buddy said that he was DIR. He asked if anyone was DIR.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Still another situation where an "insta-buddy" created a problem. The number of cases where this has occurred, documented on this board alone, over the past six years or so should make any vacation diver extremely reluctant to be paired up with another diver on a boat.

It might be one thing to identify a single diver on the shore, and do a quick check-out dive to see whether you might be compatible with them. But to meet up with someone on the boat, and 15 minutes later drop into the open ocean with them, is insane.

I'm sorry this happened to you, and glad that you came out of it relatively unscathed.

Seems like you will be diving with your husband from now on, no?

Hope the rest of your dives are never this eventful!

Doc

 

[Peter Guy]

Doc, well put.

The only "insta-buddy" I've ever had was part of a group I dove with a year ago. Three minutes into the first dive I felt so sorry for him because I was the one who screwed up (did you know Seal Saver makes a lousy mask defogger?). But the only thing he said to me was, If you want to go back, we'll go back! A few minutes later we were at 100ft on a beautiful wreck -- thanks to my insta-buddy! We spent the next 3 days having fabulous dives.

Not ALL insta-buddies are terrible.