For those of you who dive solo . . .

[Diver Dennis]

I think solo is a very personal choice and I have talked about it here before but Bob is correct when he says that sometimes people don't mention it because of the reactions of other divers. I don't think it is guilt, just aversion to getting flamed. We have a chance here to discuss it in open forum. Let's just move on past the original question and discuss it. Everyone has made their point so leave it at that.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

It is intuitive, but that doesn't make it so. With very few exceptions, the times I've been in danger, that danger has been caused by an incompetent buddy.

That is so in many circumstances. As I tell my OW students when they ask me about local marine life encounters ... "the most dangerous creature you will encounter while diving is another diver" ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Charlie99]

You are making big assumptions. You are assuming DIR is safer and you are assuming having a buddy is safer. I disagree with both assumptions.

Actually, I was referring to philosophies, goals, and ways of looking at risks & rewards. One can argue all day long (and we do) as to whether or not DIR achieves the goal of minimizing risk by being a comprehensive, coordinated system of gear configuration, philosophy, training, and procedures; but most unbiased observers would agree that increased safety is the goal and driving force behind much of DIR.

I do not claim that all buddy diving is safer than all solo diving. Indeed, bad buddies can greatly increase risk (at least for the better buddy. Many people ignore that the risk for the "bad buddy" is significantly decreased -- but that's yet another discussion).

Lynne's original question is interesting and unique in that she phrased it in a way that it searches for a deeper answer than "I dive solo to avoid bad buddies".

You disagree that having a buddy is safer. Do you still disagree when the buddy is a well trained, experienced buddy with a good attitude? Do you still disagree when the buddy is a well trained, experienced buddy, that is also appropriately equipped and experienced in solo diving?

My point is that, by solo diving, I consciously choose to accept some risks that would be reduced when diving with a buddy. I don't have the need to try and justify it by trying to convince either myself or others that it is the safest possible way to dive. To me the criteria is whether the pleasure and enjoyment of diving alone are worth the risks of that particular dive.

In my case, it is more a case of "diving alone" rather than solo diving, since I use the same gear setup (no pony, no doubles) that I do when diving with a buddy.

 

[TSandM]

My only objection is the same one I have for any other aspect of diving ... people engaging in it without proper training, equipment, or experience.

I think this is why I felt guilty . . . At least in my mind, some redundancy ought to be there if you're alone, and I had none. In addition, the boat captain/PADI instructor would not have approved me diving solo, and it was his boat and his rules. In practice, I was in 30 feet of sunlit, clear water, directly beneath the boat, in an area where there's no fishing (no nets or line) and also in an area where I had already explored earlier in the dive. So the risks were pretty darned low, and I really enjoyed the time.

 

[Diver Dennis]

I think this is why I felt guilty . . . At least in my mind, some redundancy ought to be there if you're alone, and I had none. In addition, the boat captain/PADI instructor would not have approved me diving solo, and it was his boat and his rules. In practice, I was in 30 feet of sunlit, clear water, directly beneath the boat, in an area where there's no fishing (no nets or line) and also in an area where I had already explored earlier in the dive. So the risks were pretty darned low, and I really enjoyed the time.

That's a good point. How many divers who have a good SAC might hang around below the boat for a while when others have gone up? This is actually the way I started solo diving. In a situation like this, shallow water and knowing exactly where the boat is would be very safe in my opinion without redundant gear for any well trained diver. It is also a good way to practice a few things without having to worry about keeping up with your buddy or a group.

 

[kiwiman]

I’m glad I read this thread, well the first fifty or so posts. I would have been better off skipping the last HUNDRED AND FIFTY posts of people bickering over how they like to dive. I may be new to the whole thing, but from what I know there is no Scuba Police waiting for people to break the rules.

I know nothing about DIR, and that might be why I have no problem with the idea of a perfect buddy.

I would LOVE to dive solo. The thought of being by myself in the wilderness (Under the water is still the wilderness.) Unfortunately the only dive sights open to me are privately owned quarries, and the state in no uncertain terms that if I don’t have a buddy I will be “asked to leave”. So I plan to go solo the first chance I get, and if I don’t kill myself (always a possibility when diving) a lot of solo diving will be in my future.

Thank you, to the few people who actually shared diving experiences.

To the rest of you, if safety is your main concern then dive the way most people do. Watch it on TV.

Brian

 

[Kim]

***Mod Post***​

OK folks. I have deleted all the name calling and other bashing through this thread. Several posts have been either edited or removed - along with posts or comments that referenced them. If anyone feels unfairly treated at this point please contact me (I have a copy of the original thread - unedited). If I have missed anything that still causes offense, please let me know by PM. I have left everyone's actual points of view intact as best I could.

Might I remind people that in the event of being called a name or having some other form of unjustified attack made against you, the proper response is not to reply in kind, but to report it and let the Moderators deal with it. We wish the board to remain a friendly place where even opposing viewpoints can be debated in a civil manner. Trying to wind others up by pushing their buttons intentionally is not what we want.
Please play nicely from now on.

***Mod Post***​

 

[Cacia]

Pools open!

Even though I agree the most prevelant reason is for enjoyment, and I am reluctant to "blame" someone else, I think I have to admit most close calls or "underwater issues" I have experienced have been directly caused by the other diver. Before someone calls me arrogant, it had not much to do with ability or skills. It was usually related to really poor judgement. Examples include ten "follow the leader types" blindly following someone else into a cave in poor viz, divers you were with drifting far from the boat on a non-drift, divers ascending quickly for bad reasons, not giving the ocean the respect she deserves.

There are many people out there that are so dependent on formal classes for knowledge they just never seem to learn the processing decision making ability. These people, I am not sure will improve with classes, it seems to be something they lack (from birth??) Nice, intelligent people, just no common sense for a lack of a better word.

The coast guard shows up the other day for some divers that drifted away and insisted on looking "the last place they were seen" in a ripping current. My friend tried to tell them they were wasting their time looking there because of the currentand the timeline. They insisted they were following some "standard protocol". It was ridiculous. Those are the mindsets that I cannot stay with on a dive.

And then undoubtedly someone will ask the inevitable "why didn't you give them your marker?"

For people who love classes and for people that like thinking up new certs, I would like to see more..."okay ..go figure this one out.." Not a bunch of simplified right, wrong, 1, 2, 3, easy test questions. To solo, you need to think.

 

[AndyNZ]

Andy, you're right about dogma. I don't like dogma. I want a reason for everything. You would hate having me in your OW class -- I drove my instructors crazy.

No, Lynne. I'd love to have you in my OW class... my worst nightmare is the student who sits there and expects to be spoonfed knowledge but have no desire to question or extend themselves. My preferred teaching style - which is best described as the "What do you think?" approach - doesn't accomodate these people very well.

And since one of the cornerstones of DIR is the team concept, solo diving falls completely outside the paradigm.

Does it? In certain circumstances I'd say not - the concept of team does exist in solo diving, when one choses to have surface support for example. This is quite common in commercial and military diving where there is a single diver but an extended team who have input into and control the dive. I don't think the two are far apart - unless you are talking about an unsupported, inexperienced diver at depth with no redundancy etc etc. And that is just plain stupid as opposed to being "non-DIR"...

For those who think solo diving is dangerous ... so is any aspect of diving if you're not properly prepared for it. Try instructing ... talk about dangerous, every time I take a class of Open Water students out I get in the water assuming I am diving with a bunch of people who are actively trying to kill me ...

Ain't that the truth, Bob! OW is very much like herding cats at times - and you certainly can't enter the dive thinking that a student diver is going to respond well to the instructor having a problem. Every OW dive is a solo dive in my books.

 

[TSandM]

My original OW instructor said to me one night, after my AOW night dive, that all dives he did with students he considered to be solo dives. That really rocked me back on my heels and made me feel awful, but there's really a ton of truth to it. And all the people who talk about diving solo instead of diving with bad buddies are in that space, too.

I realize I'm extraordinarily lucky, in that I have a group of local buddies, all of whom are really skilled divers with excellent buddy skills, and when I travel, I have my husband as my buddy, and don't have to depend on strangers. My attitude might be quite different if I had had to dive with "insta-buddies" a lot. But, in fact, our local waters are sufficiently sinister -- in terms of poor visibility and the likelihood of encountering hazards -- that I really think I'm safer, so long as I dive with my usual buddies.

On the other hand, I have gone down a number of times with novices (trying to pay it forward) where, as my instructor said, to all intents and purposes I was diving solo. What, really, is the difference between accompanying a rank novice, and diving alone? Except that diving alone is likely to go more smoothly?