Question: Do you ever feel lonely when you go diving?

Lauren Laing answered on 7 Mar 2016:

Hi Tom,
I never feel lonely when I go diving, this is because I always dive with a dive buddy. Buddy diving is a set of safety procedures used by scuba divers which are designed to make sure if someone were to find them self in difficulty, someone else who is trained is present to help them (of course it is rare to be in a dangerous situation, as we are trained to dive safely). We have a set of communication techniques to help us keep track of how the other person is doing, for example to ask them if they are ok, to tell them how much air you have left, or if you are feeling cold or unwell! Diving with a buddy is great, its two sets of eyes to spot the coolest critters on the ocean floor, the turtle swimming by, or the pod of dolphins overhead! It’s also super exciting to be able to quiz each other on species we find, for example, I often carry a plastic clip board, under water you can write messages in pencil, like: ‘do you know what species of coral this is? Or can you show me where you found that shrimp earlier?’