Diving Alone

[Bratface]

I have my usual group of dive buddies but often go on trips alone. I have never had any problems finding someone to dive with. Like others have said, talk to the other divers and ask if you can come with one of them. Be sure to talk about their experience and yours so that you both are comfortable. If I can't find a suitable buddy candidate, i'll ask the dive master if I can dive along with him/her.

 

[sea_otter]

As someone very small (quite strong for someone of my size as I'm very athletic, but still, a very small person), would there be any concern if my dive partner was much larger and I needed to pull them to the surface in an emergency? Life if they passed out or something? I do know things are lighter in the water, but is this a common concern among people?

My rescue instructor was about 6'2" and over 200 pounds. I carried him... up a ladder onto a pier. I am a 5'4" woman. It is definitely doable with the proper technique. In water, size matters even less. I would highly recommend taking the rescue class if you get an opportunity.

Until recently, I only dove on tropical charter boats where I'd meet up with someone on the boat, and I knew we'd have a divemaster in the water. However, in the past couple months, I've started shore diving in Northern California. Knowing nobody, and not having a husband who dives, I was a little bit skeptical of meeting up with random strangers (the vast majority of them men). However, I've been able to very quickly meet a lot of really friendly people through a few local dive clubs, Facebook groups, and even Scubaboard. Scuba divers tend to be overwhelmingly pretty awesome people. I'm still hoping my husband will take up diving, but until that day, it's easy to find great buddies.

 

[2airishuman]

Thank you for the helpful replies! I'm starting to see this more as a possibility now

Can I ask one more thing? As someone very small (quite strong for someone of my size as I'm very athletic, but still, a very small person), would there be any concern if my dive partner was much larger and I needed to pull them to the surface in an emergency? Life if they passed out or something? I do know things are lighter in the water, but is this a common concern among people?

There are several sides to this.

As a practical answer to the question you asked, no, size is not ordinarily a factor, because if you were in situation where you had to get an unconscious person to the surface, you would do so by dumping their weights and inflating their BC. Having reached the surface, you would hope to get help from others to continue the rescue and do what you can in the meantime.

Many, probably most, divers don't have rescue training. We could get philosophical and try to figure out the exact responsibilities that divers have towards a buddy, but in many if not most buddy pairs, rescue isn't part of the deal.

 

[JohnN]

Thank you for the helpful replies! I'm starting to see this more as a possibility now

Can I ask one more thing? As someone very small (quite strong for someone of my size as I'm very athletic, but still, a very small person), would there be any concern if my dive partner was much larger and I needed to pull them to the surface in an emergency? Life if they passed out or something? I do know things are lighter in the water, but is this a common concern among people?

As has already been pointed out, pulling a larger diver to the surface will not be a problem. Their unbridled envy at how (little) air you will use may be another issue

 

[NYCNaiad]

The third choice and maybe a good one for you is to hire your own personal DM for your first several dives. A little research will likely bring up plenty of female guides.

Great point! I also did this & used the situation as an opportunity to further my certifications by getting my Advanced Open Water (AOW) & some other certifications (e.g., Nitrox) with my own private instructor in Cozumel. Because he was my instructor & we were one on one, it also hugely improved my diving skills & confidence in a very short period of time.

...would there be any concern if my dive partner was much larger and I needed to pull them to the surface in an emergency? Life if they passed out or something? I do know things are lighter in the water, but is this a common concern among people?

I'm not tiny, but I did at first think about what I would do if a large guy needed my help. I don't generally do shore dives where it's just me & someone else so being in a group on a boat makes it less of a concern. Ditch his weight, inflate his BCD & I could tow him to the boat where someone else could get him onboard...& so could you. However, I did start thinking that I'd like to be better prepared in an emergency to help myself & others so I took the CPR and First Aid Course which is prep for the Rescue Diver cert & that cert is my next step.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

There are several sides to this.

As a practical answer to the question you asked, no, size is not ordinarily a factor, because if you were in situation where you had to get an unconscious person to the surface, you would do so by dumping their weights and inflating their BC. Having reached the surface, you would hope to get help from others to continue the rescue and do what you can in the meantime.

Many, probably most, divers don't have rescue training. We could get philosophical and try to figure out the exact responsibilities that divers have towards a buddy, but in many if not most buddy pairs, rescue isn't part of the deal.

This is sadly true and there is no good reason for it to be so. It should be. Planning and executing a dive and returning safely from it means that if the stuff hits the fan you should be able to assist your buddy. Some agencies have rescue skills as part of the OW class. All used to at one time.
Time is why they no longer do not. Time after all is money. Longer classes where rescue skills can be taught mean less time to put more people through.
The worst part is that it only takes about an hour in the classroom and two in the pool to teach panicked diver assist at the surface, non responsive diver from depth, rescue tow while stripping gear, and supporting a diver at the surface and helping them establish positive buoyancy.
However you do have to have a solid foundation of basic skills to do that and that is simply not possible in a one or two weekend class where everything is rushed.

It's the main reason I often require AOW students I have not had for open water to do a half day workshop to teach those skills before allowing them to start AOW training.

 

[cbm32]

Choose your dive op carefully wherever you go and you wont have a problem on the boat. They will either have the DM or someone that they know is reliable and has dove with them a bunch to dive with you....at least in all of the places I have dove that is what happens. Far more often than not there will be someone on board that actually enjoys being a mentor of sorts and will take good care of you on the boat and in the water. IMO that is the least of your worries. If you are traveling and diving, the place to be extra careful will be on shore after the diving is over for the day.

The above is the same advice I would give my own daughter.

 

[WetPup]

My partner can't dive due to medical reasons, and it would be cruel to bring him with me on dive trips where he has nothing to do because the only thing to do at the destination is dive.

I do have a number of friends who dive, but most are not in the financial position to come with me when I go overseas on diving holidays.

Ergo, I end up diving alone.

I'm tiny as well, only 5'2", and I can rescue a well built 6'3" guy on a dive (I had to "rescue" my DM instructor during training...admittedly while trying not to laugh), so size isn't a major issue. If you're going diving with a commercial operator, they will buddy you up with someone of a similar experience level (male or female), or if that's not an option, you'll just buddy up with the dive guide. I've had a few attitude problems from guys who think they're all big and tough, but aside from running their mouth off from time to time, they're not generally an issue. Going on dive trips alone is honestly a great way to meet new people, and I've very rarely been the only person travelling solo, so I've made some lifelong friends through the whole insta-buddy game on dive trips. Don't worry about it so much

As for diving solo, without a buddy...I do. But it's not something I would ever recommend to someone without many years of experience under their belt.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Hey! I actually joined this forum to ask a question about snorkeling, but then I spent a while browsing stuff and got myself worked up about learning scuba diving.

I noticed a lot of mentions of partners etc.,but also a few posts that suggest most women have their husband/boyfriend as their partner, and in general there's a lot more male divers than female. (Correct me if I'm wrong on any of these things, these were just impressions I got?)

So I'm wondering if it's allowed to go diving alone if you don't have a partner? I don't really know anyone else who would want to do it. If I could find another woman to dive with me I'd jump at the chance, but I'm like 5 foot nothing and tiny... I don't think I would be comfortable at all going to dive sites with some random guys.

It's just a question. At first I thought money was my achilles heel, but I did the numbers and figure I can afford it, and then I realize I have nobody to go with...

Like others have said, if you are going to be diving where you will be really alone you should have a lot of experience first. If you are mainly going to dive from dive boats it's probably not going to be an issue as there will be a group of divers. I was on a dive boat from Maui a while back and there were three women who were "alone." At least two of them were traveling alone. There was at least one women (about 78 years old) who was traveling alone on Cozumel and I guess you could almost say we were dive buddies because we both were off on our own, away from the group (though not necessarily together). Nobody on any dive boat has ever "assigned" me a buddy or told me I had to have one.

Personally I usually dive alone (solo) when beach diving. I took up underwater photography many years ago and was never paying any attention to my dive buddy anyway. Another contributing factor was that I seemed to spend a lot of time assisting other divers in the water and sometimes flat-out rescuing them. This got old after a while and interfered with my enjoyment. My x-wife turned out to be an excellent diver so she was comfortable exploring on her own while I was busy taking pictures. I also had a dive buddy who was x Navy SEAL so he didn't require much supervision other than he had a tendency to rest his hand right next to moray eels.

A few years back I read a post from a woman who, I think, might have been just a tiny bit larger than you who was describing her solo beach dives. I don't know how much experience she had but it sounded like not a lot as I was making suggestions about making her beach diving a bit easier.

You might be able to find a local dive club and get some experience with others and once you get to know some particular spots and are comfortable with them you could try doing it alone. So far nobody has ever come up to me and told me I could not go diving alone. Anywhere. Nor does anyone have a right to tell me that.

As for the money, if you shop around and look for deals it can be done for a lot less money than they will tell you at most retail dive shops. Just don't buy any aluminum tanks from the 80s or a used regulator that has any signs of corrosion. You really would need an expert to check out things like the regulator and BC. Also, don't buy any gauges that are not on Zero out of the water. I bought an excellent, brand new 2.5 mm full wetsuit on eBay for $30. It's great for the tropics. I also bought some ScubaPro Jet Fins from the 70s for $30 and they looked like they had perhaps been worn once. A can of spray paint can spruce up some old dive weights (but they may need touch-up from time to time. Try on masks at many dive shops and then spend the money on the one you like the best. You may end up having it for decades so I suggest you choose carefully. A good mask that you really like is money well spent.

 

[kr2y5]

I'm not a woman, but just thinking outside the box: would 2 random guys cancel each other out? Chances are, they will be competing for who gets to carry your fins, and in case anything happens, one can rescue the other...