jmasin
Contributor
What Codiak said, 'cept the teaching class thing as I'm pretty new. For me same skill level means if one doesn't feel comfortable going below a certain depth we are both ok with it (no one is holding the other back for example).
What Makes a Good Dive Buddy?
- Thread starter Bogie
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First and foremost is communication. If the divers cannot effectively communicate nothing else is going to be fully effective. And it does not begin on the boat or at the site. It begins when the decision to dive is made. This is when effective communication begins.
Next is good judgment. A great communicator who has poor judgment is a clear liability. And that is something that comes with time and the next item patience. Impatient divers are dangerous divers. They raise stress levels and can turn a good dive into a disaster. Impatient instructors are perhaps even worse because they teach this to new divers.
If all of the above are ok then next is someone who is willing and in fact strives to improve on some skill on EVERY dive. Hopefully one of those is buoyancy control. Mine is pretty good. But as long as there are times when I do vary my depth more than a foot over my intended depth I will continue to work on it.
Divers with poor buoyancy control who refuse to try to improve are some of the worst buddies you can have. I can deal with someone who really tries to get better at it. Those who refuse to or think they don't need to tell me I'm better off solo.
Positioning. I should not have to use more than a 1/4 turn of my head to either side to know where my buddy is. Not down, not up, but right beside me within a body length at all times if possible.
Speed. The slowest diver sets the pace of the dive. Period. End of discussion. If the guide is going too fast get them to slow down or say screw em and dive your own plan for the buddy pair which you should have anyway. If you are constantly having to wait for your buddy to catch up you are at fault, not them.
Next is good judgment. A great communicator who has poor judgment is a clear liability. And that is something that comes with time and the next item patience. Impatient divers are dangerous divers. They raise stress levels and can turn a good dive into a disaster. Impatient instructors are perhaps even worse because they teach this to new divers.
If all of the above are ok then next is someone who is willing and in fact strives to improve on some skill on EVERY dive. Hopefully one of those is buoyancy control. Mine is pretty good. But as long as there are times when I do vary my depth more than a foot over my intended depth I will continue to work on it.
Divers with poor buoyancy control who refuse to try to improve are some of the worst buddies you can have. I can deal with someone who really tries to get better at it. Those who refuse to or think they don't need to tell me I'm better off solo.
Positioning. I should not have to use more than a 1/4 turn of my head to either side to know where my buddy is. Not down, not up, but right beside me within a body length at all times if possible.
Speed. The slowest diver sets the pace of the dive. Period. End of discussion. If the guide is going too fast get them to slow down or say screw em and dive your own plan for the buddy pair which you should have anyway. If you are constantly having to wait for your buddy to catch up you are at fault, not them.
fnfalman
Contributor
My good buddy must have a sweet camera setup that can either photograph or videograph my underwater badass coolness.
All jests aside, I'd like my buddy to:
1. Have decent basic skills (buoyancy control, good trim, good swim techniques) or at least willing to learn if doesn't have decent basic skills.
2. Be conscientious of the environment and ecology (don't poke, prod or wantonly kill marine lives by thoughtlessly scraping against rocks and reefs [see No. 1] - hunting legal game is different though).
3. Stick close to the leader of the team and just not wandering off.
4. Good situational awareness such as paying attention to gas consumption, depth, currents, water movements, where the heck we're going, etc.).
5. The ability to stick to dive plan and not cowboying off just because something cool came up.
6. Not being a stick in the mud (i.e. PADI Police or DIR SWAT).
All jests aside, I'd like my buddy to:
1. Have decent basic skills (buoyancy control, good trim, good swim techniques) or at least willing to learn if doesn't have decent basic skills.
2. Be conscientious of the environment and ecology (don't poke, prod or wantonly kill marine lives by thoughtlessly scraping against rocks and reefs [see No. 1] - hunting legal game is different though).
3. Stick close to the leader of the team and just not wandering off.
4. Good situational awareness such as paying attention to gas consumption, depth, currents, water movements, where the heck we're going, etc.).
5. The ability to stick to dive plan and not cowboying off just because something cool came up.
6. Not being a stick in the mud (i.e. PADI Police or DIR SWAT).
Sas
Contributor
Depends... But in general:
-someone I don't have to communicate with often and when I do have to, that it is easy. I like to communicate as little as possible on dives so if someone is always in my face trying to talk it is annoying.
-someone who I don't need to constantly look around for, yet is not too close
-does not harass marine life
-has an air consumption close to mine, OR wears a big enough tank compared to mine that we don't have to end dives because they've burned through their air
-during the day, I don't care so much about buoyancy control as long as they don't silt, so they can flail around like mad if they want as long as it is off the bottom. At night (or basically, any dive where a torch is required) I want someone with good buoyancy control so their torch isn't so distracting
-they need to go REALLY REALLY slowly
-someone who is safe, doesn't push limits, doesn't run out of air, doesn't decide to add 20m to our max planned depth, etc.
Most of the people I dive with I have a great time with. Someone with whom I really connect with is rare... and those dives are the best. Just effortless.
-someone I don't have to communicate with often and when I do have to, that it is easy. I like to communicate as little as possible on dives so if someone is always in my face trying to talk it is annoying.
-someone who I don't need to constantly look around for, yet is not too close
-does not harass marine life
-has an air consumption close to mine, OR wears a big enough tank compared to mine that we don't have to end dives because they've burned through their air
-during the day, I don't care so much about buoyancy control as long as they don't silt, so they can flail around like mad if they want as long as it is off the bottom. At night (or basically, any dive where a torch is required) I want someone with good buoyancy control so their torch isn't so distracting
-they need to go REALLY REALLY slowly
-someone who is safe, doesn't push limits, doesn't run out of air, doesn't decide to add 20m to our max planned depth, etc.
Most of the people I dive with I have a great time with. Someone with whom I really connect with is rare... and those dives are the best. Just effortless.
Well, on a serious note, ensuring that I will have a good dive buddy experience on every dive is a big part of the reason I assimilated. I recently got reminded of that.
My favorite dive buddies just want to dive and enjoy being underwater. If they can do that, the rest usually takes care of itself. Stress and competition do not improve diving.
NE_Diver
Contributor
My dive "buddies" consist of whoever the captain teams me up with since I travel alone. All I want from my insta-friend is for him/her to stick close in case an emergency air problem creaps up. Fortunately I haven't had any air problems because most of them seem to be working on their buoyancy or something and I seldom see them during the dive. So I stick within finning range to any other diver who looks half way competent and might be able to get us back to the boat.
keithdiver
Contributor
Lots of answers from the experienced members...most of them encouraging to me since I consider myself in the league of enthusiastic newbies eager to learn...
However since you asked about experiences as well I have experienced buddies from both ends of the spectrum in my first two certified dives.
I was certified in Aruba and had completed my final checkout dive in the first of a 2 tank dive trip.
On the second dive (my first certified dive) my instructor paired me up with a guy whom he apparently knew pretty well (Ron from FL). He was a great buddy, both for a newbie and, based on what I've read here, in general. He checked out my gear and made sure I was ready before heading into the water, he stayed with me throughout the dive and even helped by pointing out things of interest. We dived on two wrecks...both of them had very simple and short swim-throughs. This guy helped me through the first one by helping me get trimmed out and pointing out that, with a tank and such on my back, I needed to be a bit lower than I was...he pointed this out by physically moving me down. When we got to the second (A plane that was intact but completely empty) and I declined to swim through as I didn't feel my buoyancy control was up to this one (a little longer swim through, uphill, and a bit less open at the entry and exits). Bottom line is he never left my side, was paying attention, and appeared to genuinely enjoy showing the new guy the ropes. When we got back in the boat he complimented me on how well I was doing and offered a few pointers on buoyancy and breathing ("you are certainly wired for SCUBA but need to work on..."). This will probably stand as one of the best dives I will ever have, all things considered.
The next dive I took was on the same boat but a different trip. This time I got paired up with a guy who clearly wanted nothing to do with the buddy system. He was wearing a rig that was different than any I had seen before and I asked him about it...specifically where was his back-up reg? The look he gave me was somewhere between "who is THIS idiot?" and, well, no that was it...the look was definitely "who IS this idiot?". It was the DM sitting next to him that actually answered...his octo was on his right hip or clipped to his waist belt or somewhere in that general vicinity...I actually don't remember in detail now.
Being absolutely green I was a bit intimidated by this reaction and left him alone, which is what he continued to do for me. When we jumped in the water I made an effort to get and stay near him but was pretty much ignored (still). I spent the entire dive following this a**hole around just off his six and pretty much doing nothing else.
To be honest that reaction had me thinking that the buddy system was like a lot of things in life that you get "trained" to do but everyone subsequently ignores in "real life", I felt silly for having even spoken to the guy.
FWIW my reading on this board has taught me that it was him, not me, on dive #2 and next time I will act accordingly to make sure I have an actual buddy.
However since you asked about experiences as well I have experienced buddies from both ends of the spectrum in my first two certified dives.
I was certified in Aruba and had completed my final checkout dive in the first of a 2 tank dive trip.
On the second dive (my first certified dive) my instructor paired me up with a guy whom he apparently knew pretty well (Ron from FL). He was a great buddy, both for a newbie and, based on what I've read here, in general. He checked out my gear and made sure I was ready before heading into the water, he stayed with me throughout the dive and even helped by pointing out things of interest. We dived on two wrecks...both of them had very simple and short swim-throughs. This guy helped me through the first one by helping me get trimmed out and pointing out that, with a tank and such on my back, I needed to be a bit lower than I was...he pointed this out by physically moving me down. When we got to the second (A plane that was intact but completely empty) and I declined to swim through as I didn't feel my buoyancy control was up to this one (a little longer swim through, uphill, and a bit less open at the entry and exits). Bottom line is he never left my side, was paying attention, and appeared to genuinely enjoy showing the new guy the ropes. When we got back in the boat he complimented me on how well I was doing and offered a few pointers on buoyancy and breathing ("you are certainly wired for SCUBA but need to work on..."). This will probably stand as one of the best dives I will ever have, all things considered.
The next dive I took was on the same boat but a different trip. This time I got paired up with a guy who clearly wanted nothing to do with the buddy system. He was wearing a rig that was different than any I had seen before and I asked him about it...specifically where was his back-up reg? The look he gave me was somewhere between "who is THIS idiot?" and, well, no that was it...the look was definitely "who IS this idiot?". It was the DM sitting next to him that actually answered...his octo was on his right hip or clipped to his waist belt or somewhere in that general vicinity...I actually don't remember in detail now.
Being absolutely green I was a bit intimidated by this reaction and left him alone, which is what he continued to do for me. When we jumped in the water I made an effort to get and stay near him but was pretty much ignored (still). I spent the entire dive following this a**hole around just off his six and pretty much doing nothing else.
To be honest that reaction had me thinking that the buddy system was like a lot of things in life that you get "trained" to do but everyone subsequently ignores in "real life", I felt silly for having even spoken to the guy.
FWIW my reading on this board has taught me that it was him, not me, on dive #2 and next time I will act accordingly to make sure I have an actual buddy.
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