Solo dives

[Limoges Diver]

I fall into one of those inexperienced categories. I have read several threads and a few articles about solo diving and one interesting school of thought is that unless both divers are moderately to very experienced, one partner winds up being a solo diver and the other a dependent diver. If I go diving with someone with 200 plus dives under their belt and I have only a handful, in essence the diver with 200 plus dives is a solo diver and I am somewhat on a "trust me" dive. Reality is that even in the most benign conditions, something can, will, and eventually does go wrong. At some point people need to just know their own limitations and stay within them. In the long run, it comes down to personal responsibility and risk acceptance.

Although somewhat true, I think a diver with a lot of experience going on a dive with a new diver still has the benefit that if something goes wrong, the new diver can still go to the surface and call for help...or cut them loose, or make their octo available, etc. So it's a lot better than actually solo; although I guess you could argue otherwise due to greater probability of the inexperienced diver causing both to get into trouble.

But, hell I don't mind if an experienced diver considers me a large, self-propelled, homing stage bottle

Not necessarily so ... depends on the diver. I have a new dive buddy who has fewer dives than you do (if your profile is accurate) who is anything but dependent ... I'd entrust him to rescue me if needed. He usually lets me lead the dives, sure ... but that's because I know the dive sites way better than he does ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I thought the same thing: I always go diving with an extra tank that I don't plan on using, just in case. Plus, it is ludicrous to think that an inexperienced diver's extra octo is not good enough for you if that diver is inexperienced. I would never dive with someone that isn't at least open-water certified: they have to have had the training in case something goes wrong underwater.

Safe diving!

 

[Garth]

I thought the same thing: I always go diving with an extra tank that I don't plan on using, just in case. Plus, it is ludicrous to think that an inexperienced diver's extra octo is not good enough for you if that diver is inexperienced. I would never dive with someone that isn't at least open-water certified: they have to have had the training in case something goes wrong underwater.

Safe diving!

How do you verify, check the card?

 

[novicediver]

One thing that is interesting when reading the board is the notion that newer divers do not have the awareness nor experience to really know when they are in trouble. I will largely agree with this thought for the most part. If said inexperienced diver is paired with the experienced diver and the experienced diver gets into trouble, how will the lesser experienced diver know how to assist the distressed diver? This is why I say the more experienced diver is essentially diving solo. There is no way to know how the inexperienced diver will react under the condition, or whether (s)he will effectively be able to render aid in the problem.

 

[aquaregia]

Not a whole lot different from going camping with Dad.

 

[Limoges Diver]

How do you verify, check the card?

If I'm going to go diving with someone, and that's the only other person, I will find out what their qualifications and training is like, plus go over certain things before diving to make sure. Not that I've got tons of experience: only 21 dives since my 4 dives for O.W. PADI certification.

 

[Limoges Diver]

One thing that is interesting when reading the board is the notion that newer divers do not have the awareness nor experience to really know when they are in trouble. I will largely agree with this thought for the most part. If said inexperienced diver is paired with the experienced diver and the experienced diver gets into trouble, how will the lesser experienced diver know how to assist the distressed diver? This is why I say the more experienced diver is essentially diving solo. There is no way to know how the inexperienced diver will react under the condition, or whether (s)he will effectively be able to render aid in the problem.

I think it depends on the individual: if you take your training seriously, and have a good teacher, then you will have all the knowledge you need once you are certified. After a few more dives to get comfortable underwater, an inexperienced diver with proper training will be just as good as the experienced diver - or at least will have their training fresh in their mind.
The opposite holds true to, in my mind: say you didn't get well trained, but still got your certification, and say you are not very serious about safety, etc... You could have 200 dives under your belt, and when the poop hits the fan, you'll be as useless as a new diver.

 

[novicediver]

I can agree that a diver with only 25-50 dives under belt but still takes things seriously and work through a problem, but there are people out there that will disagree tremendously.

 

[DevonDiver]

One thing that is interesting when reading the board is the notion that newer divers do not have the awareness nor experience to really know when they are in trouble.

Actually, I think it is more a case of anticipating that they might get into trouble and take pre-emptive measures to avoid it.

The OW course provides novice divers with examples of certain critical problems and provides solutions on how to deal with them. It doesn't provide a diver with the breadth of experience needed to identify potential problems at an early stage, enabling the incident to be avoided.

If said inexperienced diver is paired with the experienced diver and the experienced diver gets into trouble, how will the lesser experienced diver know how to assist the distressed diver? This is why I say the more experienced diver is essentially diving solo. There is no way to know how the inexperienced diver will react under the condition, or whether (s)he will effectively be able to render aid in the problem.

There could be an expectation that the experienced diver would take control, using the inexperienced diver as a resource to deal with their problem.

For example, if I have a buddy, of any experience or capability, then I have a redundant air source at my disposal (their octo). If I suffered an OOA incident, then I could take control... access their AAS...and direct an ascent.

The only real issue with inexperienced buddies, is if I became incapacitated for any reason. At that point I would be relying on them to take responsibility and get me to safety. At the very least, I would expect them to raise the alarm so that others could assist me. Assuming the inexperienced buddy has an IQ above 40... then it would be reasonable to expect them to do something to assist, regardless of their experience or training. That, in itself, is still far more preferable to being solo.

 

[knowone]

Just as a passenger in a car with a driver of any experience,
that is able to provided a comfortable ride.

It is less likely a diver of any experience will fall asleep doing a dive,
than the driver of the ride when he's doing the drive.

 

[Limoges Diver]

The only real issue with inexperienced buddies, is if I became incapacitated for any reason. At that point I would be relying on them to take responsibility and get me to safety. At the very least, I would expect them to raise the alarm so that others could assist me. Assuming the inexperienced buddy has an IQ above 40... then it would be reasonable to expect them to do something to assist, regardless of their experience or training. That, in itself, is still far more preferable to being solo.

And that is the reason I am going to take the rescue diver course next Spring: I don't want someone to die on my watch when there was something I could have done.

About attitude and mindset: if you read (books, online articles, posts on this site, etc...), and try to educate yourself as much as possible, you will become more experienced. Find out what went wrong with other divers, and learn what could have been done to prevent the death/injury, then you become more educated. Another thing I think is important, is to talk with your fellow divers and get as much information from them: I have yet to meet a diver that didn't want to help me or share his or her experience and knowledge.