Is it okay to be a quasi-solo diver in certain situations?

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Professor Nemo

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Location
Greenville, NC
# of dives
0 - 24
Is it okay to be a quasi-solo diver in certain situations?

***Note: I have Open Water, EAN/Nitrox, and Advanced Open Water certifications if that information is needed to better answer my question]***


I have a question for the board. Of late, I have been considering the nature of solo diving and the function of dive buddies. I have not yet received my solo certification; the last time I checked with the local dive stores that have an educational component they conspicuously did not offer that course. I am hoping that will change in the future but I think my question is worth addressing because I am sure I am not the first to ask it. In fact, I may very well not be the first to ask it on ScubaBoard. If that is the case I am sorry for being redundant. Much of my diving done her in NC is through charter outfits. I don’t live in NC (it’s where my family home is located; I earned my BA at UNCW so I am familiar and comfortable with the area). I don’t have a regular diving schedule and thus don’t have a network, as yet, of dive buddies. So, usually when I go out on these charters I pair up with someone else who also came solo, creating an insta-buddy. [Or, I pay to have a dive master come with me as my dive buddy.] However, this sort of half-hazard pairing always makes me a little uncomfortable for a variety of reasons. I ask myself questions such as:

Do my new “buddy” and I share the same level of experience?

Do our agendas for this dive match-up?

Are they actually comfortable diving with someone they have just met?

Am I inconveniencing them in some way? I don’t want to be “that person” who ruined their $150.00 dive.

Am I familiar with their equipment enough to be able to help them in an emergency? (For example, what if my buddy is using a full face mask and loses consciousness? [I intend for rescue diving to be my next course])

I could list many more questions. And I know that good communication is essential for a dive team to work together, but so many of us will confess to being tactful rather than honest in our daily lives and I would argue that this impulse is felt, if not always adhered to because it is outweighed by our own sense of self-preservation, when we are on a dive boat.

I just recently acquired a redundant air system (an AL19 tank with fully operational regulator). I carry a second dive mask with snorkel, DSMB w/ reel, Noise makers, two cutting tools, spare equipment, etcetera. I practice using these devices in the pool at my local dive store so that I can be familiar with them.

My question, finally, is, if we are diving a wreck which has a fixed location in which everyone is going to be localized, is it okay for me to go down without a “buddy” given that I have the proper equipment to serve me like a buddy would in the event of an incident? The dive environment would mean that I am actually very close to many divers and could get to one if a need on their or my part arose. I would never attempt to actually go diving alone, at least not until I have taken a solo certification class and have many more dives under my belt, but it seems that in an environment such as this one, my knowledge of my own equipment, limitations, and abilities (basically my own self-awareness) would make me a safer buddy than working with someone who is basically an unknown and unpredictable factor. In that situation it would seem that we both might become liabilities to each other more so than we would be a safeguard in the event of trouble.
 
There is no such thing as quasi-solo. You have a buddy or you don't.

You really should take the solo course, either SDI or PADI, they are almost identical. Solo diving is about more than having redundant gas. This is not to say that an insta-buddy can't be a liabiity, but rather that a larger liability may be not knowing what you don't know.

Google says Bermuda Triangle (ScubaGreenville.com) offers SDI Solo.
 
Not sure about SDI, but I know that PADI requires proof of 100 dives, in addition to your AOW certification prior to doing the solo/self-reliant course.
 
Not sure about SDI, but I know that PADI requires proof of 100 dives, in addition to your AOW certification prior to doing the solo/self-reliant course.

Yes, 100 logged dives for SDI, as well.
 
Not to attack the OP, but the whole concept of Quasi-solo is the crux of the problem with recreational dive buddies.

Either you are buddies that can rely on each other or you are essentially solo. With less than 24 dives, doing solo wreck dives might be a bit of a stretch, but that is what I did when I was 14 yrs old and learning to dive.

I dive with buddies who understand that we will keep an eye on each other if it is convenient, but if we get separated, I am not going to go looking for them - unless it is my son. He and I do a reasonable job of keeping an eye on each other.

If someone gets killed, I do not want to be in a position of questioning myself as to my responsibility. If they separated from me and don't come up, that is "the way it is". I carry a pony bottle, some of my buddies do and some do not, If they get in trouble without a pony in 125 feet, they are going to have a very serious situation on hand.

Either be self sufficient or dive within a tight buddy team, but quasi-solo with an assigned buddy is not something I like to do.
 
If someone doesn't have a buddy nearbye ready help, by the time they struggle over to someone who is not mentally prepared and ready to help, they could be in a panic, grab the regulator out of the other guys mouth and start a fight. Sound outrageous? I am just describing a death scene on one of the Atlantic U-boats. People dive buddy, or solidly solo, with the training. I hope you can link up with local dive groups, even on Facebook, you might find some links.
 
My question, finally, is, if we are diving a wreck which has a fixed location in which everyone is going to be localized, is it okay for me to go down without a “buddy” given that I have the proper equipment to serve me like a buddy would in the event of an incident? The dive environment would mean that I am actually very close to many divers and could get to one if a need on their or my part arose.
as suggested - do the course, get comfortable with being solo and self reliant- then do the wreck dive as long as you they all aware that your solo diving and you are aware of their status then no issues and as DD said no angst if things turn bad. soloing is treated with some apprehansion amongst charters so make sure you know what you can /cant do before going on one.

Sounds like you want to go further with your diving so If you want to explore the wreck (inside) then do an advanced wreck course highly recommend
safe diving
 
My very first dive post OW cert. was in Vortex Spring, FL and was mostly to 20-30' solo, though I did go down to 54'. There were other divers around, but I didn't want to impose to tag along. They were also here and there in the Springs. I GUESS that's "quasi solo" if you want. I first dived solo "for real" after 75 dives and still do, but rarely below 30'. I am comfortable with that and only if deeper than that would consider attaching my pony. I have no solo or self reliant certification, nor do I intend to get one, despite the many who would advise this (it's not offered at our shop at home anyway), and we are in the boonies. You do what you feel comfortable with. It will always come down to that.
 
Solo diving is like pregnancy... either you are, or you aren't... Simple as that. On paper.

As dumpsterDiver aptly pointed out, the "problem" with most buddy pairs, is that they suck as buddy pairs. Thankfully, it's a rare occasion that a buddy is called upon to "actually" save the other guy.

When I was teaching many years ago, I tried to instill a sense of self-reliance into my students. I tried to teach them the value in being a solo diver, before being a solo diver was a thing. I always figured that two "solo" divers diving together was the best of both worlds. Most of my students that acquired their own gear bought a pony bottle right at the outset and for those that did, we covered deployment in our OW II courses...

Anyway, getting back to the OP, IMHO, he doesn't have nearly enough dives to be diving on his own unless it's putzing around in some protected shallows or someplace.

I am completely sympathetic to his "complaints" about insta-buddies... If ever was a reason to "mentor" your own buddy, or allow yourself to be mentored, avoiding the IB is "it".
 
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