What makes a DIR buddy?

[Uncle Pug]

The context you are missing is the actual experience of teamwork diving. DIR classes from fundamentals on through higher levels facilitate the student experiencing teamwork diving in a controlled setting.

 

[Spectre]

The context you are missing is the actual experience of teamwork diving. DIR classes from fundamentals on through higher levels facilitate the student experiencing teamwork diving in a controlled setting.

There is a signal that was taught in my OW class. "Where's your buddy?". Once you are out of the class setting, there isn't anyone who's going to ask "Where's your buddy?" anymore, except of course that occasional time when a captain asks as you get onto a dive boat.

I find myself very often thinking that question when watching people in the water who dive with 'buddies', as they definitely still need that question asked.

Being part of a team not only means that the question would never need to be asked, it's also means that by looking at one diver in a team, it would be instantly obvious for an observer to determine where the other team members are.

 

[RTodd]

It's not because there is no attempts being made, it's because it's not really a concept that can be listed out in a checklist. The trouble is that there is a basic concept that is hard to explain and even more difficult to get.

Maybe a few examples are in order, but it still doesn't really get the picture as it's all fairly obvious when you actually grasp the concept.

I don't think the original poster actually has any intent to really learn this stuff. But, in case there are some still trying to puzzle out what is being said, here is an example. Unlike technical dives, it is hard for me to come up with examples in an open water environment of teamwork that don't involve at least a hiccup. In reality, good teamwork in an open water dive is hard to really notice since that is the point. Teamwork is more critical and more obvious in more demanding dives but a lot of divers won't really grasp all the nuances of those types of dives.

About two months ago my wife and I were diving in the Caymans. There was a newer DIR-F guy diving on the boat who we invited to do a second dive with us. A second dive in the Caymans for us involves swimming out from the shallow moring ball to the wall, diving the wall, and then swimming the shallow reef on the way back. I was leading the dive with my wife in the third position. First team concept, weaker diver is in the middle to "protect" them. About 25 minutes into the dive, I led us up a channel in the reef so we could start working our way back in the shallows. It turns out it started pinching down. My wife got in touch contact with the newer diver and had him hold. I rushed ahead to see if we could get out. The minute she could see my light start coming back towards them without an okay signal, she turned around the other diver and we headed back out onto the wall. As we ascended on the wall, my wife, swam ahead of me on a diagonal straight to the boat. This was so she could take the lead navigating and I could get next to the newer dive who, due to us getting held up on the deep portion could potentially run low on air before we got back to the boat. Since I have the lowest gas consumption, it was best for me to deal with that. The dive finished without a hitch and all of this happened without a single piece of active communication between the experienced teammates (other than me catching crap for picking the wrong swimthrough).

 

[Uncle Pug]

I don't think the original poster actually has any intent to really learn this stuff.

I'm not at all convince that is the case... in fact I think quite the opposite and expect that with interest sufficiently piqued Diver0001 will most likely take the next locally available DIR fundamentals class.

 

[RTodd]

I'm not at all convince that is the case... in fact I think quite the opposite and expect that with interest sufficiently piqued Diver0001 will most likely take the next locally available DIR fundamentals class.

I would be happy to be proven wrong on this.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Team ... it's like dancing.

In order to be able to dance, you have to understand what the other person is going to do ... and vice versa.

In order to dance well, you have to know that other person well enough to anticipate when and how they're gonna do it ... and vice versa.

In order to dance at a high level, you have to have developed a mental and physical rapport that enables you to, essentially, move as a single unit.

And like dancing, diving as a team requires training, practice, and commitment. The more of those you put into it, the more natural the concept becomes ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

PS - I thoroughly appreciate that someone posted a topic in this forum that isn't about gear.

 

[Uncle Pug]

May I have this dance, my dear?

Ummm.... hold it. That metaphor needs to remain a similie.

 

[dlndavid]

May I have this dance, my dear?

That would be my gear ?

 

[Tollie]

Teamwork is a relevant concept in a recreational o/w environment, for divers at all levels. For teams that are well experienced the level of communication… especially active is minimized because members of the team understand the protocols. For relatively inexperienced teams the level of explicit communication is relatively more visible… just to ensure that everyone is on the same page. In all events team members are communicating with one another through the dive by the means most appropriate including active, passive, hand signals, written communication, light signals or touch.

Here are several examples.

1. Two divers one navigates the other watches for depth
2. Two divers, one photographing the other scouting and generally keeping track of changes in the environment
3. Three divers on a drift dive 80 feet… two attend while one diver shoots a bag
4. Predive… one diver calls the dive plan and takes responsibility for calling the predive equipment check
In each of these cases the common ground is an attitude towards safety and attention to the details of the dive. All divers manage situational awareness and a shared responsibility for the execution of the dive plan.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

1. Two divers one navigates the other watches for depth

This is actually how I introduce the concept of team diving to my AOW students. On the first dive, the team is required to navigate a course. They are also required to maintain a depth of 20 fsw. One diver gets the compass, the other gets the depth gauge and bottom timer.

They cannot complete the exercise without communication ... it reinforces the notion that team diving is about more than just accompanying each other during the dive.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)