How old are you?

[MXGratefulDiver]

I started SCUBA relatively late in life, at 49.

Me too ... in fact, I started my OW class on my 49th birthday. Been making up for lost time ever since ... 2800+ dives in 10-1/2 years ... not too bad for an old, fat dude ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[NCBusguy]

I'm in a Solo course right now, will finish tomorrow. I have dove a few times solo and I think they were the best dives, but getting some training has been fun and really makes you know where you stand with your skills. I got recertified AOW last summer after a 25 year hiatus and I'm 50!!

 

[Stoo]

... 2800+ dives in 10-1/2 years ... not too bad for an old, fat dude ...

Damn, that's a lot of dives in a year? Do you live near an ocean by chance?

I'm getting my 100th for this year in this weekend, on my birthday. Last year, I managed 141, but that involved a bunch of trips south. My problem is that anything I want to dive is a 3 - 4 hour drive away... Gotta move!

 

[Barracuda2]

Hey all, I just joined the "dark side" a year and a half ago and I can't tell you how much I have been enjoying this solo diving gig. When I do live a boards, I generally find myself solo anyways because I'm a videographer, and you know how we dive. My local dive hole here in Ohio is Gilboa Quarry, and since I'm retired, I can go there anytime during the week to avoid the crowds and it's great. My dives are generally much longer (about an hour to one and a half hours) than when I'm with a buddy, and the freedom to go where I want, when I want, without the responsibility of looking out for someone else just can't be beat. Solos are my most relaxing dives. I dive with a 119 Hp steel cylinder with an H Valve, and a 40 pony; my primary has a cutoff should my 2nd stage go free flow. I've been diving a long time, but I'm always open for pointers to improve myself and my safety. I'm looking forward to reading this forum.

 

[markmud]

Hey Barracuda2,

I enjoyed reading your post.

Occasionally, I have dived with insta-buddies; so I became a solo diver, and not by choice. We splashed, descended, and the insta-buddy departed. Now, I must add a mitigating circumstance to my becoming a solo diver, at least mentally speaking--I purchased a brand new regulator during my OW phase that was defective.

OK, I know what you are thinking--how does this guy make a logical connection between a defective regulator and diving solo? Well, I was a tugboat captain and previous to that I was a fish boat captain. Professional blue-water mariners know that redundancy is the key to survival on the ocean. Hmmm, insta-buddies who would split on me, my regulator failing me, and my regular dive buddy has an SOB attitude...um, maybe I had better learn to take care of myself! This dive buddy thing may get me killed!

I went to Dolphin SCUBA and bought a redundant pony rig. I also bought other safey gear and I started to practice with my lifesaving and redundant gear. I rarely dive without my pony rig and I always dive with life saving gear.

Now when my insta-buddy splits, or my regular dive-buddy swims out of my range, I rely on my own training and gear to save me--just in case.

I feel comfortable solo diving and consider it to be a completely different experience. I focus on the ocean and what is in it. I love diving with buddies, I love diving on guided excursions, and I love diving solo.

While on one of my early dives, I met this old guy (he was older than me; I am in the 51-60 age range). He had a reputation for being a solo diver. He carried a redundant system and life saving gear. I asked him why he solo dived. He said: "Because the divemaster would pair me with you and you might be a liability to me!"

I marveled at his cognitive reasoning capabilities! Profound.

markm

 

[markmud]

So with all of these threads about health and dying (not necessarily in the solo forum) I started to sense that we solo types tend to be older than the average SCUBEE diver. Perhaps solo comes about as an evolutionary thing... Buddy's stop diving, or perhaps we just don't give a rat's a$$ about what people think about us...

So time for another poll! How old are you?

Hey Stoo,

I don't think that us old f**k* don't give a rats-ass, I think we now understand the difference between beginner level training guidelines, religuous orthodoxy, and reality. Also, we have seen the idiots and unfortunates amongst us die off.

I firmly believe that formal training and formal training guidelines are essential to this sport because of liability issues. Also, no sane person wants to be involved with a newbie getting maimed or killed. No way.

At one point, us old farts (including young guys/gals who are rational and deep thinkers) separate basic level training dogma and religous orthodoxy from reality. Yes, there are many who banter about on this forum whose faith is based on PADI, NAUI...et allia, dogma. These organizations serve a useful purpose and some have opined that the PADI model has saved SCUBA diving from extinction or severe governemental regulation (extinction and severe governemtal regulation are one in the same).

I realize as a rational human being that there are dangerous aspects about everything in life. I am not willing to live my life according to someone elses religous doctrine. I choose the risks I take and I prepare for those risks in advance.

Its my life, my rules, and my death (if I make a mistake).

Don't cry for me if I blow it. Throw a party and with great cheer, proclaim that here lies a man who saw the world, fished the world, dived the world, and hunted the world with great joy and huge smile on his face.

My life was not wasted sitting on a sofa watching college ball!

I solo dive, solo hunt, solo explore in Grizzly country, et allia, because I have 3 or 4 or 8 hours of time that I don't want to waste. So I go without a buddy. I love buddies. But if no buddy is available, I go anyway. The risk of becoming a couch potato are far to great for me.

markm

 

[Saxatilis]

Young Solo Divers!!! Yeah!!!

 

[Stoo]

I don't think that us old f**k* don't give a rats-ass,

I think you are probably on to something Mark. If I had a nickle for every time I have been lectured on "my" (and most other folks in this forum I think) way of diving, I would be moderately wealthy. What's most interesting, is that almost without exception, those who were critical stopped diving decades ago. I see new Rambo-divers spring up every year, many of whom get into some pretty serious diving, but then they just fizzle and die (not generally literally, although occasionally). I think that in many cases it's because they don't have anyone to dive with. Even this past weekend, I dove with my "same-day, same-lake" buddy, but he had other obligations on Sunday, so I carried on and had two great dives alone...

My main interest in buddy diving (and I've done more of it in the past two years than the previous 10) is that I have rekindled my interest in photography and pictures of shipwrecks without someone in them are left "wanting". My buddy provides some scale for reference.... It's the best reason I've found for having a buddy!

 

[JamesFL]

Well, I’m 24 and I haven't been diving long, but I have had this issue of if I want to dive, I pretty much have to dive solo. I know very, very few certified people, and we are always busy. It took me awhile, but I finally decided to dive by myself if I have to, and it allows me to dive three times as much. The main thing I do for safety is dive conservatively. I dive well within NDL's, and mostly lakes also with a dive computer and separate dive timer backup. I was really surprised by the amount of older people soloing, I figured it was just young bucks like me who's friends where to wrapped up in their careers to make it to the dive.

 

[Stoo]

James, even us older guys were young once too... I started solo diving when I was 19... literally months after I started diving... and for pretty much the reason you mention.

It would be interesting to see a "scientific" poll about years of diving as it relates to solo diving. I have often speculated that one of the main reasons that people give up diving is because they don't have anyone to dive with. The folks in this forum apparently chose not to let that stop them!