How to find a diving buddy for your expeditions
04/28/2025
Identifying a reliable partner is one of the most important preparations for any technical or CCR dive. The right buddy extends your safety margin, shares planning duties, and turns ambitious objectives into achievable realities. This article summarises proven places to meet suitable partners, criteria for selecting them, and practical steps for building mutual trust.
Why a good buddy matters
“The importance of a dive buddy returned but with new significance; the bailout gas carried by a buddy is factored into my dive/emergency plan, as my bailout is into his.” — Richie Kohler, expedition wreck explorer
Even a redundancy‑focused unit such as the Liberty CCR benefits from the human redundancy that only a well‑matched partner provides. Comparable skills, equipment knowledge, and decision‑making styles form the backbone of safe deep and long‑duration dives.
Technical and CCR divers have specific requirements
Certification depth – Your MOD3 trimix credential is unhelpful if your partner’s training stops at 45 m.
Unit familiarity – Shared understanding of handset menus and connectors accelerates problem solving.
Decompression discipline – Similar gradient‑factor strategies avoid conflict during contingency planning.
Where to find a diving buddy
1 Online technical‑diving communities
ScubaBoard and DiveBuddy maintain active “Buddy Wanted” sections. Example request:
“Recent Mod 1 certified on SF2 CCR… another CCR or SCCR diver would be great, but happy to dive with OC.” — forum post, Blue Grotto trip
Niche Slack and Discord servers (look for CCR‑Explorers or Rebreather Talk channels).
2 Social‑media groups and subreddits
Search hashtags such as #CCRLIBERTY or browse r/tecreddit to locate local trip threads.
3 Liberty Divers Club
Divesoft’s own community pairs Liberty owners for expeditions ranging from Mexican caves to Baltic wrecks.
4 Local dive centres and clubs
Local dive centres and independent clubs that cater to technical diving often provide CCR fills and trimix charters—perfect places to meet divers with similar training.
5 Dive shows, expos and training programmes
Events such as Divesoft Liberty Summit (Italy, September-October 2019; Croatia, September-October 2021; Gozo, October 2023) or Operation CCR (Bonaire, April 19–25 2025) gather rebreather professionals actively seeking teammates.
What to look for in a partner
Building trust—step by step
Before committing to demanding dives or multi‑day expeditions, arrange a simpler shake‑down outing or a short weekend trip with your prospective partner to confirm teamwork and communication when the stakes are low.
Start with a controlled shake‑down at moderate depth.
Debrief thoroughly using SAC rates, bubble checks and Liberty sensor logs.
Practise emergency drills including lost‑unit, CO₂ breakthrough and light failure scenarios.
Warning signs
Frequent last‑minute plan changes or late arrivals.
Skipping pre‑dive checklists or equipment tests.
Modifying life‑support equipment without supervised validation.
Competitive or ego‑driven attitudes that discourage prudent turn‑points.
Tools and resources
Forums: FB Liberty Divers, ScubaBoard, DiveBuddy (Buddy Wanted boards)
Apps: Divesoft.app for shared gas planning and log synchronisation
Communities: Liberty Divers Club,
Events: Divesoft Liberty Summit, Operation CCR, TEKCamp, EuroTek
Template for posts: State date, location, maximum depth, unit, certification level and objectives.
Call to action
Join the Liberty Divers Club, meet like‑minded explorers, and share your next CCR expedition story on the Divesoft Blog.
Author: Jakub Šimánek
Divesoft.app
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