Diving alone?

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WC46

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Location
Illinois
# of dives
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:no I realize it is unsafe to dive alone but my question is, is there a law that states you cannott dive alone? If so, who controls this? The reason I am asking is I was wanting to go to Destin florida and dive around the jetties just of the beach but i would be by myself. I'm new to this diving experience and I know it is safer to dive with a buddy but sometimes it's impossible
 
There are no laws that state anything regarding diving in most areas of the world.

Scuba police do not exist.
 
WC46:
:no I realize it is unsafe to dive alone but my question is, is there a law that states you cannott dive alone? If so, who controls this? The reason I am asking is I was wanting to go to Destin florida and dive around the jetties just of the beach but i would be by myself. I'm new to this diving experience and I know it is safer to dive with a buddy but sometimes it's impossible

Go to the solo forum in the technical diving section and you will get answers to your solo questions.
 
String:
There are no laws that state anything regarding diving in most areas of the world.

Scuba police do not exist.

The one law typically enforced by park authorities is the towing of a dive flag.

On the topic of diving alone, you can but the risks do increase. The causes of death you hear about solo divers are not running out of air, but entanglement or other related mishaps that a buddy would be vital in resolving.
:monkeydan
 
WC46:
:no I realize it is unsafe to dive alone but my question is, is there a law that states you cannott dive alone? If so, who controls this? The reason I am asking is I was wanting to go to Destin florida and dive around the jetties just of the beach but i would be by myself. I'm new to this diving experience and I know it is safer to dive with a buddy but sometimes it's impossible

No laws, but you would be incredibly stupid or perhaps merely suicidal to do so as a new diver. I do a great deal of diving solo and so do lots of other folks, but even most experienced divers think we're crazy and in some ways we are. If you are not an active diver and if you haven't been an active diver for years with tons of dives behind you and are extremely confident in your ability to handle any possible emergency that comes up, you shouldn't even consider the concept of getting in the water without a buddy. Buddies are easy enough to find that this shouldn't be an issue.
 
Thats a local regulation which is why i added "in most areas of the world".

In most places in theory anyone can go, buy scuba gear, no training and jump and and dive.

Deliberately avoiding pros/cons of solo diving as it'll start another monster thread.
 
captain:
Go to the solo forum in the technical diving section and you will get answers to your solo questions.
Yeah, but this guy has yet to make his first dive.
 
Walter:
Yeah, but this guy has yet to make his first dive.
Fair enough but that's where the discussion belongs. And hopefully your point can be made just as effectively but with far more finesse than....
Walter:
No laws, but you would be incredibly stupid or perhaps merely suicidal to do so as a new diver.
 
I do check dives with new gear in the lake behind my house solo. Well, my wife watches over the bubbles. Max depth is only 10 ft, no motor boats, no hazards... But I do understand that beginning divers routinely drown in knee deep water ... So I am much more conscious of my surrounding, my gear, the location of the weight belt, etc....

I have been helped by buddies in the past when my tank slipped (stupid tank guard slips off your BC)... So I really appreciate having a buddy. I probably would not dive alone in a real lake or ocean... But I can appreciate the serenity and peacefullness of being alone in the ocean.
 
String:
Scuba police do not exist.

Laguna Beach, CA, has SCUBA Police :D They are also known as lifeguards. No buddy = ticket. No snorkel = ticket. They enforce times in which classes can be on the beach during the summer (7am-10am). They also have the authority to close the beach to divers during rough surf...dive it anyway = ticket.

Local laws vary....hire a DM and do a Discover Local Diving. Doing so gives you a buddy and someone that can inform you of local restrictions/laws.

Don't dive alone. It's not as fun and it's not as safe. (I only speaking for recreational diving not trained and well equiped solo divers.) In a report that DAN published, they determined that in 80% of the diving fatalities, during this reporting period, buddies had become seperated prior to any trouble.
 

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