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Billy Williams wrote: >At 04:28 PM 9/01/1996 +1100, Simo Hartley wrote: > >>I do not agree that buddies are useless dive accessories however. > >Fair suck, Simo! I didn't say they were useless dive >accessories. Don't misquote me like that. My buddy Sorry!! I should have said I disagree with the premise that buddies are unnecessary. The way I worded the response did make it sound as if this was what you had said so I apologise. >I agree. And even the most inept buddy will reduce your >chance of being bitten by a noah by 50%. On a snorkel out to a place called Middle Reef in Byron Bay about 6-7 years ago we encountered a rather large Bronze Whaler which prompted the two friends I was diving with to make for the shore at a great rate of knots. While they thrashed around on the surface I swam back along the bottom figuring any hungry shark would be attracted to someone thrashing on the surface rather than someone swimming with a steady motion along the bottom (just to be sure I was swimming along upside down and looking behind me). I've had a few close encounters around Byron (there used to be a meat works and before that a whaling station there and a few years ago a diver was taken by a large Great White, one of my old instructors jumped in to help but only came back with the guys lungs not pleasant). >But while you're looking out for the prat, who's looking out for you? >If the shit hits your fan, you don't have a guardian angel, you have a >prat - a liability. So wouldn't you be better off carrying your own >back-up air and just looking after yourself? And then, wouldn't that >make a buddy superfluous? I agree and this is why I have no qualms about diving solo in the circumstances I mentioned. My feeling was and is what is the point in me having first aid and rescue training if I'm the one who needs to be rescued. On all but shallow shore dives I now carry a redundant air supply with ample air to allow me to get myself out of trouble, ascend and if necessary fulfill any decompression requirements. On all dives I aim to be fully self sufficient. However being a member of a dive club (and frequently the organiser of club dives) and often diving through charter operators it is often difficult to be too selective about who you are buddied with. This usually means diving with someone with limited diving experience (typically most club divers have little experience outside their courses). In this situation I often dive with a buddy pair and see them to a safety stop before continuing with my dive solo. When I orgainise deeper or more challenging dives I can select the people who have the experience to do this type of diving. On dive holidays I generally dive with friends who have extensive diving experience and whom I trust to take the apropriate action in an emergency. I would not have felt confident doing many of the dives I've done without such people. A buddy who I know and trust makes a dive more relaxing and enjoyable. A buddy who I can't rely on may as well not be there (infact I am more relaxed without him/her, another reason I dive solo a lot). Simon (Who the hell is Simo?) Rules of Brachian Ultra Cricket: "...When a player scores a hit on another player he must immediately run away and apologise from a safe distance. Apologies should be sincere, concise and, for maximum clarity and impact, delivered through a megaphone..." - from "Life the universe and Everything" (I think) by Douglas Adams ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Simon L Hartley o o Oo o Associate Lecturer oo o o Faculty of Resource Science and Management o oo _____ o oo Southern Cross University o (_/-\_) oo P.O. Box 157 ===(S) o Lismore NSW, Australia 2480 Ph: (066) 203 251 or (61 66) 203 251 Fax:(066) 212 669 E-mail: shartley@sc*.ed*.au* ----------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.scu.edu.au/ressci/staff/shartley.html
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