Term "dive duddy"

The term "dive buddy" refers to the person you partner with while scuba diving. Most scuba diving organizations promote diving with a buddy as the safest choice. You have an extra pair of eyes and hands, and more backup gear, to help if situations get rough. Many people also choose to scuba dive on their own, solo diving. But most choose to have a dive buddy with them. Finding a dive buddy in a new area can be difficult. Talk to your local dive shop or search online. Many scuba related websites have an email list of divers in their area. Also, DiveBuddy.com is a social network for divers and can help you find new scuba friends.

How to be a good dive buddy

So how can you make sure that you are the best buddy you can be? Consider the following tips:

1) Remember the "Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

How would you like it if your buddy was swimming away at top speed and you couldn't keep up? How about if you were out of air and your buddy signaled you to surface on your own? If you treat your buddies the way you wish they'd treat you, you'll set the tone for the type of buddy interaction you desire.

2) Maintain your fitness for diving. No one likes having a buddy who quickly runs out of air and forces a premature end to the dive. Improve your air consumption by maintaining your cardiovascular fitness with a program of walking, running, biking, dancing or swimming. Lift weights regularly to ensure that your muscles, bones and joints can handle the stresses of heavy equipment. Observe safety guidelines by showing up for a dive well hydrated, well nourished and with a good night's sleep. And, of course, don't drink and dive.

3) Consider taking up yoga or meditation. Although there is no hard evidence to support it, the deep-breathing techniques employed in yoga and meditation may help you learn to slow your air consumption and respond more calmly to stressful situations. Yoga also increases your physical flexibility, making it easier to reach fins, air valves and other gear while in the water.

4) Take a rescue class. Knowing your options in an emergency can raise your confidence level. It also helps to practice the steps involved in surfacing an unconscious diver, performing rescue breathing while swimming and learning the essentials of exits under various conditions. While rescue training may not be mandatory, it will definitely improve your buddy skills.

5) Plan your dive and dive your plan. It may be a cliché, but it's true: planning is the best way to ensure a safe dive. Communicate with your buddy before every dive. Talk about when you'll turn around, where you'll go, and what to do if you become separated. Review hand signals. Explain any limitations you might have to your buddy, and ask about your buddy's skill level and experience. Take into account the possible differences in your air consumption. Modify your dive plan to suit the information you glean from this conversation, and don't deviate from your plan once you're underwater.

6) Avoid overconfidence. Ironically, a little experience may be worse than none - at least when it comes to the risk of dive accidents. "A lot of the accidents don't happen to beginning divers," Cucculelli said. "They're more cautious. It's the folks who have done a few more dives who get cocky, and that's when they get into trouble."

7) Have proper training and equipment for the conditions you plan to dive in. Having 100 dives under your belt won't help you if those dives were in radically different conditions than the dive you're planning next. Make sure you get a briefing from an experienced dive professional when you dive a new location. Also, don't attempt special environments (such as wrecks, caves, caverns or ice) without proper training.

8) Perform a thorough buddy check on each and every dive. "I believe that buddy checks could eliminate most diving accidents," Cucculelli said. "On each and every dive, check out your buddy's releases, weights, air and so on."

Source: [1440]

About DiveBuddy.com

The domain name divebuddy.com has been around for many years. In the past, it was just a static list of diver's email addresses. In March of 2006, it was purchased by Greg Davis and quickly became the most extensive social network for scuba divers. Greg re-designed the entire website which now offers features such as a dynamic buddy list, scuba photos, diver blogs, upcoming dive trips posted by members, free scuba classifieds and more.


<!-- ==Other== -->

See also

List of social networking websites

Social network

scuba diving

<!-- ==References== -->

External links

Greg Davis DiveBuddy Founder Homepage