the Tag Along Buddy

[Uncle Pug]

A friend had taken his OW class down to the water as we were gearing up. It looked to me like he had four students by the snorkel count.

Shortly we were in the water swimming on our backs toward our drop point and I noticed a forlorn fellow looking around like a lost puppy. Between us the water was boiling with the bubbles of the class.

I asked if he was OK and he took the snorkel out of his mouth long enough to say that he had lost his "guys".

OK... this must be one of students... so I pointed to the spume between us and said, "There they are! Probably on the line (a rope PADI students hold onto while kneeling on the bottom to do *skills*.) Why don't you just go down on the bubbles and join them?"

At the time it was only about 15' deep there. So down he went where upon the class surfaced.

I sez to the instructor, "One of your fellows just went down to join you... and it looks like he is swimming along the line trying to find you."

The instructor sez, "Nah, he isn't in my class... he is just a guy who wanted to tag along with us because he didn't have a buddy." Where upon the instructor turned back to his class of three.

So I sez, "Would you like me to go down and get him?"

"Sure, thanks," came the reply.

So I went down and found the fellow who was now at 22' and looking even more lost. I signalled to him that we were going up and the direction we were going to take by pointing my index finger with thumb up. He seemed to understand and stay right with me so we did a little controlled ascent practice and took a minute and a half to surface. He then rejoined the class he was not in for their surface interval.

Well my buddy and I proceeded to do our dive (max depth 119' / RT 50:30) and when we were getting out of the water the class of three was just getting back in for their next dive.

Sure enough the Tag Along Buddy was joining them again... carefully adjusting his snorkel in his mouth before getting his flippered feet wet. I watched as he entered the water continuously fidgeting with his snorkel obviously uncomfortable.
*********************************************
Observations:

1. I don't think instructors should allow tag alongs who are looking for a buddy... especially ones that are new.

2. I don't think it is wise to tag along on a class and expect anyone to be watching out for you.

3. I wish I had had the time to do a dive with him... but I didn't.

 

[fdog]

...3. I wish I had had the time to do a dive with him... but I didn't.

Good for you! I too felt a pang of sympathy for someone new to diving, who obviously wanted to enjoy our sport, and was too new to really make it all gel. Sometimes all it takes is an experienced hand reaching out to really sell somebody on diving.

Wish I'd had the time, too.

All the best, James

 

[cdiver2]

Agreed UP, but if the instructor had agreed to let him dive with them and therefore become a buddy, and then to leave him looking for them was bad but to leave him on the bottom after you had told him he was down there looking for them, well he MAY be a good instructor but as a human being he sucks.

 

[Uncle Pug]

..as a human being he sucks.

He was just caught in a dilemma... he had a primary responsibility to his students and couldn't leave them... and that is why I offered to go get the fellow.

 

[cdiver2]

I understand that UP and agree he should never have taken him as a tag along. But once he did then in effect the group is his buddy, how many times have we heard from board members about poor Buddy's.
Like you I do feel sorry for beginners and had I not been set on a particular dive (deep) I would have taken him.
I don't know what your views are on training/agencies but my training was BSAC and first we had to prove our selfs with a snorkel ( comfortable in the water ie not use the canned air like a security blanket ) second up to 20 dives you always had a more experienced diver as a buddy. I think this is a excellent way to go but doe's not satisfy I want now, nor is it conducive to business
Thank god for SB at least its one avenue for a beginner to learn and look for a peer to dive with.

 

[miketsp]

I once had a similar problem with a tag along buddy.
I was doing a night dive with my wife and on the same boat there was an instructor +DM pair with a group of 9 doing their 1st night dive - lot of excitement.
There was 1 fairly experienced guy left over so he asked to tag along with us which he did.
Anyway we got into the dive, not very deep, about 11m, and we were floating along happily when all of a sudden the larger group steamed across us in a flurry of arm waving and agitated finning which dropped the vis raising silt. My wife was very close to me so I had no trouble identifying her and getting out of the confusion. Next I tried to locate our tag-along and finally spotted him right in the middle of the beginners group. I tried to force into the group to grab him & just got my mask kicked off.
Tried again and had to move off to a safe distance.
So I stayed there watching to see what he would do.
Nothing, he just locked on to the DM in the middle of the group & stayed there. Didn't even look around for us.
We followed for a while just to make sure he was OK before going back to our original course.
When we met up again on the boat we had a chat about buddy procedures. He didn't seem to think that abandoning his buddies was a problem.

 

[sparkyjames]

Uncle Pug:

I wouldhave to say I agree If a instrustor alows a nother diver regardless of experiance to tag a long he is just as responsible for that divers safty.

because after all is this not one of the reasons we dive with buddies?
to have some one to look out for safty isues we may miss or not be aware of.

and BTW
Good Job on handleing this could have gotten real ugly real fast.

Sparky

 

[cdiver2]

I once had a similar problem with a tag along buddy.
I was doing a night dive with my wife and on the same boat there was an instructor +DM pair with a group of 9 doing their 1st night dive - lot of excitement.
There was 1 fairly experienced guy left over so he asked to tag along with us which he did.
Anyway we got into the dive, not very deep, about 11m, and we were floating along happily when all of a sudden the larger group steamed across us in a flurry of arm waving and agitated finning which dropped the vis raising silt. My wife was very close to me so I had no trouble identifying her and getting out of the confusion. Next I tried to locate our tag-along and finally spotted him right in the middle of the beginners group. I tried to force into the group to grab him & just got my mask kicked off.
Tried again and had to move off to a safe distance.
So I stayed there watching to see what he would do.
Nothing, he just locked on to the DM in the middle of the group & stayed there. Didn't even look around for us.
We followed for a while just to make sure he was OK before going back to our original course.
When we met up again on the boat we had a chat about buddy procedures. He didn't seem to think that abandoning his buddies was a problem.

Well done Had it been a beginner diver I would have expected that and given him the little talk that you did. But from a diver with some experience I would have been P**ed and the whole boat would have heard the talk I gave him

 

[simbrooks]

Back to the original beginner diver of the first post, UP, (firstly i dont know if this dive was on your sojourn wherever you went or not, but i assume it was local as you knew the instructor), did you give him you phone number, or say you might be able to coach/mentor him at some point or at worst at least point him in the direction of SB or another local site (like northwestdiver) for him to read/learn stuff and possibly find buddies who might stick by him or look out for him??

 

[Uncle Pug]

No, I did not have the opportunity. After bringing him to the surface I needed to get going with our dive and upon surfacing he was just re-entering the water.

This is a local site that I dive often on Tuesdays so if I see him again I might have a chance to talk with him.