The Self Sufficient Diver...

[Nemrod]

To the OP, you might as well clap your hands and think it will get you to Mars. You will run into the always have a "reliable buddy" statement over and over even though we all really do know that is not always possible unless you severely restrict yourself, ie, like the current DIR thread, it is over the top to think you will always have a perfect buddy.

The buddy system comes from the old saying, Never Swim Alone (or you will get stomach cramps and die). You know, I don't ever recall having stomach cramps or why I would die if I did so while swimming? So anyways, along comes the sport of scuba and despite the FACT the vast majority of modern scuba divers cannot swim well enough to not drown themselves in a hot tub, the old Never Swim Alone morphed into Never Dive Alone or of course you will die.

Does anyone really believe that guy in the scuba class who cannot swim or the lady who cannot open her eyes underwater or the buddy who has to hold his nose to submerge without his mask is really going to come through for you? Yes, there are good buddy teams, no, they are not PERFECT buddy teams.

The Buddy System is so imprinted and paid lip service to because it gets dive ops around insurance problems and of course eliminates the need for transporting gear like doubles or pony bottles etc that would make vacation pretty fish travel diving diffucult. That along with selling BCs is the bread and butter of the industry.

You are up against Dark Forces when you begin to peel the veil of BS back and begin to consider self rescue, solo and the defficiency of the buddy system. The buddy system is an industry crutch to justify letting people loose in the water who cannot swim in hopes that two people working together make a whole when either left alone is incompetent. How you gonna fill those condos and resorts and sell those 700 dollars BCs otherwise?

N

 

[String]

You will run into the always have a "reliable buddy" statement over and over even though we all really do know that is not always possible unless you severely restrict yourself, ie, like the current DIR thread, it is over the top to think you will always have a perfect buddy.

No matter how much black kit they buy, its still a human wearing it and last time i checked humans weren't robots - they cant be 100% guaranteed to react in a certain way 100% of the time in 100% of situations. No human can.

 

[SparticleBrane]

Does anyone really believe that guy in the scuba class who cannot swim or the lady who cannot open her eyes underwater or the buddy who has to hold his nose to submerge without his mask is really going to come through for you? Yes, there are good buddy teams, no, they are not PERFECT buddy teams.

That's why you don't dive with those people...

 

[Web Monkey]

On my very first ocean dive I got seperated from my instructor. I've carried a pony ever since.

Losing your instructor shouldn't have any bearing on your gas planning or your dive plan, aside from signaling the end of the dive. I can pretty much guarantee that if you lose your instructor, he'll be just fine, aside from being worried about you; and you'll be just fine if you follow your training and dive within it's recommended limits.

All the rec agencies I've seen teach a lost buddy procedure that consists of a short search (generally a minute or two) followed by an ascent to the surface if unsucessful. Whether you lose your instructor or your buddy, the procedure should be the same, and a pony won't make any difference.

For the guy who stopped carrying a pony cos he never had to use it, I've never been it a car crash but I still wear a seatbelt.

This is really an exercise in minimizing risk. I have a few regular dive buddies that are always within poke-in-the-ribs distance, who I practice air sharing and other skills with on a regular basis. I have no doubt that a good buddy, a good dive plan and safe gas planning provides a much larger safety factor than any piece of hardware.

If I signal OOA or even look like I'm having problems, I'll have a working regular stuck in front of my face pretty much immediately. They still haven't made a pony that will stick a regulator in your mouth, or help you end the dive if you have some sort of medical event like an inner ear problem or narced out of your mind.

However when diving with a stranger (or someone known to be new, or who looks nervous), everything is different. I assume they will do the worst possible thing at the worst possible moment and I plan the dive accordingly, staying shallow enough that I woudn't give an ESA a second thought.

Terry

 

[Web Monkey]

To the OP, you might as well clap your hands and think it will get you to Mars. You will run into the always have a "reliable buddy" statement over and over even though we all really do know that is not always possible unless you severely restrict yourself, ie, like the current DIR thread, it is over the top to think you will always have a perfect buddy.

That's really the diver's choice.

I dive with my regular buddy a lot, but also dive with unknown divers quite frequently.

The difference is that when diving with my buddies, we do deep, low-viz, wrecks, quite often in high current, and when diving with unknown or unreliable buddies we go to 15' or 20' and look at the cool fish. It's just a question of selecting appropriate dives for appropriate skill levels.

Nobody is perfect, but that doesn't stop anybody from minimizing the risks involved.

Terry

 

[redacted]

They still haven't made a pony that will stick a regulator in your mouth, or help you end the dive if you have some sort of medical event like an inner ear problem or narced out of your mind.

And they have not made a buddy that is clipped to you by 2 snap links at the chest asnd waist. Buddies and ponies are not mutually exclusive.

 

[SparticleBrane]

Even with my few dives I can see the buddy part as a big gamble. I almost always have insta buddies, it stinks. My irregular buddy at 70-80 dives, is so blase about things he sometimes worries me as much as the insta buddies.

This post got me to thinking. Even though I have no plans to dive solo, wouldn't it be a good thing to take the solo course along with resuce diver course?

I've seen the other post about carrying a pony sling and never using it.but....

Tom

So you've never really had good experiences with buddies, but you usually dive with instabuddies. Do you see a correlation here?

Ditch the "irregular" buddy too -- sounds like an accident waiting to happen if you worry about him as much as the instabuddies.

 

[El Orans]

I dive with my regular buddy a lot, but also dive with unknown divers quite frequently.

Each Friday is InstaBuddy day.

The difference is that when diving with my buddies, we do deep, low-viz, wrecks, quite often in high current, and when diving with unknown or unreliable buddies we go to 15' or 20' and look at the cool fish.

I limit dives with unknown buddies to specific sites for shallow (< 10M) dives. I will not dive with buddies of whom I know that they're unreliable.

It's just a question of selecting appropriate dives for appropriate skill levels.

Yep.

 

[Teamcasa]

At risk of being to simplistic I consider a self sufficient to be diver one that is trained, plenty of experience and the wisdom to put the training to practice even on the easy dive.

Self sufficiency is just one step in learning to dive. The ability to self rescue is another and they are not the same thing. Being a competent buddy does not make you self sufficient or give you the ability to self rescue, neither does gear. Only quality training and the practice of this training will give you both.

 

[dpbishop]

Basic Chaos theory tells us that the more complex the system, the more likely a failure. Overloading a new diver with multiple air supplies and redundant systems may improve the profit margin of the LDS, but will still not be as safe as a good buddy.

If you diving in visibility so bad you can't keep track of your buddy, you are doing an advanced dive, same as in an overhead environment. It doesn't matter if it's the pond in your back yard, it should be treated as a solo dive; special skills and special equipment are required. If you lack those skills and equipment, don't do the dive.

Any place where diving is popular will have dive clubs or groups that can supply a buddy to a novice diver, and any experienced diver that refuses to buddy up with a novice on a dive within their capabilities is a schmuck. (that's a generality, situations may be different) We were all newbies once, and it was help from those with experience that gave us the skills we have today.

I always dive with a pony now, when I have a buddy the pony takes the place of an octo. That way I don't have to be changing set ups for solo or buddy diving. But for new divers, I wouldn't recommend a pony, just stay with your buddy.