to buddie or not...

[seahunt]

Just out of curiosity..What buddie system do you use while spearfishing??

On most charter trips that i have been seems that spearfishing solo is the standard.I understand that two spearos shooting within close proximity don't add up for stealth ,however is good to know that an experienced and friendly hand is close by in case of emergency.Entanglement,out of air,blindsided by nasty shark,equipment failure ,among others , are real and possible on a spearfishing outing.

Big egos and friendly competition aside , is better to come up with with a half empty stringer and a buddie than not to come up at all.

[grouper567]

same day same ocean you have a buddy
ea

[Nsearch]

If he's in the water with me shooting, he's my buddy.

[gothic serpant]

i enjoy hunting solo just for safety reasons.i try to keep the human error out of it.but it also depends on the area that i am in.on the east coast where there is only a wall or ledge to follow solo is a good way, but on a wreck the buddy system is nice. i hear on the west coast you have rock piles where as a wreck a partner is nice. also you half to look at the reality of it, you are in a hurry looking for fish or the big bug you seldomly pay attention to you buddy or anything else. in the long run noone will take the buddy system seriously until you have a near death or a holy shit sitution. if i am in the water having a good time it always nice to have a friend to enjoy it with,but remember with a friend your lies can only be so big.

[Doc]

You are your own best buddy assuming that your own best buddy is reasonably good.

[alagig]

I pretty much use the same ocean buddy system. However, if spearing on a wreck I have found that a truer buddy system works well (especially if he pushes a grouper into shootin range) as long as you are not too close to each other. Most of the time we just glance over and check for bubbles. Bubbles can tell you enough to be a good buddy if yall know each other well enough.

[Geoff Apthorp]

I've been diving since 1982 and hunting for about the same amount of time. I have dove both buddy and solo for spearfishing.

I am a firm believer in the buddy system. During several thousand hours of bottom time my buddies and I have averted several potentially lethal situations by working as a team. The most dangerous situations I encountered were hunting/diving solo (bull shark close encounter, hit an AJ and got dragged below MOD, my buddy hit 2 ajs with one spear and got entangled in his own lanyard, on a deco checkout dive one of my friends did not have enough gas for his prescribed deco stop and SOS'd his computer).

The reason I think buddy diving is stronger than going solo is because with 2 guys in the water, it puts two sets of eyeballs on the proactive preventive measures. The popular argument against buddies is that it is unlikely that your buddy can save you after an incident occurs. I think by hacing a buddy in the water, your prevent things from happening to begin with.

When we dive we are scanning our gauges, the environment, etc. and that needs to be proactive. When you shoot fish you can "overload" on the multivariable scanning / monitoring, and no matter how good you are, s*** can happen when you are spearfishing. I like having a buddy to preclude those potential issues then.

Some of good friends like solo hunting when we go together, so I'll do it whenever required, but I still prefer the buddy system.

Geoff

[Spear One]

I dove solo throughout most of my commercial spearfishing career. However, I think "buddies are best" if you are recreational shooting. Learning to hunt as a team while spearfishing is also an art!

[diligaf]

Diving solo or in the buddy system both have their plus’s and minus’s. But, however you dive, in my opinion awareness is the key.

Many years ago, as a divemaster on a tech boat, I had the privilege to often dive with Tom Mount. For those that do not know Tom, he is the president of IANTD, holder of many dive records back in the early days of diving, and the man who literally wrote the book on tech diving. Tom is by far the best diver I have ever known and is in a class by himself.

What makes Tom so good? Awareness! He always knows where everyone is, the amount of air they have, their physical & mental condition, their dive plan, water conditions, etc.
Awareness stops problems before they happen… whether you are diving solo or with a buddy!