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> A guideline would be routed from one tie point to the next, though, so you
> wouldn't be dragging it back and forth across the bottom.  

It sounds good in theory, and might actually work for someone who dives 
from one tie-off point to another; however, this, in my experience, is an 
extremely inefficient way to explore reef habitats.  I have found, 
through repeated experience, that lines on reefs (except fixed transect 
lines) are often point sorces of cluster-copulations.

> The idea is one
> should be swimming either toward or away from the last tie point, not
> crossways if there's a chance of the line snagging on things in between.

Like I said, in a theoretical ideal world, that might work swell - but 
not where and how I do my dives.

> I'm considering that if you have hang bottles or whatever, you could call
> what you're carrying your backup, or vice versa, and not have to carry
> double yourself as backup.

Well, my only point there was that stuff needs to be staged - either on 
the reef, on a line, or in the boat.  I.e., on some dives, "everything 
you need" (and I consider backup a "need") shopuld not be carried 
througout the entire dive.

> Normally we carry enough deco gas to be able
> to share if something happens to one team-member's supply.  

That is cave philosophy as well (my understanding of it, anyway).  
However, in most cases, the more extreme the dive, the more comfortable I am 
being the only one in the water.

> With less
> carried gas, there are still the options of (1) finding the boat, or
> waiting for it to come to your lift bag, (2) swapping regs, if it was a
> reg problem, and (3) doing longer deco on back gas, so it's not like the
> option list would be too short.

That's really what being a good diver is all about - understanding the 
different options available, and maintaining an ability of choose the 
optimal option in a stressful circumstance.

Aloha,
Rich

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