If you and your buddy become separated, what is the recommended action?

If you and your buddy become separated, what is the recommended action?

• A. Immediately surface
• B. Surface after long search
• C. Spend no more than one minute looking then surface
• D. Return to buddy's last known position

Answer: (C)

When divers are separated, the priority is to re-establish contact quickly while conserving air and maintaining control. The recommended action is to search underwater for a brief, focused period—about a minute—then surface to regroup. This keeps you from wasting precious air and getting carried away by currents, while giving you a clear chance to reconnect and communicate at the surface with signals or your dive plan. If you do locate your buddy during that short search, you can rejoin and continue the dive; if not, surfacing provides a safe, controlled way to reestablish contact and reassess the situation. Longer underwater searching or heading back to the last known position can put you at greater risk of running out of air, losing orientation, or drifting farther apart in currents.

When divers are separated, the priority is to re-establish contact quickly while conserving air and maintaining control. The recommended action is to search underwater for a brief, focused period—about a minute—then surface to regroup. This keeps you from wasting precious air and getting carried away by currents, while giving you a clear chance to reconnect and communicate at the surface with signals or your dive plan. If you do locate your buddy during that short search, you can rejoin and continue the dive; if not, surfacing provides a safe, controlled way to reestablish contact and reassess the situation. Longer underwater searching or heading back to the last known position can put you at greater risk of running out of air, losing orientation, or drifting farther apart in currents.