the buddie system what does it mean

[rosie davies]

how come all divers who use the buddie system aren't required to take a rescue course, since in diving your to have faith in your buddie?

 

[eod]

how come all divers who use the buddie system aren't required to take a rescue course, since in diving your to have faith in your buddie?

Even a buddy who isn't rescue trained can help you if it is needed. Of course he/she isn't as prepared as the rescue trained, but better than being alone.

 

[Sideband]

how come all divers who use the buddie system aren't required to take a rescue course, since in diving your to have faith in your buddie?

That would pretty much make the Rescue Diver course a requirement for diving since Solo Diving (NAUI & PADI) is a different course which, if I remember correctly, has a requirement of 100 logged dives, AOW cert. and you must be 21.
The idea behind diving with a buddy is that there is redundancy in almost everything.
2 people have planned the dive.
2 people have checked all of the dive gear pre-dive.
2 people are making sure the dive is being done as planned.
If one gets into trouble there is someone else there to assist, be it an OOA situation, entanglement, equipment malfunction, injury or if one diver just spaces out and loses track of time. From the basic training given in certification you were taught how to handle those situations. Part of diving with a buddy is picking one that you trust. I'm sure almost every diver on this board has been with a dive buddy that they will not dive with again.
The Rescue Diver cert. IS a very nice thing for your buddy to have. From your buddies point of view it is a good cert. for YOU to have. It takes all of those self help skills and expands on them. The basic OW course is meant to teach you enough to be able to dive safely while you learn more and gain experience. It isn't a blank check to all diving situations. That is why those other certifications exist.

In picking a dive partner you are placing trust in them. You both have to have trust that neither is going to go beyond their abilities intentionally and if either sees a potential problem they will point it out before it becomes an actual one. This mostly requires common sense, a good foundation in the basic skills and to some small extent luck. The RD course takes over for those who have lost 2 or more of the above.

Joe

 

[Sideband]

Even a buddy who isn't rescue trained can help you if it is needed. Of course he/she isn't as prepared as the rescue trained, but better than being alone.

Wow. You actually summed that up quite well. I actually like your answer better than my full page of rambeling.

Joe

 

[hantzu701]

how come all divers who use the buddie system aren't required to take a rescue course, since in diving your to have faith in your buddie?

Having faith in your buddy can be sketchy as some divers claim to dive "buddy", but either swim behind or 15-20 ft away. Nothing annoys me more than divers who aren't paying attention to their buddy. They aren't diving the buddy system. They're diving - and their buddy is diving, solo.

While this may seem harmless in good vis, shallow warm water, these are bad habits to have when conditions become more challenging. Think of a reg failure at 60ft in cold, murky water or on a night dive.

 

[Charlie99]

Even a buddy who isn't rescue trained can help you if it is needed. Of course he/she isn't as prepared as the rescue trained, but better than being alone.

Yes, indeed. My buddy's octopus is a redundant air source for me, whether or not he is rescue trained.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Remember not to trust your buddy or depend on him too much. They aren't always available to help especially if they are hunters or into photography. Learn to help yourself and practice those self aid skills.

 

[Uncle Pug]

Rosie some of our posters may not know that you lost your daughter to a diving accident last year. I understand from that thread that your daughter did not go on the dive with a buddy but was paired with a buddy previously unknown to her. I call these *buddies of circumstance*.

With that in mind let me responded to your last statement: "since in diving your to have faith in your buddie"

First of all a diver must be competent for the dive they are doing and not just be relying on their buddy to make up what they lack in the way of skill, experience, training, competence and equipment, ect.

Secondly a diver should never trust the buddy of circumstance. The buddy of circumstance is an unknown. They may actually be very very good... or they may be very very bad... to even looking to you as the one who will save them since they are on the dive beyond their competence level.

Third, a good buddy is worth their weight in gold. A good buddy is someone you dive with regularly but more over, train with regularly. A good buddy is someone that you regularly practice rescue skills with. A good buddy is situationally aware and takes action before a small problem becomes a big one.

Fourth, most divers are not trained in buddy skills. Even those who have *rescue* certifications have not necessarily been trained in the buddy skills that would keep the accident from happening in the first place.

 

[rosie davies]

Rosie some of our posters may not know that you lost your daughter to a diving accident last year. I understand from that thread that your daughter did not go on the dive with a buddy but was paired with a buddy previously unknown to her. I call these *buddies of circumstance*.

With that in mind let me responded to your last statement: "since in diving your to have faith in your buddie"

First of all a diver must be competent for the dive they are doing and not just be relying on their buddy to make up what they lack in the way of skill, experience, training, competence and equipment, ect.

Secondly a diver should never trust the buddy of circumstance. The buddy of circumstance is an unknown. They may actually be very very good... or they may be very very bad... to even looking to you as the one who will save them since they are on the dive beyond their competence level.

Third, a good buddy is worth their weight in gold. A good buddy is someone you dive with regularly but more over, train with regularly. A good buddy is someone that you regularly practice rescue skills with. A good buddy is situationally aware and takes action before a small problem becomes a big one.

Fourth, most divers are not trained in buddy skills. Even those who have *rescue* certifications have not necessarily been trained in the buddy skills that would keep the accident from happening in the first place.

Great advice to all divers, is this info that is part of training? If not it should be. Seems you can tell when someone has dived a long time.

 

[MikeFerrara]

That would pretty much make the Rescue Diver course a requirement for diving since Solo Diving (NAUI & PADI) is a different course which, if I remember correctly, has a requirement of 100 logged dives, AOW cert. and you must be 21.

Joe

PADI doesn't have a solo couse and as far as I know niether does NAUI.

The only agency that I know has one is SDI.

Carol Stream huh? My old stomping grounds.