Team diving information?????

[mark01]

We are a group of seven guys who enjoy diving as a group. We pair up for many dives and do fine at that, but many of our dives begin as an entire group of seven and degenerate into what would be could only be termed a cluster f***. We all think we need a better skill set. Can anyone offer a resource to set us a better path?

 

[tomfcrist]

Best advise I can give you is break the team into sub groups of buddy teams. 2 Pairs and a trio. You can all move along in the water together, but are only responsible to your buddy team. If you and your buddy want to break off and do something else, you are free to do so....just inform the rest of the larger group. It's as simple as getting their attention and waving bye bye.

 

[fisheater]

It's been my experience that three is the MAXIMUM sized buddy team. Any more and it's a CF and an accident waiting to happen.


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[TSandM]

In general, we try to avoid diving in teams larger than three. If we have four divers, we divide into two teams, but we may intend to stay together and dive as a group. It's just that, if conditions make it difficult to keep four in contact, each pair can still conduct and complete the dive.

Part of keeping people together is understanding the limitations of the diver's field of view, and utilizing whatever techniques you can to extend that range. In dark or murky water, this may involve the use of high intensity dive lights -- that way, for example, you can dive single file along the hull of a wreck, and still be able to stay in contact. In bright, sunlit water, team positioning is more important, because lights aren't as useful. Being aware that the diver behind or above is invisible can make things much easier. In addition, moving slowly, and developing an attention "sweep" -- What's my depth? Where's my buddy? Look at the fish . . . -- will help keep a team together.

Agreeing on a dive plan, including navigation, can help, too; if you all know roughly where you intend to go, even some buddy separations can be fairly quickly repaired.

I don't know where you generally do your diving. I know some instructors who can help develop situational awareness and team procedures, but none of them is really close to Des Moines -- Chicago, Detroit and Lexington are places where I know people.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

The buddy team of 2 or three is a possible solution, as discussed above. However, it seems to me that a group of seven, in designated buddy teams, can hang together if there is reasonable visibility, and a designated leader and designated followers. mark01 has several hundred dives, and if the rest of his group do as well, then this might be the issue. So I would add a clear dive planning and briefing session to the mix: where are we going, what are we doing, what will be the "formation," who is the dive leader, and who are the buddy teams, in addition to a review of safety procedures and a predive check. Also, a plan to avoid running into each other includes discussion of spacing, both vertical and horizontal. If you are doing low viz diving, forget about a group of 7 staying close. 7 individuals should be put in three separate groups, and dive that way. Skills needed? Navigation, buoyancy control, and dive planning.
DivemasterDennis

 

[mark01]

Thanks, everyone! As several of you mentioned, our group needs a better briefing and planning structure. I think I can put something together over the winter months.

 

[Gombessa]

I'm going to parrot the suggestion to break into teams of twos and threes. IMO, three is the perfect number if you're all on the same page.

As for picking up a new, team-based skillset, I wholeheartedly applaud your observation and desire to better your diving! There is a huge amount of improvement that most of us can gain just by spending more time/effort planning the dive and executing according to the plan, and that's probably the number one change you can make: be diligent about planning and following through.

I'm sure you've also heard about various team-based diving philosophies and agencies/systems available, and I'll just say that for me, taking this kind of training, with a focus on watching and working with your buddy actively before, during, and after the dive, has really elevated my enjoyment in the water. We still goof around, plan hijinks, and laugh till our masks flood, but we no longer worry as much about separation, what to do in common emergency and non-emergency situations, etc.

 

[japan-diver]

As others have mentioned - team diving is teams of 2 or 3. A team of 7 will always be a CF. Breaking down into 3 teams functioning independently is the solution. You can all still dive together but trying to track 6 team members will prove to be impossible even in the most benign of conditions.