The Search Is On
When buddies separate, our training gives us only one option:
Search for one minute. If that fails, surface to link up there. If that fails,
report a missing buddy and launch a rescue effort.
Searching the immediate area makes obvious sense. The problem for most divers
comes when they don't find their buddy after one minute. If you go to the
surface, you'll find your buddy only if he surfaces too. But what if he's still
below, searching for you? Or he's trapped or unconscious just beyond the next
rock? And what if your lost buddy is fine, and he just went on with his dive?
At this point, most divers will balance the odds that the buddy is really in
danger against the chance of bringing help and against the danger to themselves
in ascending. Each decision is unique to the circumstances and made easier if
you've discussed and agreed, before the dive, what you'll do if you are
separated.
You might agree to execute the search-one-minute-surface-report plan no matter
what. You might agree to search for three or five minutes before surfacing. If
it's a deep dive, you might agree to rendezvous at the anchor or mooring line.
Whatever you decide, you should consider the depth, visibility and current, also
your experience level, your buddy's and your comfort levels with risk.
None of these options is training-agency doctrine, but an imperfect plan that's
understood and acted on is always better than vague intentions. The important
point is to reach an explicit agreement so you'll both know what to do.
On Your Own
Whether the buddy breakup comes as a surprise or you expected it
from the beginning, you'd better have prepared yourself to finish the dive
alone, whether that means surfacing immediately or continuing as you had
planned. Much has been written about solo diving, but at a minimum, you'll need
specific equipment and sharper skills. Solo diving equipment includes a second
cutting tool, probably paramedic shears or good wire cutters, and surface
signaling gear--a sausage and a loud horn like a Dive Alert, says Mike Ange,
Scuba Diving's Technical Editor and an Instructor Trainer for TDI and SDI as
well as a PADI Master Instructor. "And I'd want a completely redundant air
source. I'd want a pony bottle of at least 18 cubic feet if I'm deeper than 60
feet. If I'm going down to 100 feet plus, 30 cubic feet."
Before going solo, says Ange, you should practice deploying and using the
redundant air on ascent, inflating your BC manually, dumping your weights,
making emergency ascents and navigating both by compass and natural clues. Your
basic open-water introduction to these skills is not enough; you need enough
practice to be comfortable actually doing them.
It can be a cold, cruel world down there alone, but it needn't be. If you
prepare for even the most solid buddy relationship to break up and that happens,
you'll survive. If you never need those skills, you'll feel more confident and
relaxed. Add the communication and commitment that you've invested in making
your relationship strong, and diving together will be more satisfying for both
of you. Isn't that what it's all about?
The One-Minute Search
When you realize your buddy is gone, your first impulse is to do
something now, like turning around and charging down your backtrack. But it's
easy to miss each other in less-than-perfect vis, especially if your buddy has
abandoned the track to chase something or to look for you. Instead, stop a
moment and look all around you for bubbles. Take it slow; remember, your buddy
only makes bubbles when exhaling and a quick 360 could miss them.
Ascend about five feet if that will get you out from behind a rock pile or a
coral head for a better view. That will also make you more visible to your
buddy, who's supposed to be looking for you. Look not only around you but
upward. If your buddy is in trouble, he may be heading for the surface. If not,
his bubbles will be expanding as they rise so they'll be more visible above you.
Still no bubbles? Presumably they are beyond the range of visibility and it's
reasonable to search back along your track toward where you last saw your buddy,
but go slowly. You have to assume at this point that your buddy is also
searching for you and you could easily be going away from him, not toward him.
Keep scanning all around you for bubbles. If you decide to ascend to the
surface, pause frequently for a 360-degree bubble search. |
