Swim Formation - Buddy System

[cadiver67]

Hello,

Does anyone try to stay side by side with their buddy while swimming or is at always follow the leader?

My wife and I were trying to swim side by side on our last dive so we could easily see the others face and we could both lead.

If I wanted to go check out some fish then it would be easy to motion to my wife hey lets go this way and vice verse.

We were just sightseeing with no real objective - so we just cruised around.

It really wasn't all that easy to stay side by side and I think we wasted a lot of energy trying to re-position ourselves after squeezing through kelp, etc.

When it worked it was very nice we could even hold hands but that added a little drag and I am an air hog anyway, so I don't need more drag.

The main reason we wanted to do this is the fear of swimming along happy as can be only to turn around and find your buddy is not there. Hasn't happened to us but we're scared of it.

Thanks,
cadiver67

 

[lamont]

The main reason we wanted to do this is the fear of swimming along happy as can be only to turn around and find your buddy is not there. Hasn't happened to us but we're scared of it.

side-by-side is better than follow the leader for this reason... you can both keep your buddy in your peripheral vision and you know they're always there...

 

[rottielover]

My wife and I always to the side by side "formation". We've never had the experiance of squeezing thru the kelp forest (yet), but durring our dives in Hawaii we found that as long as we had our bouyancy set, we were pretty much good to go. We've also found that in this situation it's much easier/quicker for the buddy to help out...

Here is my example.. While in Hawaii we were on a "group" night dive with several other couples. One of the couples (who of course had told the whole group before hand about the thousands of dives they had done) seemed to have a pretty poor buddy system, the "same ocean" buddy system. At one point in the dive one of them zoomed over our heads and kicked my mask right off my face. I still have a hard time with no mask, I tend to suck in a big breath and have a hard time maintaining neutral, but my wife was right there and grabbed my arm. This gave me a good frame of referance so that I knew how much air to blow out and suck in to stay pretty close to the depth I had started at. By the time I got my mask on and cleared, the diver who kicked me in the head had turned around and was heading back tword us. We were both "lit up" by her dive light, and then she kicked my wife in the head knocking her mask off. Luckily I was close enough to grab it and hand it back too her while holding her arm.

Needless to say we "brought up the rear" for the rest of that dive. After we surfaced the first two divers to "disappear" were the buddy team that kicked us. They jumped out of the ocean, returned the rental gear and left. My wife and I were still walking up the beach!

For my wife and I staying together seems to come pretty naturally, we don't usually have any problems staying together and even in the pool we are never more than a few feet away from each other. I think this came from learning to dive in a quarry... Our first OW check out dive was the best viz we had for all the class dives, ~10 feet. After that dive the site was so crowded that the bottom got stirred up and viz dropped to around 5 foot.

 

[Mike Newman]

Hello,

Does anyone try to stay side by side with their buddy while swimming or is at always follow the leader?

My wife and I were trying to swim side by side on our last dive so we could easily see the others face and we could both lead.

If I wanted to go check out some fish then it would be easy to motion to my wife hey lets go this way and vice verse.

We were just sightseeing with no real objective - so we just cruised around.

It really wasn't all that easy to stay side by side and I think we wasted a lot of energy trying to re-position ourselves after squeezing through kelp, etc.

When it worked it was very nice we could even hold hands but that added a little drag and I am an air hog anyway, so I don't need more drag.

The main reason we wanted to do this is the fear of swimming along happy as can be only to turn around and find your buddy is not there. Hasn't happened to us but we're scared of it.

Thanks,
cadiver67

Side by side - circumstances permitting - is always the better option - for the reasons you know already. Bear in mind - if you are moving along 'line astern' it's the responsibility of both of you to check your buddy regularly. There should never be any question of 'losing touch' or one diver struggling to keep up with another, if both check frequently. Remember, the lead diver can just duck their head down and look back between their legs - you don't have to turn around.

Your concern to make the buddy system work for you is great. Enjoy your diving -

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Hello,

Does anyone try to stay side by side with their buddy while swimming or is at always follow the leader?

My wife and I were trying to swim side by side on our last dive so we could easily see the others face and we could both lead.

If I wanted to go check out some fish then it would be easy to motion to my wife hey lets go this way and vice verse.

We were just sightseeing with no real objective - so we just cruised around.

It really wasn't all that easy to stay side by side and I think we wasted a lot of energy trying to re-position ourselves after squeezing through kelp, etc.

When it worked it was very nice we could even hold hands but that added a little drag and I am an air hog anyway, so I don't need more drag.

The main reason we wanted to do this is the fear of swimming along happy as can be only to turn around and find your buddy is not there. Hasn't happened to us but we're scared of it.

Thanks,
cadiver67

As you are discovering, "lead-follow" works great for the person following ... but not so hot for the person leading. The leader always has to worry about turning around and looking to see where the following buddy is. That takes effort, and effort always increases your air consumption.

Side-by-side takes a little getting used to, but it's worth learning how to do it. Once you do, it's preferable in most circumstances, as it simplifies the task of keeping track of each other.

While practicing this technique, also work on going slow ... it will not only help you learn how to swim side-by-side more effectively, but it will also greatly reduce your air consumption (swimming too fast is a significant reason why many divers are air hogs).

Happy trails ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Mike Newman]

While practicing this technique, also work on going slow ... it will not only help you learn how to swim side-by-side more effectively, but it will also greatly reduce your air consumption (swimming too fast is a significant reason why many divers are air hogs).

Happy trails ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Don't you wish we could put a sea anchor on some of those run-aways? I love photography - and hate chasing a diver who can't stop and 'smell the roses'

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Don't you wish we could put a sea anchor on some of those run-aways? I love photography - and hate chasing a diver who can't stop and 'smell the roses'

Oh goodness yes ... had a pair of AOW students try to run away on me this past week-end on the first dive. Darn near killed me trying to catch up to them ... particularly as I was towing the dive flag ... :11:

Fortunately, the leashes proved unnecessary for subsequent dives ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Spectre]

I prefer side by side. You need to have a specified leader however, while it doesn't have to stay the same through the whole dive, as long as each person knows the 'order', it's all smooth. When you get to a point where single file is necessary, the leader continues while the others fall into place in line and then fan back out. When I'm not leading, I make a conscious effort to move into 'position' on one side or the other where they can see me with just a slight glance to the side.

 

[jeckyll]

The problem with side by side on a wall is that only one person gets the 'closeup' view. Especially in lower viz situations...

 

[lamont]

The problem with side by side on a wall is that only one person gets the 'closeup' view. Especially in lower viz situations...

if you have a back-kick you can both face the wall and be side-by-side. in higher currents, it helps to have an HID so you can go 'single file' and stay in passive contact...