Desirable Dive Buddies have many important qualities, of course there is the fun factor, but really the reason for a dive buddy is simple – Safety!
Finding the right person to share the adventure of diving with can make a huge difference to your experience. Learning to be a good diver should include learning to be a good buddy diver too, however too often it seems the more experienced a diver becomes, the more they forget some of the fundamentals of diving safely and considerately with your dive buddy. Do you still remember to do a Buddy Check? Dive your Plan and Plan your Dive? How about doing a dive brief and a de-brief?
One of the best ways to find a good dive buddy is to be a good one in the first place! Another tip is to consider how they behavior out of water, and you should get a picture of what kind of dive buddy they will be!
Want to Meet New Dive Buddies?
Joining onto a dive trip, or enrolling in a dive course are some of the best ways to meet a dive buddy. Enquire with Dive HQ Christchurch for trips to Akaroa Peninsula, Kaikoura, Motenau, as well as the Solomons in 2018!
The Best Buddies are:
Patient – Are they a patient person, or do they hurry through tasks and take short cuts. Will they wait for you if you have a problem or will they make you feel rushed? Diving with someone who tells you to hurry up, can lead to stress and mistakes.
Aware – Are they aware of their environment and others? Will they be able to spot dangers, or attractions and avoid getting lost. Will they be aware of you, or will they ignore you under the water and go into their own world!
Positive – What attitude do they bring to your dive? Are the positive and do they enjoy diving, will they be enthused about similar things to you and want to share in the enjoyment.
Good Communicators – Do they take the time to talk about the dive plan with you, and plan who will lead, or will you dive side by side. Do you plan what you will do if you lose each other?
Respectful – Are they a respectful person, to others and to their environment? Or do they only think of their own needs, and do as they please during a dive rather than consider you and the surroundings.
Buddies to Beware of:
Buddies who won’t do a buddy check!
Buddies that go down or surface without you!
Buddies that don’t dive to plan.
Buddies that don’t dive close to you
Buddies that get into underwater arguments!
Why Bother with a Buddy?
Aside from the enjoyment of sharing the dive experience with someone, there are a number of scenarios where you would count your lucky star fish that you have a buddy to help, including:
Worst case – Out-of-air emergency
Low on air
Getting trapped in ropes/seaweed/net
Equipment failure
Illness or medical emergency
Getting caught in a current
Leg cramps
Getting lost
Feeling narked and making poor decisions
Feeling panicked
HAVE YOU EVER?
Lost your dive buddy while taking photos or spearfishing?
Had cramp in your leg while diving, but had no one to massage it for you?
Surfaced without your buddy?
Started a dive without doing a buddy check?
Spent a whole dive chasing your buddy’s fins just to keep up with them?
Forgotten to turn on your tank – clear sign of forgetting the buddy check!
Come to the surface after a dive and found only one of you saw lots of cool stuff while the other missed it?
Had an underwater argument?
Felt that your buddy has put your safety at risk while diving?
Let’s keep the Dive Buddy standard a high one and enjoy safe diving together.
To find out more about dive trips and courses contact:
Dive HQ Christchurch
103 Durham St South
Sydenham
Christchurch
Call 0800 DIVEHQ (348347)
www.diveskiworld.co.nz