Posted by seahunt on September 05, 2000 at 16:22:00:
Buddy Diving
A major consideration of any diver is their safety procedures.
Being underwater presents an inherent danger in that humans cannot
breathe water. There are a number of standard procedures that have
been developed over time to mitigate this hazard. One of the main
systems used is the buddy system. Here are some thoughts on this
system in the real world.
The buddy system was developed by the Navy and adopted by
pretty much all of the certification agencies. The idea is that
if one diver has a problem, the other one can help them out. In
theory, it is a great system. In practice, there can be problems.
A diver should be aware of these. It will be assumed that all
divers understand a signal that it is time to ascend, but past
that, assumptions can be chancy. It was a system adopted for use
by experienced divers.
Really, buddy diving considerations almost all relate to
communication or the ability of the buddy to act on that
communication. Are you diving with familiar buddies or diving
with unfamiliar buddies? How well can your buddy understand
you? How will communication be effected by things such as
visibility or currents? How will your buddy react to your
messages that they do understand. Can they help you? If you could
just yell over at your buddy and be understood, like on land,
things would be much different.
Always when discussing buddy diving, the points made by Scott
Meir in his book 'Solo Diving', should be kept in mind. If your
buddy cannot help you at any time, you are solo diving and it is
important for you to know when that is the case. While this is a
common situation for an instructor with students, it is also
common for divers with less experience.
The most important thing with a buddy, is communication,
especially before the dive.
If this is a person that you regularly dive with, you still
should discuss the dive plan some before going down, even if the
plan is to make up the plan on the bottom. If for no other reason,
divers should talk before a dive just to get synchronized with each
other. You should know who will lead, if there is a leader.
Truthfully, two experienced divers show the basic weakness of the
buddy system. If neither diver is the leader and it is just two
divers traveling together, depending on visibility, it can be
extremely hard to stay together for a whole dive. Divers dive to go
sight seeing. If one is not tasked with watching the other fairly
constantly, somebody is going to zig when the other zags. Then it
becomes a question of getting back together again. That is another
part of the dive that should be discussed before going down.
If this is a person that you haven't dived with before, it
presents a different problem. Certain things must be discussed
ahead of time. You should have some idea of the other persons
experience level. Take what they say with a grain of salt. They
may not be as experienced as they claim. Make a dive plan if you
can. Agree on basic signals like out of air. If a diver points
at another divers console, it should be understood that they
want to know how much air the other diver has left. You should
decide what pressure, time or other factor determines the end of
the dive. You may well want to make agreements about who will lead
and when. You should discuss what you will do if you get separated.
Buddy diving with a stranger can work well, or it can be a
nightmare.
If you plan to hunt or photograph together, it will require
more of an understanding above water and more communication below.
If at all possible, know the limitations of your buddy.
I have frequently taken down divers who were extremely
inexperienced. A system that worked very well was for us to have
a basic pre-dive discussion about dive plan and some very basic
signals. Then I tell the person that they should go where they
want, following the dive plan, and that I will always be just a
bit behind them on one side. I always stay on the same side and
whenever the diver looks back, I point where I think they should
go. This can give a very new diver a great deal of comfort and
confidence. On a couple of boats, it was known that I was willing
to do this with very new divers. Consequently I had the fun of
helping out some very inexperienced divers and even a few that
probably should not have been diving.
On a few occasions, I have ended up with a buddy that, due
to inexperience or just plain cussedness, has decided to do
something stupid. I can't tell you what to do with them. I've
screamed at them. I've tried to lead them in a different
direction. Whatever. Nothing tended to work once they had made up
their mind to do what they wanted. Usually this has been due to
inexperience, so I have tended to follow the person, but at a
certain point of danger, I think I would have to signal the
person that I was leaving and just go.
The main purpose of diving with a buddy is so that a diver
with a problem can get some help. Make no assumptions about the
actions of a diver with a problem. Assume that if another diver
needs air, regardless of their experience, they are likely to rip
your regulator right out of your mouth. Do not be surprised or
get excited. That will not calm the other diver. Just deal with
the problem and start breathing on your octopus if you have one.
Relax.
Generally, if there is ANY problem underwater, start heading
up immediately. Don't check gauges. Don't worry about DCS. Either
you are too shallow for DCS or you can head up to at least half
your starting depth before even thinking about it. In the mean
time head up so that you are using air slower and you can pause
to consider what you have to do to get the rest of the way to the
surface.
Now the system I was taught for buddy breathing seems very
good for a couple of reasons. Perhaps it has been superseded and
certainly octopusses change this. but it still illustrates some
good considerations for an out of air or other emergency system.
It was based on that both buddies have responsibilities. If they
keep that in mind, neither is likely to panic or do something
stupid. This older method assumed that each diver had only one
regulator that they would have to share. The method was that the
out of air diver would grab the tank strap of the other diver and
signal that they needed air. The diver with air would offer their
regulator, but NEVER let go of it. By this method, both divers
were responsible for the others safety. While there are other
methods and perhaps better ones, a method like this tells each
diver that the other is in control and that is more important
than any particular technique.
Buddy diving is a fairly good method of diving and a buddy can
be fun. Divers that buddy together should communicate above water to
understand at least basic signals and basic expectations. A lot of
the quality and safety of the buddy system underwater will be based
on the divers ability to communicate and that must be planned before
entering the water.
Enjoy the diving, seahunt