JamesBon92007
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Diving Alone
- Thread starter Nozomi
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I go diving when I can. Sometimes my regular buddies are busy. I have done a lot dives with instabuddies and a number of them have been femaie, several very new to totally new divers. Has always worked well. They tend to be good on air.
I have also done some diving while traveling. A lot of the posts above assume the whole world works like what they are familiar with. It varies a lot.
CHECK AHEAD and talk to the dive operator you are going with
-Some ops put a guide in the water and some do not. 90% or more of my dives there is no boat guide in the water.
-Some ops will pair up singles. They require a buddy for each diver.
-Some ops will ask if singles want to be paired up and will then arrange it for those who do.
-Some ops will only pair you up if you make a point of asking for it.
-Some ops will provide you a DM if you request it.
-Some ops will provide you a DM if you request it ahead of time.
----Sometimes this is relatively cheap, like $40 or so if they are also DMing the boat
----Sometimes this is more expensive especially if the DM is an extra person on the boat. Once I had to pay their dive fee (at the instructor level which is less)
These are all situations I have seen on boats I have dove on. I have even been on boats with a captain and 5 divers with no DM available at all.
I have also done some diving while traveling. A lot of the posts above assume the whole world works like what they are familiar with. It varies a lot.
CHECK AHEAD and talk to the dive operator you are going with
-Some ops put a guide in the water and some do not. 90% or more of my dives there is no boat guide in the water.
-Some ops will pair up singles. They require a buddy for each diver.
-Some ops will ask if singles want to be paired up and will then arrange it for those who do.
-Some ops will only pair you up if you make a point of asking for it.
-Some ops will provide you a DM if you request it.
-Some ops will provide you a DM if you request it ahead of time.
----Sometimes this is relatively cheap, like $40 or so if they are also DMing the boat
----Sometimes this is more expensive especially if the DM is an extra person on the boat. Once I had to pay their dive fee (at the instructor level which is less)
These are all situations I have seen on boats I have dove on. I have even been on boats with a captain and 5 divers with no DM available at all.
ScubaJill
Contributor
Hi Nozomi,
I was in your situation a few years ago. I wanted to learn how to dive but I knew almost no one who was certified. I didn't live near any dive sites, so it wasn't obvious to me (at the time) how I could get certified and practice. My then-fiance couldn't dive due to a serious back injury that he received in a military training accident. Most of my friends lived in my hometown and not my current location. And truthfully, if I had asked them to join me, they would have just talked about how they'd like to dive one day, rather than signing up to do it. I decided to just go for it and get certified while on vacation. Just me. I was the only student and the only female on the boat, which the instructor liked to point out.
Most of my dives since being certified have been as a single diver on a boat where a dive guide has been in the water, so I'll share these type of experiences with you. I've been matched up with other divers who ranged from near beginners to very experienced divers; nice, mentor-type divers and cranky, experienced divers who had no interest in partnering with the newbie me; aggressive, pushy divers and laid back divers, much like myself, who were just happy to get in the water. Sometimes we just went down as a group, with no identified partner. I would say, the majority of the time, there was at least one other female diver on the boat. Sometimes it was the dive guide/DM. In my experience, dive buddies who are large and male will typically consume air at a rate much faster than you consume air. This probably won't be a big deal in the early stages as you get comfortable with diving.
Let me just say that taking up diving has been one of the best decisions I've ever made.
I think most divers who *pursue* diving opportunities totally understand single divers, male or female. You might run into people on vacation who are taking a day to dive ask you why you're alone and tell you that they couldn't imagine diving without their partner. I think women might get this line of questioning more than men. You'll likely run into newish (and maybe not so newish) divers who like to tell you everything they know and make fun of you behind your back when you do something they consider ignorant (or post it here on SB). Sometimes those newish divers will muscle their way in and try to "educate" you. This will likely be because you are female and come across as somewhat accessible. Ignore those asshats. Focus on your diving. Focus on your gear. If you have questions, ask a professional or one of the other nice divers on the boat. If you find that there are no nice divers on the boat and the professional is condescending, remember that for your next dive trip and whatever review you choose to leave on TripAdvisor. Expect to feel foolish and occasionally stupid as you learn. You'll make mistakes. You might feel especially conspicuous if you're the only female in a dive group, and the youngest, and this may amplify whatever pressure you're already feeling. Don't let it. It will ruin your dive. You'll become demoralized and potentially put an end to your budding hobby, all because of some asshats. Focus on your diving and your gear. And don't dive beyond your level of experience because your somewhat newish dive buddy says it will be ok. Become self-reliant. This may take time if you have no regular dive buddy. (I may have to edit this for clarity in the morning
)Good luck! I hope you decide to get certified!
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My wife doesn't dive, and most of my dive buddies are guys. Some have become very good friends over the years. Get over it, it's a non issue
NYCNaiad
Dive babble all day long
NYCNaiad
Dive babble all day long
I actually get this asked a lot as i'm the founder of a fairly large and very active dive club. And that may be your answer. We have lots of single divers. My wife does not dive so the club affords me a wide array of buddies. I'm also an instructor, dive master and tec instructor (and SDI Solo instructor) so i'm often diving alone anyway. We have lots of people (men and women) who don't have regular buddies. Someone is always diving someplace and always looking for people to come along.
we even have major trips going where people link up to find roommates for that liveaboard or someone to share that rental.
Come on and visit the Vero Beach Scuba club on Facebook! Better yet, come dive with us
The assumption of abuse aside, I think its very smart for a lone female entering an unknown adventure to explore safety issues, both the diving and travel. Kudos to her for thinking it through and I hope our contributions to the discussion have both reassured her and given her the knowledge and confidence to begin her exploration of the wonders beneath the waves.
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