Buddying

[colinpjenkins2]

Not wishing to stir up a hornets nest but how do you do it?
Typically in warm water diving along a reef. The ideal would be side by side, but the intside buddy gets a restricted view. Ok if you turn round at 100 Bar and come back then yes you should then be on the inside, but what about a drift dive or off a RIB? Do you change at a set time or what?
Yes one of my pet hates is to find my buddy above and behind me. You can never find them but they have a good view of you if you are in trouble, and can provide rapid assistance, but god help them if they have a problem unless you have wing mirrors fitted.  Well how?

[ahar]

Haven't done much warm water diving so I can't say.  In the UK generally my preferred position is back and to the side, within grabbing distance, so that my head is level with their knee.  I can see if they're in trouble and if I'm in trouble I can grab their fins or leg

[Andy the Coastie]

<font color='#0000FF'>Buddy............ whats one of them ?


dive solo,dive safe

[Narked@50]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Andy the Commie 2 @ Feb. 26 2004,21:40)]dive solo,dive safe

Not exactly best practise but each to their own? (Dont' even think about it if your new!!)

I think it depends on how confidant/comfortable each diver is with the situation, you should respect each others feelings on this one. I am quite happy to be a few meters apart but this changes depending on buddy and conditions, lower the vis and the experiance of the buddy and I would want them close.

James &nbsp;

[Paul Oliver]

Next to me, level with me.

So we can see each others eyes, can tap each other, and so we only have to move our heads a little bit to see each other.

Same depth so we have the same profile.

I hate buddies Behind or above me. Behind is necessary sometimes but then catch up, nothing worse than constantly worrying about putting a fin in their face.

Above you can never see them, above and behind is a &nbsp;total nightmare.

A good position just makes the dive so much better and enjoyable for both, which also helps consumption rate a lot.

Dive Safe

Paul

[Jules]

side by side definately... so that you can just glance across and see they are ok. My darling son always tries to dive in my blind spot and love watching me turn somersaults trying to see where &nbsp;the hell he is. funny for him but a pain in the butt for moi.

My fave buddy used to always be exactly where i thought he was, well within viz and just a glance away so we could both if each other had seen something really good.

[torbaydiver]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (colinpjenkins @ Feb. 26 2004,14:13)]Typically in warm water diving along a reef. The ideal would be side by side, but the intside buddy gets a restricted view. Ok if you turn round at 100 Bar and come back then yes you should then be on the inside, but what about a drift dive or off a RIB? Do you change at a set time or what?

On a recent trip to Sharm I was faced with the same problem my buddy for that dive wanted to stay side-by-side and said pre- dive that he would always be on my left side(an experienced diver) but when we descended the reef was on the left with nothing to see on the right, and I certainly wasn't going to waste half of the dive just because of his insecurities so I did my own thing but also kept a watchful eye on him. When we ascended he had a go at me, but hey I didn't travel all the way to Egypt to see nothing!
I think in warm waters where the visibility is usually very good it is not so important to stay so close to your buddy. &nbsp;
Although I am a little biased and enjoy frequent solo diving and I really hate buddy lines!
Personally I think buddies are necessary for less experienced diver's, wreck penetration , unfamiliar diving and deep diving.

[daz]

Well it is one of my pet hates.

In general I prefer side by side.

However there are a select few buddies where we would both agree, &quot;Somewhere in the same ocean&quot; &nbsp;

Sorry I know it's not the done thing but hey, you asked, I answered, it's late and I've got my asbestos pants on.

Daz

[DiveBuddy2]

<font color='#000080'>I prefer side by side too, share the experience.

[Mark Davies]

<font color='#000080'>This can be a source of massive irritation for me! I like to have my buddy within my periferal vision all the time and every time I dive with someone new I tell them to dive alongside me on my right hand side and level with me.

Yet time and again I find that buddy just behind me. Great for them - they've got me in full view all the time! But my dive is ruined because I see nothing because I'm constantly looking behind me all the time to check that my buddy is still there and okay. So I stop and signal them to catch up, which they do, and then I set off again and they lag behind!

Look, it's not hard! &nbsp;

My best dives are with my oldest buddy, Alison. She's great. She sticks with me like glue - I always know exactly where she is and never have to look for her. I always enjoy my dives with her.

So, if any of you are buddied with me in the future, you know where you need to be!