Solo Ascent

[charlesml3]

I wouldn't accept being sent up early, and I would not ever permit a teammate to ascend alone.

I don't really get these "absolutely NO" responses. I think you really need to evaluate the situation. Here's one:

Colombia Shallow in Cozumel. You'd have to bring a shovel down with you to go down more than 30 feet. 100' of visibility. Your air consumption is really good, your buddy is an air hog. Do you really bail out of your dive when he burns his tank in thirty minutes?

How about Palancar Gardens? Max depth there is 70 feet or so but you're up around 45 feet when your buddy is low. He has 50 dives under his belt. Very little current, no chop and the boat has been orbiting above you the whole time. Still going to cut your dive short?

I think there is a lot of posturing on this board that doesn't really play all that likely in "the real world." I dive Cozumel a lot and I'm almost always the last diver out of the water. On more than one occasion, I've outlasted the DM. I have a lot of dives, I have my own pony and I'm plenty comfortable alone for the last 20 minutes or so. The DM and I agree on this before the dive and we only need a salute to know what's going on. At the same time, I'm not stupid. If this is a night dive, the current is heavy or the seas are rolling then I'm up with whoever is last. I think a reasonable evaluation of the site, depth, experience, and conditions should dictate the ascent process.

-Charles

 

[Web Monkey]

I don't really get these "absolutely NO" responses. I think you really need to evaluate the situation. Here's one:

Colombia Shallow in Cozumel. You'd have to bring a shovel down with you to go down more than 30 feet. 100' of visibility. Your air consumption is really good, your buddy is an air hog. Do you really bail out of your dive when he burns his tank in thirty minutes?

Yep. How about you send your buddy up, you're still diving, he has some sort of medical issue or sucks up a bunch of water and drowns while you're looking at the pretty fishies?

Terry

 

[Damselfish]

If conditions aren't good or for a newer diver, the solo ascent isn't a great idea. If a DM asks you to do this and you don't want to, you should say so and they should go along with what you want. Sometimes they will go up with you, sometimes people ready to go up next will pair up for an ascent. It's important that everyone knows what is going on and agrees.

As an experienced diver and in good conditions, I have no problem with this. (Though it is normally my buddy going up, not me - and I keep an eye on him until he's out of the water.)

 

[Charlie99]

Yep. How about you send your buddy up, you're still diving, he has some sort of medical issue or sucks up a bunch of water and drowns while you're looking at the pretty fishies?

In the clear water situations charlesml3 is referring to, you will be able to watch your buddy surface. If he has a medical issue or sucks up a bunch of water, your assistance will be slightly delayed.

If the viz is such that one cannot watch the solo ascender, then he is doing a solo dive and must either be comfortable doing that, or he needs to find a buddy that is willing to cut his dive short.

Reading most of the responses so far, one would be led to believe that nobody ever does a solo dive.

 

[Matt S.]

If help is more than a breath away, you may as well be solo diving.

If I suck up a bunch of water, I don't want help "slightly delayed." I will extend the same courtesy to whomever I dive with, without hesitation.

In fact this weekend I was on a charter and in both dives my buddies sucked down gas like crazy. The first dive was ~23 minutes and the second dive was less than 30. Normally I would expect to spend about 45 minutes at those sites. But we stuck together and I didn't say a word of complaint.

 

[TSandM]

In the cases Charles listed, I would in fact cut my dive short and go up with my buddy. I'm not posturing. I take being a teammate seriously.

Matt, I agree that groups of three can be problematic, but if you train to use them, they work very well.

 

[STOGEY]

When I'm diving with a buddy. At the beginning of the dive, I usally say we start our turn around when the first person hits 1500 or so. If he or she doesn't want to do that then if we ascend solo, we ascend solo. No hard feelings.

I also have a rule when diving with a dive partner. If we become separated. We look around for a minute and if the other perosn doesn't see the other. We ascend and look for each other on top side.

But I guess one does have to be a bit more comfortable with their capabilities if situations like this happen.

 

[Rockhound76]

If help is more than a breath away, you may as well be solo diving.

......... The first dive was ~23 minutes and the second dive was less than 30. Normally I would expect to spend about 45 minutes at those sites. But we stuck together and I didn't say a word of complaint.

You are a nice guy. I WOULD complain if my buddies were air hogs and didn't tell me. That said, if I'd known, no complaint.

I have a friend I dive with about twice a year. He is an air hog. In the "olden" days, I'd almost always wave bye-bye to him about 2/3rd's of the way through the dive. But, we'd plan ahead. We liked photography and enjoyed diving together, but we'd pre-arrange to signal "buddy up" for him to ascend with another diver or two. I'd usually take whoever was left.

Our group was pretty experienced. YMMV.

I'd never send a newbie up alone or even with someone I didn't know.

Btw, these days, my old buddy carries some sorta of giant steel tank. It's scary big, but we finish up together.

 

[twinkles]

You guys are making me feel guilty. My wife and I were diving in 18-20 feet of water this past weekend. She was feeling nauseous and wanted to go up early in the dive. Last thing I wanted to do was sit on a bobbing boat for 40 minutes. So I ascended with her to 6 feet then watched from below while she got on the boat. An instructor and 3 experienced divers were below taking pictures and taking turns on a DPV—riding right around the group. After she got on the boat I joined that group. Was that reckless?

 

[Ice9]

Just one noob's opinion here but:

I think you were right for being concerned about the solo ascent. I've read that many accidents occur on the surface, so having a buddy there (especially in big waves) could be useful.

I also think that you were wrong for not having your own watch to mark the time for your ascent. Every dive is responsible for his own equipment and safety. What if you got separated from your buddy or group, and HAD to make the ascent alone? Being self-sufficient is a very important quality in diving. Go get a watch!

And a big safety sausage and an air horn.

The only thing worse than a solo ascent is a solo ascent where the boat doesn't see you.

Terry

Err.. this is odd. I didn't write that last part after the smilie. Board acting screwy?