SOLO Diving

[Chris]

This topic has gotten me curious about something... After my little 100' freeflow incident I started paying attention to buddy distance and started doing a little check from time to time... Every so often I'd pay close attention to how often my buddy would check to see if I was still nearby, there have been a couple instances where it's taken about 30 seconds. Don't worry, everyone I have dove with on this site has been very good, but I'm just wondering what you all consider an acceptable time limit to realize your buddy is in trouble. To me, 30 seconds under water is like a minute at the surface...and even more if you're in panic mode... To clarify, I never leave my buddy when doing this... I usually just hover over them or stay behind them. I guess I try to constantly glance over during the dive... look at a fish, glance... etc. After doing this it has just become a habit and I don't really feel like I'm looking for my buddy, it's just part of my dive routine.

So, is this right/wrong/somewhere in between? As a relatively new diver any comments/suggestions are always appreciated. (Of couse even if I wasn't a new diver they would be.)