nolatom
Contributor
I don't like threesomes. It's a three-job dive (pay attention to where you're going/navigation, keep eye on buddy two, keep eye on buddy three) instead of a two-job dive.
Threesome instead of buddies?
- Thread starter Thrillhouse
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KazooDiver
Contributor
I know when I was new at diving I hated 3 some buddy teams. I was way to hard to concentrate on my self and then on 2 other divers.
With more experience I do not have the same difficulty. And I agree any low vis diving it can be difficult to keep track of one diver let a lone 2. Communication is your friend...make sure the other divers know the signs you want to use to communicate.
With more experience I do not have the same difficulty. And I agree any low vis diving it can be difficult to keep track of one diver let a lone 2. Communication is your friend...make sure the other divers know the signs you want to use to communicate.
With the right dive buddies a team of 3 is a preferred method of diving....double coverage so to speak.
Threesome’s are more difficult for the third diver than they are for me. My lovely bride and I dive as a team regularly. When I am video taping, she is patient and knows not to stir up the bottom. She also acts as my spotter, looking for interesting things to tape. I always lead because I have this innate ability to navigate. She does not.
When asked by a third to dive with us, I’m happy to accommodate but have to explain that my wife is first in the people I care about and if you join us, they will be number three on my list. I’m just being honest and letting them know that if they get separated from us, I will not leave my wife to find them. We as a team will look for them for a few minutes, then surface to reacquire the lost third. In addition, they will have to stop and hang while I video tape, they will not navigate and they are to stay close to me on the right side. I go over our signals and turn times and pressures. Even with all we do I feel the third get the short straw when diving with me and my lovely bride.
If you are the third, ask questions, go over hand signals, check their gear locations and have them check yours, go over the dive plan, what to do if a separation occurs and agree, before splashing, on everything.
When asked by a third to dive with us, I’m happy to accommodate but have to explain that my wife is first in the people I care about and if you join us, they will be number three on my list. I’m just being honest and letting them know that if they get separated from us, I will not leave my wife to find them. We as a team will look for them for a few minutes, then surface to reacquire the lost third. In addition, they will have to stop and hang while I video tape, they will not navigate and they are to stay close to me on the right side. I go over our signals and turn times and pressures. Even with all we do I feel the third get the short straw when diving with me and my lovely bride.
If you are the third, ask questions, go over hand signals, check their gear locations and have them check yours, go over the dive plan, what to do if a separation occurs and agree, before splashing, on everything.
julio
Registered
I have many great things occure in three's back home at Mexico. Has anyone every been at Chilli Willy's?? Good things happen there.
My biggest problem with divers in 3some's is that the end guy often loses the other divers in not experience teams because they are use to diving as a buddy and not as 3.
More practice and team preparedness will help this.
Diving as a 3 is great and offers more security for teams also.
The chilli willy comment was a yoke too,
Julio!
My biggest problem with divers in 3some's is that the end guy often loses the other divers in not experience teams because they are use to diving as a buddy and not as 3.
More practice and team preparedness will help this.
Diving as a 3 is great and offers more security for teams also.
The chilli willy comment was a yoke too,
Julio!
Matt S.
Contributor
I've never had any training in how to dive in a team, but it's something I find I have to do often. Sometimes you just have 3 divers and you all make do.
I do not like it. I have to compromise on keeping track of one buddy at a time, because the other one always seems to be in my blind spot. And then I wonder, who is watching me?
Most of the people I dive with don't have HID lights, which makes communicating that much harder too.
With all divers trained properly and equipped with good lights I'm sure it's great. When you are all improvising and the other two divers have wide-beam LED lights, it sucks.
I am actually much more interested in learning how to dive in a team than in the topics that seem to be taught in the typical AOW class. But if the people you run in to don't have the same training ... I guess it won't help much.
I do not like it. I have to compromise on keeping track of one buddy at a time, because the other one always seems to be in my blind spot. And then I wonder, who is watching me?
Most of the people I dive with don't have HID lights, which makes communicating that much harder too.
With all divers trained properly and equipped with good lights I'm sure it's great. When you are all improvising and the other two divers have wide-beam LED lights, it sucks.
I am actually much more interested in learning how to dive in a team than in the topics that seem to be taught in the typical AOW class. But if the people you run in to don't have the same training ... I guess it won't help much.
The behavior thing that some have a hard time with is that for the most part the threesome is going "on the leaders dive". Let him be the guide and lead the tour. The followers see what they see and keep an eye on navigation, their instrument issues and so forth.
If a follower sees something interesting then the leader needs to be notified and the leader needs to alert diver #3. This is where the teamwork really shines or the dive falls apart. Sometimes it's easier for the followers to just enjoy whatever they are seeing and make it a long peaceful ride.
Pete
If a follower sees something interesting then the leader needs to be notified and the leader needs to alert diver #3. This is where the teamwork really shines or the dive falls apart. Sometimes it's easier for the followers to just enjoy whatever they are seeing and make it a long peaceful ride.
Pete
In both of his posts I think spectrum has pretty much covered the bases here, as well as good advice from Doc and Doc...Intrepid and TSandM. It is very important to have very good awareness, keep the distances in check, and have good dive lights, etc. The others who have replied have very good input also. It can be done and done safely as long as you have a good dive plan...The importance of a dive plan is paramount to safe diving and you will need to focus even more on your plan with 3 divers. It is all a matter of safety for all 3 divers...all go down together, do the dive together and surface together...Safe diving...
I have rarely made dives as a team of three, but on occasion, it has come up. For me, it's usually myself and a relatively inexperienced (or at least, seemingly less adept) buddy pair. In that type of situation, I find the "tail-dragger" formation works quite well. I put them with each other and tell them that their primary responsibility is to each other, and that I'll be a "plus one". We cover my light signals and audible signals (basically, if they're not too skilled, at a minimum it comes down to "any of these mean stop and look at me"). Then on the dive, it comes down to making sure they're paying attention to each other (and prompting them if I see they haven't been exchanging pressures or other important info).
If they aren't confident enough to lead the dive, of course, I'll lead the dive and keep vigilant watch over both of them. That should only be a stepping stone to help them become comfortable enough in the water and with their communication that they can work together. Once they're communicating well, we'll dive the tail-dragger formation to let them get used to thinking for themselves.
Obviously, this isn't true team diving. It's basically buddy diving with a more experienced diver watching over the dive, but it can be a useful way of helping the less adept divers build their skills. I've found that it often doesn't take too many dives as as a pair-plus-one before the pair is communicating well enough that the group naturally morphs into a threesome with full communication throughout (instead of a pair-plus-one, with limited communication to the one).
So, basically, you start in tricycle formation, with one "dive leader" and two following divers, with the dive leader doing all the thinking (monitoring separation distances, checking pressures, and so on). Then as the two followers gain skills and confidence, you transition to a tail-dragger formation, with the buddy pair doing the thinking (one may be "in charge" for the dive or at any given point therein) and the "dive monitor" following. And finally you transition to threesome formation, diving and making decisions as a team.
If they aren't confident enough to lead the dive, of course, I'll lead the dive and keep vigilant watch over both of them. That should only be a stepping stone to help them become comfortable enough in the water and with their communication that they can work together. Once they're communicating well, we'll dive the tail-dragger formation to let them get used to thinking for themselves.
Obviously, this isn't true team diving. It's basically buddy diving with a more experienced diver watching over the dive, but it can be a useful way of helping the less adept divers build their skills. I've found that it often doesn't take too many dives as as a pair-plus-one before the pair is communicating well enough that the group naturally morphs into a threesome with full communication throughout (instead of a pair-plus-one, with limited communication to the one).
So, basically, you start in tricycle formation, with one "dive leader" and two following divers, with the dive leader doing all the thinking (monitoring separation distances, checking pressures, and so on). Then as the two followers gain skills and confidence, you transition to a tail-dragger formation, with the buddy pair doing the thinking (one may be "in charge" for the dive or at any given point therein) and the "dive monitor" following. And finally you transition to threesome formation, diving and making decisions as a team.
Scotty28t
Registered
I agree with Mislav, two good buddy's are better than one, but finding the right trio can be challenging!
I think the key is finding people who put buddy contact ahead of total absorption of the view.
I think the key is finding people who put buddy contact ahead of total absorption of the view.
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