Buddy diving
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Buddy diving is the use of the buddy system by scuba divers and is a set of safety procedures that improve divers' chances of avoiding or surviving accidents in or underwater by diving in a group of two or three divers. When using the buddy system, the group dives together and co-operate with each other, so that they can help or rescue each other in the event of an emergency.
A pair of divers is the best combination in buddy diving; with threesomes, one of the divers can easily lose the attention of the other two. Groups with more than three divers are not using the buddy system. The system is likely to be effective in mitigating out-of-air emergencies, non-diving medical emergencies and entrapment in ropes or nets. When used with the buddy check it can help avoid the omission, misuse and failure of diving equipment.
With buddy diving, each of the divers is presumed to have a responsibility to the other. The "buddies" are expected to monitor each other, to stay close enough together to be able to help in an emergency, to behave safely and to follow the plan agreed by the group before the dive. When the system fails, it is generally because one of the divers does not fulfil his or her responsibilities as a buddy.
[edit] Alternatives
The two alternatives, solo diving and diving as an individual in a large group, have disadvantages when compared to the buddy system especially for the novice:
- Although solo diving is practiced by some divers in technical diving, it is only effective if the diver is totally self-sufficient. This usually entails a completely redundant gas supply, such as a pony bottle or an isolation manifold. Self-rescue is not possible in some cases, such as entrapment in ropes and nets and during non-diving medical emergencies.
- In group diving, especially in large groups, poor visibility or currents, weak or inexperienced individual divers can easily become detached from the group and lose the protection of stronger or experienced divers in the group. This is referred to as "resort-diver syndrome".
