When to Ditch your Buddy

[Uncle Pug]

A debate is raging on another forum.... that always has raging debates....

When do you ditch your buddy to save your own skin???

There are permutations of the argument that include diving with cicrumstantial buddies as opposed to buddies of relationship (wife, son, daughter, ect.) as well as the stranger below in trouble.

When would you ditch your buddy???
Seems like a good question to answer ahead of time to me....

Let me start:
Never.

But with this provisio:
I won't dive beyond my buddies known ability.

Thus this caveat:
"Know thy Buddy."

 

[Lost Yooper]

Given the buddy/diving system that we use, I can't hardly imagine a scenario that would involve me leaving my buddy. Something totally unpredictable would have to occur, I suppose (total wreck/cave collapse or something similary dire). There are risks involved in the type of diving we do, and we have accepted that we may very well die due to circumstances that may be out of our control. Dying during a dive, and being left by a buddy are two different things, I guess.

Ugly subject, eh?

Mike

 

[BadFish]

Well, we plan our dive and we dive our plan. Very simple, you stick to it and everyone comes home ok. Now mind you things can happen that are unexcepted, thats when comuication comes into play.

 

[Bob]

I believe it was King Neptune( I'm not sure) that told of the rescue of a buddy he was diving with who had become trapped underwater. KN never left or gave up. To me it's an inspiring story of how to buddy dive. KN you listening? Maybe you could give us a link to your original post about this incident?

PUG: I agree with you. Know you partners ability and stay within those limits. I honestly think that most people on this board would at the VERY LEAST risk his/her life for a buddy. :tree:Bob

 

[BadFish]

In buddy diving you also have to keep in mind that ANY buddy can call the dive at anytime, and when it is called then its done for EVERYONE. Then EVERYONE returns as a team as well.
No one gets left behind. Not with me.

 

[Rick Murchison]

There is a time to ditch a buddy. That time is when failure to do so will result in two instead of one fatality.
Rick

 

[martinjc]

I second Rick's post!

 

[The Chairman]

You see, Iguana Don and I walked into this restaurant together, and I just couldn't take anymore! I asked for seperate tables right then and there!

All kidding aside. The BEST place to ditch your buddy is on the boat. Thats right, as Uncle Pug said "Know your buddy". You should take that to heart! I will not dive with "cowboys" (nothing personal Texas Mike) who are on an endorphine high when they hit the suds. Solo diving is far preferable to that! (did I inadvertantly open another can of worms here???) I will find out where their heads are at and come to an understanding before I take the plunge. If I don't like what I see or hear, I abort the dive citing "buddy-itis". The best defense is a good offense... don't let yourself get caught with a buddy that could cost you your life.

That bridge being crossed, however, I am not sure that there is much to seperate me from my buddy once my head is below water. I made a commitment to them, and I will fulfill my commitment to the best of my ability. If they choose to leave me and venture into areas they should not, then all bets are off. I will not dive into areas that I should stay out of. My kids need me more than that.

 

[tchil01]

Not having been there yet, I would agree that if something happened and I couldn't safely rescue my Buddy and stay alive myself, then I would leave them... but it would be to go get more help...

Now if I was diving with someone who was was doing stupid things either beyond my ability or just being a jerk, then I consider that they ditched me and the dive plan and they are on their own.

Ty

 

[blacknet]

Hello,

The interesting point to the debate topic is both sides say practically the same thing. One one side you have the group that tends to disregard the safety factors and the other side notes them.

After palmer died I started asking allots of divers the interesting question "how far would YOU go to save your buddy?" The answers was naturally various but troubling. Most divers stated they would not do the above and beyond or give the 200%

Legally you can ditch your buddy when your life is in danger, or so I’m told. I think personally I would reluctantly ditch my buddy only if I knew 200% that I would die OR if I knew he/she was already dead. There's no point in multiple fatalities when one could be avoided.

The debate question should not be when to ditch your buddy but how to avoid the situation(s) that require you to ditch them.

Ed