Buddy Diving done well

[divingniknaks]

Originally Posted by spunkmire

Does any know of any good solo diving courses?
(prefereably not GUE ones- no offence)

I would think it's safe to say that Satan will be able to skate to work before GUE do a solo diving course mate.

.

[Bardo]

Originally Posted by spunkmire

oops, i don't think any of the above qualities applies to me
Particularly the bit about staying with the buddy!

Does any know of any good solo diving courses?
(prefereably not GUE ones- no offence)

I believe SDI offer one...

Solo Scuba Diving

[Mark Powell]

I dont want to turn this into a solo diving/buddy diving debate.

But, my view is that the skills needed to be a good solo diver are very simillar to those needed to be a good buddy diver.

Bob mentioned situational awareness as key to buddy diving, I agree with him but it's also key to solo diving.

[Mark Powell]

Originally Posted by Bardo

I believe SDI offer one...

Solo Scuba Diving

That's right they do. Although SDI are trying to emphasise it as a self sufficiency course rather than a solo diving course. As such doing this course will actually make you a better buddy!

I don't advertise it, but I also teach this course - to promote self sufficiency rather than to give people a ticket to dive solo.

[Mark Chase]

Originally Posted by divingniknaks

I would think it's safe to say that Satan will be able to skate to work before GUE do a solo diving course mate.

.

You obviously havent read JJ's books. Hes not that bothered about Solo diving.


ATB

Mark Chase

[And]

Originally Posted by Janos

Underwater, I think that too many people view buddying as being there for your buddy in case they have a problem. I think good buddying should be more than that. It should be about helping prevent problems before they happen.

I hate the word, but I can't avoid it: It's about being "Proactive".

Other agencies do talk about this (cf the BSAC Incident Pit) but I don't think other agencies put quite the same emphasis on it as GUE do.

I agree, and my response is that the emphasis on skills and equipment management produces the desired result. If you can invest in tasks which result in 'muscle memory' then you have more awareness on the dive. One GUE instructor (Tyler) stated that in his view you have 10 braincells available during the dive. If 5 of those braincells are working on basic bouyancy, 3 on equipment, and 2 on your buddy, then you are all used up. If all of a sudden you need an extra 2 braincells due to equipment problems, then either your bouyancy goes tits up, or your monitoring of the buddy ceases. If you can reduce the number of braincells required for basic bouyancy and equipment, then you have spare braincells for handling problems and watching buddies. Its quite a good analogy really, and I use it a lot when discussing awareness with people. You could say the same with new car drivers for example, before changing gear and signalling become almost automatic, the road awareness is shite.

The exercises or scenarios you perform on a GUE course, encourage you to be more aware of your buddies, and yes, I believe this is slightly different to some other agencies. Losing a mask for example, results in a need to rescue or guide that diver to the exit or surface, whereas with other agencies it may just mean you need to get your spare mask out and put it on, with less emphasis on buddies, but more on 'self-sufficiency'. As you state, resolving issues early is also important in buddying. Another GUE instructor (AndyK) simply stated it as 'sorting your shit out'. It is better to sort an issue before it becomes a problem, sort a problem before it becomes a nightmare. The trick is in spotting the issues, as some of them are not very noticeable, unless you are looking for them, and this emphasis on skills and standard equipment creates a nice platform to do this.

Andy

[grazie42]

This may be a bit semantic and picky but I think that buddy diving done well is to abide by the level of commitment the buddies have agreed to before the dive. That agreement may range from "I´ll salvage your gear if I find your body after we noticed that you didn´t surface" to "team".

For me the preffered way to buddy-dive is being part of a "team" or to "buddy-dive well", which to me, means commiting yourself to attaining/keeping a skill-level that enables you to be self-sufficient as well capable to help your buddy should he need it. It also means paying attention to your buddy and actively communicating (being proactive) during the dive to avoid, minimize and solve problems before they become life-threatening...

Having said all that, there are quite a few situations where to dive at all, the "best/safest" kind of buddy-diving, is the kind where the only person you´re responsible for is yourself. I am somewhat hessitant to call it buddy diving but I think it´s commonly referred to as "same ocean buddies"...

[Mark Powell]

Interesting, I agree with everything you said but just put it together in a different order.

Originally Posted by And

I agree, and my response is that the emphasis on skills and equipment management produces the desired result. If you can invest in tasks which result in 'muscle memory' then you have more awareness on the dive. One GUE instructor (Tyler) stated that in his view you have 10 braincells available during the dive. If 5 of those braincells are working on basic bouyancy, 3 on equipment, and 2 on your buddy, then you are all used up. If all of a sudden you need an extra 2 braincells due to equipment problems, then either your bouyancy goes tits up, or your monitoring of the buddy ceases. If you can reduce the number of braincells required for basic bouyancy and equipment, then you have spare braincells for handling problems and watching buddies. Its quite a good analogy really, and I use it a lot when discussing awareness with people. You could say the same with new car drivers for example, before changing gear and signalling become almost automatic, the road awareness is shite.

I would describe reducing the number of braincells you need to use up monitoring your own bouyancy, position and equipment as being essential to being self sufficient. This then leaves you with more spare braincells to keep an eye on your buddy.

Originally Posted by and

As you state, resolving issues early is also important in buddying. Another GUE instructor (AndyK) simply stated it as 'sorting your shit out'. It is better to sort an issue before it becomes a problem, sort a problem before it becomes a nightmare. The trick is in spotting the issues, as some of them are not very noticeable, unless you are looking for them, and this emphasis on skills and standard equipment creates a nice platform to do this.

Again having you 'shit sorted' is essential to being self sufficient.

This is why I don't think being self sufficient in anyway stops you from being a good buddy. In fact I think that two (or more) self sufficient divers who have got their 'shit sorted' and have several spare braincells on the other diver make a good buddy pair (team).

[And]

Originally Posted by Mark Powell

This is why I don't think being self sufficient in anyway stops you from being a good buddy. In fact I think that two (or more) self sufficient divers who have got their 'shit sorted' and have several spare braincells on the other diver make a good buddy pair (team).

Agreed, and sometimes I think it is a case of confusing what we (you and I) are defining as self sufficiency with what others seem sometimes to practice which is actually solo diving with others. This can effectively mask deficiencies as in these cases the so called 'self sufficient' diver is actually so engrossed with their own bouyancy and equipment management that they are incapable of helping anyone else and therefore avoid circumstances where this might arise.

Being really self sufficient works hand in hand with good buddy skills IMHO. In fact I don't think it is possible to be a good buddy without a high level of self sufficiency.

Andy

[neilh]

Originally Posted by Mark Powell

This is why I don't think being self sufficient in anyway stops you from being a good buddy. In fact I think that two (or more) self sufficient divers who have got their 'shit sorted' and have several spare braincells on the other diver make a good buddy pair (team).

I'd go along with that as being self sufficient implies that you have a level of confidence in your own skills and equipment. I think where it breaks down is where the self sufficient diver is actually self oriented and is lacking the awareness in anything other than themselves.

However self oriented is not related to self sufficiency or solo diving in any way, it's an individual trait. (I've dived with a few self oriented buddies as well )