The solo diving movement, a good idea?

[jonniex]

I was pretty curious when I stumbled upon a site discussing the solo dive certification.
The site was discussing the false sense of security that buddy diving can cause. The site stated [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]even casual observation on the deck of any dive boat would suggest that very few divers pay the kind of attention to their gear, site conditions, dive plan, and navigational requirements the way they should, especially if they were suddenly forced to be self-reliant.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I found this statement to be a gross oversimplification because I have ran into situations where if it were not for my buddy I may have missed a simple safety check that could have been quite problematic.I'm sure its not for everyone but I can't quite wrap my head around this solo diver movement and need help figuring out the logic behind it. Any thoughts?

[/FONT] - Jon

divesummit
"People protect what they love." - Jacques Cousteau

 

[NAM001]

I like to call it self relient diving more than solo. Although you are diving solo. There are so manythings that when diving in a group you assume is covered by a buddy. Most often the average buddy is not there when needed. Or assumes that something strange with your gear is something you are already aware of. I prefer to look at problems as ,,,,ooa is the only real emergency, everything else is just an inconvienence. Plan for the irritants and carry a spare air source. I have found that because of what I have picked up, I make a better buddy in that i am more sensitive to problem areas. More criticle of my own gear to support self relience and as such my buddy's also. The more my rig is self relient the less my buddy has to makeup for and vice versa. I have set limits that I apply to solo diving. No deep, no entanglement areas, no overhead, no deco ect. I reserve my solo for say 60 ft and shallower in known waters. I know there is arguments for each of these limits and some say doing this creates a false sence of safety. I call it hazzard reduction. dont go deep & you dont get narked without a buddy to ? you. Carry an independant air source and you have all the time needed to work the unexpected irritants out. The idea that between the 2 buddies you have all the equipment you need is just foreign to me. Unless he is on my hip he has nothing for me in the real emergency catagory.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

I can't quite wrap my head around this solo diver movement and need help figuring out the logic behind it. Any thoughts?

No, you don't need help figuring it out. You're seeking to start an argument that's been rehashed over and over, and in the Basic Scuba forum to boot. It's obviously not for you, so you needn't trouble yourself about it further. Ta-ta.

 

[Progen]

I'm a relatively new diver myself but I've been pissed off as hell with buddies who do not check their equipment and assume that what screws up at their side won't screw up on mine and that's what buddies are for. My reply?

"If you intend to go underwater as a potential liability, I will do my best to keep away from you!"

 

[Hickdive]

If you can't get your head round it then it isn't for you.

If you have to rely on a buddy to spot simple safety errors on the surface then it isn't for you.

If you want to find out more then there's an entire sub-forum dedicated to the topic right here on Scubaboard; why not ask there?

 

[Gren]

Getting out the popcorn.

But to help answer the question, with less than 25 dives, you don't have the muscle memory to do everything you need to be doing. While I don't dive solo, I do often dive in groups with an instabuddy that I plan on relying on in no way.

As you get more dives in, you will probably find yourself in one of two camps. You have a core group of buddies that you always dive with that you are comfortable with and can rely on, or the camp I'm in where you may be diving with others and realize that you probably can't rely on your buddy.

 

[Progen]

..., with less than 25 dives, you don't have the muscle memory to do everything you need to be doing. ....

Don't really agree with this part. It depends on the individual diver's willingness, ability and interest. And other factors as well which don't happen to be in front of my brain right now. I'm bloody interested in diving and especially since I've had my own equipment even before open water certification and which I'd spent quite some time tinkering with, I'm very comfortable with it which leaves me room to concentrate on skills and so with EVERY dive, I've actually picked up something new whilst reinforcing what I'd already known. The only times I'm seen fumbling is when my stubbornness insisted that I use a small swivel snap when I should have gotten one size larger.

 

[Gren]

Don't really agree with this part. It depends on the individual diver's willingness, ability and interest. And other factors as well which don't happen to be in front of my brain right now. I'm bloody interested in diving and especially since I've had my own equipment even before open water certification and which I'd spent quite some time tinkering with, I'm very comfortable with it which leaves me room to concentrate on skills and so with EVERY dive, I've actually picked up something new whilst reinforcing what I'd already known. The only times I'm seen fumbling is when my stubbornness insisted that I use a small swivel snap when I should have gotten one size larger.

Sorry, I should never speak in the absolute but for the OP, if he is forgetting safety stops and his buddy is reminding him, I think my absolute tone is correct. Of course there are people with 5 dives that are better divers than someone else with 100 dives.

The point being, for most divers, solo diving may seem odd, scary, or stupid but as you get more dives under your belt you probably will find that many dives are solo you just happen to be in a group of people.

 

[gekodivebali]

Think the movement is towards the realisation that more and more buddies are unreliable whether others rely on them or not. Making yourself more self-reliant will allow for safer dives for yourself whether confronted with an unreliable buddy, solo diving or diving with a regular buddy.
My fear with self-reliant diver and solo specialties is that more and more divers will find it normal to dive alone regardless of equipment, planning, qualification or experience. I hope this will not create more statistics that will in turn make it harder for me to undertake the dives i like to dive.
I have similar fears with sidemount and/or deep diving!

 

[AfterDark]

I've said it for a long time and post it on SB now and then. If a diver asks if they are ready to solo dive, they probably aren't ready. My experience is that most divers just kinda slip into solo. They go from same ocean buddy diving to eventually intentional solo diving where the diver may be the only one in the water that day. Some people take a course others learned by doing as solo courses weren't always available. There was a time solo diving was thought to be something like a mortal sin. Always being one to go against the conventional wisdom, I taught myself to solo dive. After >35 years of solo diving, still alive a well, I'm happy to report!

Besides Mike Nelson almost always dived alone