Want to Dive...Can't Find Dive Buddy...Etiquette on Third Wheel-ing it?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Go south young man. I live in the Raleigh area two hours south of Phoenix. We have two Quarry's, Fantasy Lake and Mystery Lake. There are frequent events where divers can just show up at. You can also ask for buddy but do it on the local boards "Raleigh Area Divers" and "Down Under Divers Club". DUDC, Gypsy (shop). CDC (Carolina Dive Center) and some others hold frequent events. Usually at FLSP but some times at MLSP. There are also the PDRA quarries.
 
I haven’t read through this entire thread, and many people may have already made these suggestions. First, the dive shop wants t make you a regular customer, not just a one and done. Ask them how to find a dive buddy. They kno the local market and they may know another newbie in the same situation or a more experienced diver who would be willing to mentor somebody into being a reliable dive partner. Second, post on the regional forums here on SB for a buddy, you may just end up a third person on a pair. Facebook dive groups, do the same thing, join and ask if anyone is interested in a particular dive. The dive shop may also have Facebook page. A dive club with regular meetings will also help you network.

Remember, you really only need a couple of reliable friends for scuba. If they have a boat, that’s even better..... if you have a boat, you will be extremely popular....
 
I didn't read all the other comments in this thread so maybe someone covered this already, but about 7 months ago I was in your position. I was freshly certified (but did a whopping 3 additional dives immediately after my cert dives, during the same trip) and, not living in a nice, tropical location didn't know how I was going to get more experience locally. I came back from my cert dive trip in Roatan and immediately signed up for AOW, combined with drysuit and Nitrox certification classes. I did those dives (nitrox is class-only usually) at one of the local quarries. It gave me more experience diving in a more controlled setting. It also allowed me to meet people who were more serious about diving, and especially about diving locally. That networking put me in touch with a group that goes out to one of the small local lakes once a week. Diving there allowed me to meet a couple of people who like to go diving more often than that, and allowed me to find out which divers I clicked with more both in terms of personalities as well as diving "style" (I avoid like the plague know-it-alls and people who practice unsafe or bad habits). As a result of all this, I managed to get in a fair amount of diving since getting certified.

So, like some others here, I would suggest signing up for AOW sooner rather than later. If your financial situation permits, you might also want to consider making a dive trip to someplace warm. That will give you more experience over the winter, since you are kinda starting out at a season when a lot of people start hanging up their gear for the winter. Or, invest that money in AOW, Drysuit cert, and a good drysuit so you can continue to dive until the local water ices over, and so you can start out earlier next season than the wetsuit divers.

Good luck!

Oh, and try checking out meetup.com for local dive groups. And ask around at your local shops for such groups or people who are looking for dive buddies.
 
@Barnaby'sDad There is an online group called SingleDivers.com at: SingleDivers.com - Home

They are NOT a dating site, they are for divers looking for buddies and they host trips for single divers. I don't have any experience with the site but they have been around for a long time. They also host a social networking forum so that might be an option to help you find a buddy.
 
@Barnaby'sDad

Like @Outbound and I’m sure many others I was in your fins not too long ago. What really helped me was finding a shop with a dedicated group of local divers, not just folks who only dive when they go on trips. In my case that was Submerged in Rockville, MD (shameless plug). Since most of us are in the DC metro area, our “home” quarry has been Juturna Springs in Woodsboro, MD since it opened earlier this year. I think we’ve had at least 1 buddy pair or 3-person team in the water just about every weekend through the summer. This includes folks from Rec1 (OW) through Tech and we try to make a point of including anyone who wants to dive, regardless of their level. There is plenty to see at 30ft, and it’s a heck of a lot warmer than it is at 60ft (or 100ft, or 200ft...)

I will second the comments above though that it’s getting into a tough time of year to get dives in locally if you’re diving wet, don’t happen to be naturally cold tolerant, or don’t have access to some thick neoprene. That’s not to say there weren’t a number of folks in wetsuits at Juturna this weekend, but they were generally staying shallow and doing shorter dives since it was 58 degrees at 30ft.

I’d like to offer to have you join me for some dives, but unfortunately I’m booked the next two weekends with family and then work travel (which will hopefully include a day off to dive). I think the next time I’ll be able to hit the water locally will be either the Saturday or Sunday after Thanksgiving. Depending on what you think about getting in the water then, PM me and we can discuss it further.

Mark
 
@Barnaby'sDad

Like @Outbound and I’m sure many others I was in your fins not too long ago. What really helped me was finding a shop with a dedicated group of local divers, not just folks who only dive when they go on trips. In my case that was Submerged in Rockville, MD (shameless plug). Since most of us are in the DC metro area, our “home” quarry has been Juturna Springs in Woodsboro, MD since it opened earlier this year. I think we’ve had at least 1 buddy pair or 3-person team in the water just about every weekend through the summer. This includes folks from Rec1 (OW) through Tech and we try to make a point of including anyone who wants to dive, regardless of their level. There is plenty to see at 30ft, and it’s a heck of a lot warmer than it is at 60ft (or 100ft, or 200ft...)

I will second the comments above though that it’s getting into a tough time of year to get dives in locally if you’re diving wet, don’t happen to be naturally cold tolerant, or don’t have access to some thick neoprene. That’s not to say there weren’t a number of folks in wetsuits at Juturna this weekend, but they were generally staying shallow and doing shorter dives since it was 58 degrees at 30ft.

I’d like to offer to have you join me for some dives, but unfortunately I’m booked the next two weekends with family and then work travel (which will hopefully include a day off to dive). I think the next time I’ll be able to hit the water locally will be either the Saturday or Sunday after Thanksgiving. Depending on what you think about getting in the water then, PM me and we can discuss it further.

Mark
I actually looked at Submerged when I was doing my research but their schedule wasn't that great and I'm going with SPE Dive School instead. I am doing the class/pool work this weekend and I'm excited for it. Maybe once I am OW certified I will look into the club at Submerged though.
 
I find most divers accepting and understanding to tag along. I mean, heck fire, you’re not asking for a life long commitment; you're just out to dive.
I know I’m about to cause a big stink with others but, if you’re advanced, and there’s no scuba police, why not dive on your own at this lake?
From diving kelp forest of Monterey, we developed a saying, "Yeah, I got a buddy. We’re in the same ocean." We’d lose each other, though diving in threes, often. So, for me, solo diving is no biggie. But, new rules: can’t go solo in quarries I have gone solo dozens of times.
 
@Barnaby'sDad

Like @Outbound and I’m sure many others I was in your fins not too long ago. What really helped me was finding a shop with a dedicated group of local divers, not just folks who only dive when they go on trips. In my case that was Submerged in Rockville, MD (shameless plug). Since most of us are in the DC metro area, our “home” quarry has been Juturna Springs in Woodsboro, MD since it opened earlier this year. I think we’ve had at least 1 buddy pair or 3-person team in the water just about every weekend through the summer. This includes folks from Rec1 (OW) through Tech and we try to make a point of including anyone who wants to dive, regardless of their level. There is plenty to see at 30ft, and it’s a heck of a lot warmer than it is at 60ft (or 100ft, or 200ft...)

I will second the comments above though that it’s getting into a tough time of year to get dives in locally if you’re diving wet, don’t happen to be naturally cold tolerant, or don’t have access to some thick neoprene. That’s not to say there weren’t a number of folks in wetsuits at Juturna this weekend, but they were generally staying shallow and doing shorter dives since it was 58 degrees at 30ft.

I’d like to offer to have you join me for some dives, but unfortunately I’m booked the next two weekends with family and then work travel (which will hopefully include a day off to dive). I think the next time I’ll be able to hit the water locally will be either the Saturday or Sunday after Thanksgiving. Depending on what you think about getting in the water then, PM me and we can discuss it further.

Mark

Mark,

Good afternoon. I would be game to drive up and try Juturna later in the season. I'm fairly cold tolerant.

As you said...I would imagine that it would be a shallow dive for me. I just picked up a hood though, so maybe that will help some.

I find most divers accepting and understanding to tag along. I mean, heck fire, you’re not asking for a life long commitment; you're just out to dive.
I know I’m about to cause a big stink with others but, if you’re advanced, and there’s no scuba police, why not dive on your own at this lake?

From diving kelp forest of Monterey, we developed a saying, "Yeah, I got a buddy. We’re in the same ocean." We’d lose each other, though diving in threes, often. So, for me, solo diving is no biggie. But, new rules: can’t go solo in quarries I have gone solo dozens of times.

I'm not advanced. I literally just have the four dives from my OW class.

I fully intend to dive solo at some point. I'm just nowhere near the point that I would want to set out to do that yet.
 
Mark,

Good afternoon. I would be game to drive up and try Juturna later in the season. I'm fairly cold tolerant.

As you said...I would imagine that it would be a shallow dive for me. I just picked up a hood though, so maybe that will help some.



I'm not advanced. I literally just have the four dives from my OW class.

I fully intend to dive solo at some point. I'm just nowhere near the point that I would want to set out to do that yet.
Being a new diver myself (just going on around 30 dives mark) and having lots of plans about possible solo diving at some point in the future... just wanted to comment a little. DID NOT READ THE WHOLE THREAD SORRY:D

- by my opinion, normal owd or aowd training does not prepare you for situatitions where you would need to manage emergencies completely by yourself underwater. you would definitely need lots of appropriate additional training AND diving experience to be able to dive solo comfortably and relatively safely. There is still some added risks when diving solo compared to diving with buddy even if well trained and very experienced. OOA situations can be managed with a pony bottle but underwater medical emergencies (loss of consciousness, heart attack, lung injuries, etc. any incapacitating injuries) can not and you will most probably die if those ever happen when you're solo.

- 3rd wheel diving can be somewhat tricky from safety perspective. You will DEFINITELY feel more safe when diving with two buddies but it is more common to have accidents happen to the third diver than when diving buddy pairs. It can be kinda like "semi-solo" diving at times, sometimes safe and sometimes you would be all alone if something happens. I would at least need to know them very well before diving with them as a 3rd diver (especially when inexperienced) and maybe have a pony bottle with me as well just in case.

- I honestly don't think the normal padi owd course is enough dives to get one to a safe level for "normal diving". you really need to dive A LOT more to get even a moderate grasp to what you're doing underwater.
Is there a local diving club you could attend to? here where I live it is very normal that persons either join a club right after their ow class and continue diving regularly for the rest of their days OR decide to dive just on vacations and end up diving once a year max and always struggle underwater when doing so. I think you would need to dive at least twice a month minimum to refresh your skills and even develop them a little.

- good buoyancy skills improve safety as well as knowing your equipment thoroughly. I personally already have all my own gear... I tend to actually dry practice with them quite often when unable to dive just to improve my setup and to see if there is anything to correct/anything potentially harmful or dangerous/anything needing replacement. If I purchase a new piece of gear I will try it with the WHOLE setup to see if it interferes with the existing gear and if anything needs to be done other way. For example entanglement risks, new gear trapping the long hose, weight pocket restricting something, etc.

- I would purchase the pony bottle anyway preferably sooner than later. It is always good to have some extra redundancy even if you're diving with a buddy. If you're later advancing to doubles or tech you can use the 1st stage and reg for that.


I have actually done 'kind of' solo dives right after completing the ow course... tested new gear being alone underwater when a friend watching over from a dock, picking up heavy gear underwater when a buddy got too cold and could not stay any longer, etc. I had a pony bottle with me but I don't think solo is something you should do for a long time and it is even not very beneficial from learning POV most of the time. The buddy system at its best reduces stress and task loading and lets you both enjoy the dive more and try new things/new piece of gear/ new diving spots and advance your limits more easily and safely. And it is much more fun unless your buddy is a total a-hole (don't dive with a-holes, 99.9% of buddies are great persons so no need to get involved with the bad ones).

Solo diving is possible but I think it is not nearly as fun as diving with a buddy (or fun at all) and you have to be very conservative with your limits all the time which limits your advancing as a diver.
There is lots of differing opinions whether solo is more dangerous than buddy diving or not.... for a very experienced diver probably not much but for a beginner it would definitely be risky to try...
for a very competent diver most emergencies could probably be dealt with just as well as when diving with a buddy. The difference being, if you'd ever have a medical emergency underwater you would just die. Absolutely no hope of survival.
 
I took tomorrow off. I'm game to hit Juturna or pretty much anywhere else in the area if I can find a buddy. Will plan on heading down to Phoenix if I can't.
 

Back
Top Bottom