Posted by MHK on November 17, 2000 at 09:33:49:
In Reply to: Buddy diving: an opinionated opinion posted by AADIVER on November 16, 2000 at 23:57:00:
Frank and Mike,
I would add a few points in favor of the buddy system.. When we train ( JW, Terry, Kendall and Troy) part of our training as a team is to continually work on team techniques.. I have no doubt that anyone of these guys on my team could handle themselves if they found themself solo, in fact most of us all subscribed to the solo diving school for years.. We have come to find over the years that even the most experienced diver's can find something that happens that they can't handle and most of those diver's wound up dead.. Part of the benefit of staying within a group of diver's that share your philosophy is the process of mentoring and bringing people into the fold and your mindset.. All of us welcome new diver's ( and by new we mean experienced and newbies alike, but new to a fresh mindset ).. So part of the learning process is gaining team skills..
It is not uncommon for me to pull an OOA drill on anyone of my team memebers at anytime.. I usually wait until it's the most inopportune time.. But we have all done it to each other so often that should we ever actually be OOA the donor will be so relaxed and calm that the situation will defuse quickly without panic..
Gaining a comfort level with your team is very important, understanding light signals, getting used to each other's RMV's, comfort levels in OE's, in currents, in surge all of the factor's go into developing a strong team.. But it is very important to note that each team memeber MUST be self-sufficent.. We are not recommending that a weak diver compensate for lack of skills by relying on his/her team. We are saying that weaker diver's should gain the skills necessary by practicing with more experienced diver's in shallow waters. And it is very important that the more experienced buddy be honest in his ctritic of his buddies progression.. If the new diver needs work on bouyancy he should be told that, if he is using too much gas that needs to be reviewed in terms of physical fitness, trim and drag, practice and the like..
I'm not sure I understand Frank's point respecting that a new diver will not have the buddy when it is most needed.. Frank perhaps you can expand that analysis so we can discuss it because I'm unclear as to your meaning...
Later