What to do if you lose your buddy on a deep dive???

[riguerin]

Of course, the best solution would be to not let this happen in the first place. If it does, then you should calmly follow the separation protocol that you and your buddy agreed upon in your pre-dive plan.

While technically not required for no decompression dives, it is highly recommend that you do a 3 minute safety stop on any dive below 90fsw or within 3 pressure groups of an NDL. As others have stated, you should always consider your own safety first. I think the actual decision to make the stop or not would depend on the exact circumstances ... how competent is your buddy in a solo situation, do you have actual cause to believe this a real dive emergency, are you diving in adverse conditions that might warrant special concern. Always remember to: Stop ... Think ... then Act.

 

[johnny_bravo]

My 0.02 worth:

Another thing to consider if this is one of my regular dive buddies that has gone missing or just an "insta-buddy".

With one of my regular buddies I would be more confident of their skills and not assume the worst. I would also have a pre-arranged protocol with them on how long to search, bang the tank a certain number of times if looking for him/her, etc. Also I would prob search a little longer for a regular buddy if determining they are lost and in trouble.

One of my regular buddies is a notorious wanderer but he's a very good diver so I wouldn't be so paranoid right off the bat if he wasn't right beside me.

With an insta-buddy If i'm not aware of their skills i might be more inclined to look for a minute and then surface.

Of course the safety stop depends on a lot including how long I've been down, etc.

Cheers.

-J.-

 

[Thalassamania]

First to the question at hand: Follow your agreed to protocol, which may (or may not) include non-mandatory safety stops. Our protocol is to begin an ascent immediately, up ten feet and then slowly scan for bubbles for a minute, then up to half the depth of the dive (OK, that’s a deep stop) for three minutes scanning for bubbles. Then surface making only those mandatory stops required by for decompression. But then … that’s our agreement! What’s your agreement? Don’t have one? Think about making one … right now!

Being clipped to your buddy is a Bad Idea. If your buddy starts rocketing towards the surface, you don't want to go along for the ride. This is also why you don't want to be clipped to any kind of movable buoy. Boaters have been known to come by and grab dive floats and SMBs.

Also, if you're in an ecologically fragile area, the line can cause a lot of damage.

Being clipped to your buddy (or anything that could drag you up, down or sideways) can be a very bad idea, but if you're worried about your buddy "rocketing towards the surface," perhaps you should find another buddy. There are times when a buddy line is usefull, as noted any attachment to a line can present a hazard, especially so if one uses a knot or the 1" stainless snap bolts that so many divers are taken with for attaching gear (I prefer a trigger snap - perhaps someone can tell me why they prefer a snap bolt).

When I need to be joined by a line my approach is for each diver to use a short lanyard that ends in a shackle that can be released when under load (a major problem with the snap bolt or trigger snap in this application). I suggest a spinnaker shackle (this picture is brass, they’re also available in stainless and titanium) that is spliced onto a line with an eye splice at the near end for either going over the wrist or being secured to the harness.

A pull tab of the diver’s choice, appropriate to the gloves worn, is secured to the pin-release ring. The buddy line itself is a short piece of floating line, perhaps two meters, that has a ring spliced at either end, again it may be brass, stainless or titanium. Each diver clips his or her shackle to one of the two rings. We use similar systems for securing to a float or a blue water diving rig.

In ecologically sensitive areas we make sure that we use a floating line or even attach a small net float to the middle to keep it off the substrate.

 

[minnesota01r6]

My solution to this problem is very simple - I either hold hands with my buddy (my fiancee is my buddy) or else we designate one person as the "lead buddy" and one as the follower. The lead buddy is responsible for checking on the status of the follower every minute or so, but the follower buddy is AT ALL TIMES required to be 3-5 feet above and to the side of the lead buddy - in constant visual contact. This greatly reduces the risk of loosing contact because the following buddy divides their attention between the marine life and their buddy. This arraingment helps with gas management as well, because if one buddy has used more air, they will then be the follower buddy, and swim a shallower profile thereby using less air.

If we decide to break out the underwater camera, the photographer is always the lead buddy, because photography takes up way too much attention to be primarily in charge of buddy contact. We alternate who is lead buddy so that we both get to do our fair share of exploration and close-up investigation. It can be rather annoying to babysit a photographer, but safety should never take a back seat to enjoyment of the dive.

 

[mrjimboalaska]

My Safety Rule about this is very simple "Stay Together as a Group! Don't Get Separated in the First Place!!! Particularly important when it comes to deep diving for all the reasons we're discussing here. If you can't seem to follow this very basic, simple rule, you have no business diving unless you plan on going solo (also not recommended, but....). A lost buddy is no good to anyone and when it turns out to be carelessness that causes the separation it puts divers in some pretty uncomfortable and many times dangerous situations. If it's a really low visibility situation, be extra cautious to avoid separation or abort the dive. Recreational Diving is supposed to be FUN!

Doug said it best, deep diving requires you to stay together, VblueV and I stay tight deep, athough we tend to wander shallow......jim

 

[Nova SS]

SIMPLE, get another dive buddy, there cheap . Its not like you lost your flashlight or something.

ITS A JOKE !

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I say follow the agreed upon plan. One obvious thing not mentioned is that when you loose your buddy, you need to immediately begin making noise. The other diver might have his head under a ledge getting a lobster or stopped to take a macro shot and might not even be aware that the "search and time clock has been initiated".

My primary means of communication with a good buddy is to simply scream underwater. It can travel a ways. If that doesn't work, then begin banging on the tank. If the lost diver is out of visual range but can hear the banging and responds with a tank bang, then you KNOW that you do not want to be going up to re-establish the buddy team.

 

[jeckyll]

I think that you should do whatever you agreed to before the dive. I don't think it matters what that is.

...

+1

We dive in some not so stellar viz and always discuss up front what the separation procedure is. Last time out it was about 5 feet above 60' (our plan was to check out some sponges between 95 & 110 fsw). We agreed to search for 1 minute and then meet at the surface observing stops should we get seperated.

As well though, we try to shine our lights in the direction of last contact (hopefully even in poor viz this will help). Seperation is a real possibility in those conditions and the light use has helped in the past even in daytime dives

 

[IwakuniDiver]

Since the visibility of my local waters usually hovers around 8 feet on "good days", my buddies and I follow the rules to the letter.

If we are separated, we look for about a minute, then make any necessary stops along the way (we will eliminate the safety stop on a case, by case basis), and regroup on the surface.

Depending on how long we were down, and what caused the separation, will decide on whether to continue the dive or not.

 

[Cacia]

well, true to form, I got "seperated" once again today. Now, usually I don't mind in 150 ft viz, but today the viz was suboptimal and I could not see the wreck, the divers, or the boat. Creepy. I was in a tad of deco from the 125 ft dive (Sea Tiger) I cannot tell you how much better that marker makes me feel! Just the act of shooting it up, focusing on the task, handling the spool, knowing someone probably sees it on the surface....it is such a comforting feeling to have a routine, a task, etc. I was nervous for no reason, I am not afraid of sharks when I can see them swimming by. Put me in low viz, alone, on a stop, waiting and watching the clock and I become convinced I am going to get hit. Really nutty. But today I realized even the pressure of the bouancy from the sausage...that reassuring "tug" when you hang a bit on the line, well it makes me feel so much better to be connected to the surface in some way, even from 30-40 ft.