PSA: My kid asked why we always dive with a buddy, and I had to really think about it.

I was checking my gear last night and my eight year old asked why I never go in the water alone. I gave the standard 'safety in numbers' line, but he kept asking 'what if you're the best diver there?' I've been on jobs from the Gulf to the Great Lakes for 12 years, and the buddy system is just what you do. But his question hit different. It made me realize we sometimes treat it like a rule to follow, not a skill to practice. How do you actually make the buddy system work when you're the lead on a deep weld and your tender is green?

3 comments

3 Comments

emma_dixon701mo ago

Ever have one of those moments where a kid's question makes you feel like you've been on autopilot for a decade? Your story about the buddy system hit me. I once tried to explain it to a new guy while we were suited up, and I sounded like I was reading from a manual I'd never opened. The real skill is making that check-in mean something when you're down there and your mind is on the job, not just going through the motions. It's easy to be the lead who just points, harder to be the buddy who actually watches.

julia5491mo ago

Harder to be the buddy who actually watches" is so true @emma_dixon70. Used to just go through the motions. Now I really look. Makes all the difference.

jana_hart181mo ago

Ever think the real test is when you're the lead and your buddy is the one who needs watching? I've been the guy on a deep weld with a green tender, and you have to switch your brain from doing the job to managing the whole scene. It's not just checking gear, it's reading their eyes through the mask for that 'okay' or 'not okay'. That's when the buddy system stops being a rule and starts being a skill you're both using.