Who's yer buddy?

[do it easy]

Here goes- Does anyone have any opinions about how often you should ok your buddy? I think it's redundant to ask if he's ok every few minutes or so, as long as the team sticks together. It's a different can of worms altogether if the team gets split up.

Here are some examples:
1) on a wall dive, we try to dive more or less side by side. If my buddy is slowing down or stops, then I stop and wait. I assume he'll signal me if he wants to turn the dive, thumb the dive, or whatever.
2) On a wreck or cave dive (single file), if I'm leading, I'll look back frequently to make sure my buddy is right behind me and his light is still moving in a normal fashion. If he has a problem, again, I assume he'll either stop or signal me. I prefer not to signal ok, as long as I my buddy is close and I can see that he is still moving. If he is falling behind or stopped, then I'll stop as well and look to see what is going on.

 

[detroit diver]

If you can see his/her light, and visa versa, you shouldn't have to "OK" each other very often. If however, something does'nt feel right, I wouldn't hesitate to do so.

Here goes- Does anyone have any opinions about how often you should ok your buddy? I think it's redundant to ask if he's ok every few minutes or so, as long as the team sticks together. It's a different can of worms altogether if the team gets split up.

Here are some examples:
1) on a wall dive, we try to dive more or less side by side. If my buddy is slowing down or stops, then I stop and wait. I assume he'll signal me if he wants to turn the dive, thumb the dive, or whatever.
2) On a wreck or cave dive (single file), if I'm leading, I'll look back frequently to make sure my buddy is right behind me and his light is still moving in a normal fashion. If he has a problem, again, I assume he'll either stop or signal me. I prefer not to signal ok, as long as I my buddy is close and I can see that he is still moving. If he is falling behind or stopped, then I'll stop as well and look to see what is going on.

 

[jnallen]

i'm sure with buddy team sport it depends on comfort levels. as a new dive team my wife and i were checking in with each other about every minute on our ow cert. however, i assume as we become more familiar with each other as a dive team and with the deep blue, we'll settle down.

my instructor said it best: i've been diving for over 30 yrs.... as long as my buddy and i are in the same ocean we're ok.

i may at least want to keep a vissual, but it'll be nice to calm it after awhile.

 

[jonnythan]

I tend to OK my buddy when we just start descending, when we reached our planned depth, then again only when there's a reason.

I'd be kind of upset if my buddy was behind me and simply stopped without any sort of signal at all. It's real easy with a light, just a slow back and forth says "look back for a second." I wouldn't signal OK.. I trust my buddy to let me know when they have an issue.

BTW, have you taken DIRF yet?

 

[detroit diver]

Remind me not to dive with your instructor.

i'm sure with buddy team sport it depends on comfort levels. as a new dive team my wife and i were checking in with each other about every minute on our ow cert. however, i assume as we become more familiar with each other as a dive team and with the deep blue, we'll settle down.

my instructor said it best: i've been diving for over 30 yrs.... as long as my buddy and i are in the same ocean we're ok.

i may at least want to keep a vissual, but it'll be nice to calm it after awhile.

 

[jnallen]

I tend to OK my buddy when we just start descending, when we reached our planned depth, then again only when there's a reason.

I'd be kind of upset if my buddy was behind me and simply stopped without any sort of signal at all. It's real easy with a light, just a slow back and forth says "look back for a second." I wouldn't signal OK.. I trust my buddy to let me know when they have an issue.

BTW, have you taken DIRF yet?

what is DIRF?

 

[jonnythan]

i'm sure with buddy team sport it depends on comfort levels. as a new dive team my wife and i were checking in with each other about every minute on our ow cert. however, i assume as we become more familiar with each other as a dive team and with the deep blue, we'll settle down.

my instructor said it best: i've been diving for over 30 yrs.... as long as my buddy and i are in the same ocean we're ok.

i may at least want to keep a vissual, but it'll be nice to calm it after awhile.

I think that what the instructor said is very crappy, and unfortunately it sounds like his buddy neglect has [not surprisingly] rubbed off on you.

Try to pay *more* attention to your buddy. If you don't know exactly where your buddy is, or you don't feel confident that your buddy can have a regulator in your face within 3 seconds of you losing air, something is wrong.

Of course, this doesn't mean hold hands or ask OK every minute, but it does mean try to swim shoulder to shoulder, keey a watchful eye on each other, and never put yourself in a position where your buddy cannot get your full attention *immediately*.

 

[jonnythan]

what is DIRF?

This is the DIR forum. DIR stands for Doing It Right and refers to a fairly specific method of diving that involves proper gear selection, highly practiced buddy skills, good trim, buoyancy, etc. It's basically what you get when you make an honest attempt to perfect everything you wear and do while underwater. It's equally applicable to rec diving as well as tech diving - I'm very much a novice rec diver (less than 100 dives), but the DIR system has had an enormous impact on my diving safety and enjoyment.

As such, this forum is dedicated to that style of diving. DIRF is the DIr Fundamentals class taught by GUE - Global Underwater Explorers, a training agency.

See http://www.scubaboard.com/t44823-what_is_dir.html for more information.

 

[jnallen]

I think that what the instructor said is very crappy, and unfortunately it sounds like his buddy neglect has [not surprisingly] rubbed off on you.

Try to pay *more* attention to your buddy. If you don't know exactly where your buddy is, or you don't feel confident that your buddy can have a regulator in your face within 3 seconds of you losing air, something is wrong.

Of course, this doesn't mean hold hands or ask OK every minute, but it does mean try to swim shoulder to shoulder, keey a watchful eye on each other, and never put yourself in a position where your buddy cannot get your full attention *immediately*.

your right of course. i'm going to stay close to my buddy (that being wife). we've talked about it a lot and decided that there is no reason to be more than an arm length away. how else can you get the other's attention and share the experience. but, the point that i was trying to make is that for beginners like myself, i will only feel confident and secure if i'm doing a buddy check every couple of minutes. it'll be nice, though, to get to a point when you can anticipate your own/buddies capabilities.

as far at the instructor was concerned he was exagerating, making the point that the more you dive the more you anticipate and can handle. i will give him credit because during the class (which was 4 newbies, 1 divemaster, 1 wannabe divemaster, and 1 wannabe instructor) he was attending to all of us. i don't know how he did it but he was always right behind me watching over my shoulder. my wife says the same thing.

 

[Derek S]

what is DIRF?

There's your answer right there Jon.