Why I won't dive with you.

[dherbman]

I do a lot of solo for now. I'd love to have a buddy or group that I can dive with, but I take it where I can get it while I work on building a team. It's a superior way to dive for many reasons over solo.

 

[Cacia]

Murphey's law is what I strive to avoid. Never put yourself in Murphey's hands. Look..certain things can happen but short of a giant Great White engulfing you, it is a pretty finite set of problems.

factor in the highest probable risks,
have a plan and go for it. The problem is what Nemrod refers to as "team think" If you dive in a team, always leave a way out, that you can handle alone. Do not ever dilute your decision process.

JB told me today "don't fall in love with the plan". You can plan to the point where you get over invested.

 

[Diver Dennis]

You know herb, I would dive with buddies if I had them too. Well, in a group at least. I would have a new buddy almost everyday if I didn't solo right now. It's fun to dive with friends and I'm certainly not knocking having a regular buddy to dive with.

 

[grazie42]

I do have a regular buddy that I´ve done most of my last 200 dives with (including deep wreckdives) but I still feel the need to solo sometimes...

Doesen´t matter if it´s to take pics or to just hover alone underwater, has nothing to do with my buddy and everything to do with me, I accept the possible consequences of that decision...

I´ll dive with most everyone once, but sometimes I just want to be alone...

 

[Thalassamania]

I had not really thought about it but I guess I've rally been spoiled when it comes to buddies. I've always had buddies who dove exactly the way I was trained to dive (or as I trained them to). I think I suddenly understand one of the major attractions of DIR for a lot of people: predictable buddies that behave the way in which you want/expect.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I had not really thought about it but I guess I've rally been spoiled when it comes to buddies. I've always had buddies who dove exactly the way I was trained to dive (or as I trained them to). I think I suddenly understand one of the major attractions of DIR for a lot of people: predictable buddies that behave the way in which you want/expect.

Exactly so ... and that accounts for the difference in many perspectives when it comes to the solo vs team debate.

Team diving is all about predictable behavior ... knowing what to expect (and getting it) from the people you are diving with. It usually comes from either similar training or long experience diving together.

Those who choose to solo dive because they believe it's inherently safer than buddy diving are usually people who have not had regular dive buddies, and therefore have experienced dive buddies who's behavior was not predictable and/or not trustable.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[mikerault]

I won't dive with anyone using a personal underwater audio device. It is difficult enough getting your buddies attention at times, but if they are grooving to the tunes they aren't listening for your signal.

Mike

 

[Thalassamania]

So the ancillary question becomes how do I find/train/create the kind of buddy that I want to dive with? That answer is easy for DIR divers and research types, but what about everyone else (most of the divers in the world).

The more I think about it the more I can see the need for a "buddy diving" or (even better, as Bob would have it) a "team diving" specialy course that would address this problem.

Do you think that we could work up a consensus, non-agency specific standard here that any instructor could use for their own specialty course?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

So the ancillary question becomes how do I find/train/create the kind of buddy that I want to dive with? That answer is easy for DIR divers and research types, but what about everyone else (most of the divers in the world).

The more I think about it the more I can see the need for a "buddy diving" or (even better, as Bob would have it) a "team diving" specialy course that would address this problem.

Do you think that we could work up a consensus, non-agency specific standard here that any instructor could use for their own specialty course?

It doesn't have to be DIR ... in fact, it's as much about your mental approach to diving as it is any specific philosophy or training.

FWIW, one of the best dive buddies I have is a standard recreational diver who dives a jacket style BCD, split fins and a pony bottle. About the only "DIR-like" piece of gear he uses is a long-hose configuration. He's never taken a DIR class, and has no interest in doing so. But he's very good at maintaining an awareness of what's going on around him, and has a "we" attitude (as opposed to an "I" attitude) about diving. That's mainly what it takes.

I devote an entire section in my AOW materials to what it takes to be a good dive buddy. It's a work in progress, and to be honest the real value is the interactive discussion it generates in the classroom ... but it does get my students thinking about the fact that it takes more to be a dive buddy than simply being in the same general vicinity at the same general time.

The short answer to your ancillary question is ... "communication". Discuss the expectation, develop the protocols, and then practice them as part of your dive plan. It's not that difficult, as long as you're both on the same mental page with respect to what each expects from the other.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Rick Inman]

I just read Rick's list and see that I am not suitable on two counts.
I still like Rick!--it's okay, that is his code.

Impossible! Which two?????