BigboyDan:
Ahhh, the melodrama of it all....
diving alone
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Ahhh, the melodrama of it all....
I'd rather dive with my favorite person. But when my favorite person is not there I enjoy the peace and solitude of a looooong solo dive on a pristine reef.
Michael Freeman
Contributor
I once cleaned the 'growth' from the bottom of a friends sail boat solo. It was a lot bigger boat then I thought after spending an hour scraping... and scraping... and scraping. 
BigboyDan
Guest
Mike Veitch:
I never understand why people are so proud of being stupid?
Dive alone, die alone:
http://www.scubaboard.com/t89598-why-divers-die.html
BigboyDan:
Stupid? No.
Confident in ability and equipment...yes.
Not sure i understand the relevance of the thread you quoted to this thread. Seems to talk more about inexperienced divers panicking in group dive situations.
I certainly agree that inexperienced and not so frequent divers shouldn't dive solo but for those with the skills i don't see the problem.
If it ain't for you that is not a problem, but why you think its stupid i have no idea.
This is 2005 not 1965, lots of improvements in equipment, training, redundancy etc.
Why do people have such a fear of diving alone? Must be the continual drilling of the Open Water course i guess.
Once you reach a certain level of ability it shouldn't be a problem.
Try the SDI Solo Diving course...you just may learn something.
BigboyDan
Guest
Stay out of currents Mike.
I don't doubt that you are an exellent diver, as are many others on this board. Be careful about recommending to others, though...
I don't doubt that you are an exellent diver, as are many others on this board. Be careful about recommending to others, though...
Potapko
Contributor
Someone needs to read the DAN stats on dive fatalities. I believe the number that were diving solo at the time was only around 17%
D_O_H
Contributor
TheDivingPreacher:
That could be a really bad statistic if, say, only 1% of dives were done solo but accounted for 17% of all fatalities.
I don't have a problem with anyone diving solo, by the way, just picking nits.
I don't think it's stupid to dive alone. I think it's stupid to dive alone if you don't understand the risks you're taking, and I don't think most people can really understand the risks they're taking until they have a lot of experience.
And if your diving alone puts other people at risk, including the people who might feel a responsibility to come after you (or your body) when you've screwed up, but especially including the spouse or children you might be leaving behind, I'm pretty much back to thinking that's stupid, or at least very selfish. But maybe that's another subject.
Otherwise, I don't think solo diving is any more objectionable than solo mountain climbing, and there is a long tradition of solo climbing. In both sports, there are a lot of ways to get into trouble, and if you are giving up one of the ways to get out of trouble (a competent partner and all of the things that other person can do that you might not be able to do for yourself), you have a special responsibility to avoid doing the things that can get you into trouble in the first place. I think people who won't or can't exercise that much discipline and restraint are stupid.
I started out skin diving alone in Mexico because I was working on a project that I had planned to make the subject of my graduate studies, and there wasn't much of an alternative to diving alone. When I got certified, I dove alone with SCUBA occasionally because I wanted to continue diving in places where I didn't have anybody to go with me. I came close to drowning once, as a result of hypothermia (getting too focused on the pretty little seashells and trying to tough out the cold), and by the time I realized I was in trouble the self-rescue that should have been very easy turned out to be very hard.
The lesson I learned was that the same things that cause the physical problem(s) can also make you stupid, and the stupidity sneaks up on you. Dehydration, cold, excitement, lots of things can impair your judgment. If you aren't stupid when you start out to dive alone, it's always possible to get stupid after you're in the water, and I think it takes a lot of experience to see it coming before it gets you.
And if your diving alone puts other people at risk, including the people who might feel a responsibility to come after you (or your body) when you've screwed up, but especially including the spouse or children you might be leaving behind, I'm pretty much back to thinking that's stupid, or at least very selfish. But maybe that's another subject.
Otherwise, I don't think solo diving is any more objectionable than solo mountain climbing, and there is a long tradition of solo climbing. In both sports, there are a lot of ways to get into trouble, and if you are giving up one of the ways to get out of trouble (a competent partner and all of the things that other person can do that you might not be able to do for yourself), you have a special responsibility to avoid doing the things that can get you into trouble in the first place. I think people who won't or can't exercise that much discipline and restraint are stupid.
I started out skin diving alone in Mexico because I was working on a project that I had planned to make the subject of my graduate studies, and there wasn't much of an alternative to diving alone. When I got certified, I dove alone with SCUBA occasionally because I wanted to continue diving in places where I didn't have anybody to go with me. I came close to drowning once, as a result of hypothermia (getting too focused on the pretty little seashells and trying to tough out the cold), and by the time I realized I was in trouble the self-rescue that should have been very easy turned out to be very hard.
The lesson I learned was that the same things that cause the physical problem(s) can also make you stupid, and the stupidity sneaks up on you. Dehydration, cold, excitement, lots of things can impair your judgment. If you aren't stupid when you start out to dive alone, it's always possible to get stupid after you're in the water, and I think it takes a lot of experience to see it coming before it gets you.
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