team diving skills

[DRE]

It seemed from the replies I got to the YBOD death and buddy skills that maybe a discussion about team diving skills might be in order.
I believe that proper team diving is one of the most fundamental aspects of diving, and that it greatly enhances skills, safety and fun. However, it is one of the most overlooked aspects of diving. First, during the OW class the instructor always talks about buddy diving, but the beginning student usually has to spend all of his energy concentrating on boyancy, breathing and all of the other skills. By the time the more advanced diver gets to intro to tech classes, he already ahs developed the "same ocean, same time" buddy mentality, which he/she will carry for the rest of their diving careers and into the grave (no pun intended).

So let's come up with some protocols that would work for both the technical and rec environment, that are easy to implement and can even be practiced during pool time. I hope everyone could contribute and I'll start with some of the predive in-water checks I always do.
They're called bubble check and Safety-drill. The bubble check consists of the team members checking eachother's hoses, reg-to-tank connection and bladder for possible leaks. Once it has been established there are no leaks team members perform the S-drill - donating the primary reg to practice out-of-gas drills. This has several benefits: it practices the OOG drill, so in case it happens in a real-life situation you have the automated skill to deal with it; it makes sure your back up reg is working fine before starting the dive; and in case your using the long hose, you can make sure the hose isn't obstructed by anything else (such as backup regs, drysuit inflator hoses, etc.)


I consider this one of the basics of buddy skills - and I'm hoping we can get a much more in-depth debate going about this - after all, it's just your life that's at stake, right?

[jasondbaker]

I think that beyond the OW class, diving with the resort boats perpetuates the "same ocean, same time" mentality. When you're diving with a six-pack off of cozumel the dive master is more of a buddy than the person next to you.

I think the first step to enhancing your buddy skills is to find good buddies. I know that similar gear configuration gets emphasized in a buddy relationship. But I think that similar attitutes and expections are even more important.

[DanL]

Developing the habit of giving and accepting feedback on buddy skills would help. I have been a good buddy and a bad buddy - my own ratings.
After about 150 dives, I can't remember getting feedback more than a couple of times on how good a job I did as a buddy. And I know I rarely give feedback or share my thoughts about my fellow divers "buddy" performance.
There are a number of us on this board who are getting well aquainted and getting a number of dives together. Why don't we maybe include a "buddy brief" before and after our dives - expect to give and get feedback from each other on our performance.

[DRE]

Dan,

that's one of the best things you can ever do to improve your dives, that is to plan the dive and afterwards to give feedback on how the dive went. Planning the dive and diving the plan is one of the cardinal rules of tech diving, and I don't understand why it isn't perpetuated in rec diving (after all, that's what the PADI manual says). During classes always give students feedback on their performance, but it's also something I do with all of my dive partners.
I feel very strongly that by reducing the complexity of a dive due to proper planning a lot of CF's can be avoided - the only key is to develop a set of simple guidelines that can be followed for each dive, and that would be adhered to religiously by the entire team (even if it's just 2 divers - being on the same page is key).

It's getting pretty late, but I'll try to post some stuff tomorrow what I have found to work great for any kind of diivng, but which has withstood the test of more extreme kinds of dives.

[freedivernd]

For sure, team diving skills is one area I know I could use some work on.
So, I'm curious, what makes solo diving safe then? or in some cases safer? Is it always necessary to have a buddy? Is that an individual thing? (no pun intended). Is it a depth/time thing, meaning no deco?
I really want to know because I know my buddy skills, especially before a dive could use some work, and that means the during dive skills could use some work too. But yet, I have no qualms of doing scuba on my own as long as the depths and times are within my comfort zone.
I know when I'm freediving, a lot of time I'm alone. But if I'm instructing, then the student is never alone, and things never get pushed. And of course, I preach the always have a buddy but I could rarely freedive if I didn't go alone.
People who know me know I enjoy people but sometimes, I really enjoy a dive alone... is that a bad thing?
Mind you, I don't have 100's of scuba dives under my belt.. hardly any really, but that doesn't say much for how I react underwater.
Just talking about buddy skills will improve them, just like every dive so far I've learned something that worked or didn't so improvements have been made. One thing I've come to the conclusion of is that here where the vis is 3' everyone should be holding hands. Or should you be working on solo skills? I'm asking seriously.

Fred

[DRE]

I don't think there should ever be a time and place for solo diving (maybe with the exception of some really tight and silty sidemount caves, but even there I'd still prefer working in a team).
I do believe, however, that people confuse solo diving with self sufficiency. For example, if I'm doing a cave dive and get separated from my dive partner in a major siltout and cannot locate him/her within my 1/3 gas supplies I will proceed to the exit by myself. At that point I am solo diving but out of necessity rather than choice. In any given situation, a diver should be able to handle a CF by himself, but this doesn't mean that solo diving should be OK'd. In most of these cases, having a properly trained and equipped partner will solve the situation a lot quicker and easier.
The key is to constantly maintain team integrity. This means that in lower vis/darker lakes (such as Wazee at depth) lights should always be used because they facilitate communication between team members. Checking the other members twice every minute just by glancing at them to check whther they're OK (this doesn't necessarily mean you constantly have to be exchanging OK signals) is one very good way to keep the team intact. During ascents, which should be really slow, it often helps to face eachother so you don't lose track. In case you're blowing bags or changing gasses, always establish neutral boyancy first, stay close and only proceed when all the other team members have completed their tasks.

Holding hands in extremely low vis is one way to stay in touch contact - better is to have one person hold on to the other's upper arm or thigh so the lead person has both hands free to feel theur way ahead, with the other person being able to communicate direction a little easier (push forward for go ahead, squeeze for hold, and pull backward for reverse). In these situations it (almost) should be mandatory (depending on depth, bottom conditions, possible boating traffic, etc.)

[freedivernd]

after I posted I started to think I maybe got a little off track. Maybe I'm just rambling because I know my buddy skills need work and that I could stand to learn a lot more. I remember some of the toughest buddy'ing I've been around is when there is 3 people (all three on scuba) and the vis is low. Maybe some advice for when there is 3?

Fred

[MNLakeDiver]

in my open water we went to christmas lake where it is very easy to silt out because of the bottom conditions. we went down normaly the first time and our inbstructor silted us out on purpos to see how we would handle it, the next time we used a buddy line to connect ourselves.

[beeger]

A phrase in one of DRE's posts caught my attention: "team integrity." it is hard to define how, exactly, a team should work underwater due to the huge variety of situations that can be encountered. Whatever the situation is the appropriate response is "what maintains team integrity?" In other words, what is the appropriate response that does not sacrifice integrity of the team in favor of a short team, insufficient response to the situation. Team integrity is maintained when individuals are empowered to act with more safety and resources than they can on their own.

Example: donating the reg one is breathing vs handing off an "octopus" (ignoring the fact for the moment that the out of air diver will likely rip the reg out of your mouth anyway). Relying on the principle that "I'm not taking my working reg out of my mouth and will instead rely on a reg I'm not positive is working" is not maintaining team integrity. Why? Well it adds another variable to a bad situation - variables complicate matters and increase risk. What's going to happen to that buddy if you hand them a reg that is not working, or that blasts silt into their mouth, or you can't get your hands on that reg to pass it off in the first place? The proper fix is to maintain the team based approach - pass them something that you know 100% is working (and is safe to breath, for you tech divers out there using deco/stage gasses) and then pickup one of your other two regs (yes, two - the backup around your neck, and if that isn't working your inflator ... yes, your inflator can deliver air to you in an emergency). After all you have a period of time after that primary reg comes out your mouth to sort out your situation. The out of air buddy does not and will not tolerate any delays. Handing off an octopus is not team based diving: it says "I'm watching out for myself but will try and hand you something that I hope I can find and that I think is working - you're on your own."

[Chris]

What's going to happen to that buddy if you hand them a reg that is not working, or that blasts silt into their mouth

I breathe out of my backup reg on every dive to make sure it works and is cleared out. Just a thought, I know it doesn't have much to do with this discussion though I'll let you experts continue on, just wanted to post something today.