If you have to ask, you're not ready to solo......?

[Vayu]

What if you buddy does not have a octo?- what if your buddy has one, but you don't know if it works? Have you practiced buddy breathing with this "buddy"?

I know I said I wouldn't comment on solo diving or post in this thread, but since you referenced my post directly I owe you a response.

1. If a diver does not have an octo, I will not dive with them as my buddy.

2. I'll know it works because my buddies equipment is my equipment. All equipment is a team resource and should be checked before the dive.

3. If I do not know the capabilities of a diver then I will not be in an extreme situation with them. One of the great things about buddies is that they are my buddy and I know and trust them. They are not random people on a boat or at a distant locale. If I'm diving on a vacation I'll go with a friend, someone from that location I've met before, or someone that is trained the same way I am.

 

[AquaHump]

I know I said I wouldn't comment on solo diving or post in this thread, but since you referenced my post directly I owe you a response.

1. If a diver does not have an octo, I will not dive with them as my buddy.

2. I'll know it works because my buddies equipment is my equipment. All equipment is a team resource and should be checked before the dive.

3. If I do not know the capabilities of a diver then I will not be in an extreme situation with them. One of the great things about buddies is that they are my buddy and I know and trust them. They are not random people on a boat or at a distant locale. If I'm diving on a vacation, I'll go with a friend or with someone from that location I've met before (or someone that is trained the same way I am).

I'm ganna' puke

 

[gcbryan]

Guess that 25m underwater swim in OW was just for show? Holding breath and going for your buddy is alot preferable to making an emergency swimming ascent. Alot of people are afraid they will run out of breath and not be able to purge the second stage of their buddies regulator. This is where those regulator clearing techniques such as the purge button and the jaw jiggle come in handy.

I don't solo dive but i'm not going to argue with the people here who do, so i'll refrain from posting further in this thread.

I think you are going to be in for a rude awakening if you exhale and then find out that you have no more air (shouldn't happen in the first place of course) and then you have to chase a buddy 25m away with all of your dive gear on.

Of course the correct answer still is to solve problems underwater where possible. It's best to have a buddy within a few arm lengths but if not you have a possible problem unless you have a redundant air supply or are close to the surface.

 

[Puffer Fish]

There is solo diving in reasonable proximity to others, team diving and real solo diving. I don't think that mainstream dive training or the recreational community as a whole does a very good job of distinguishing between them or that they really understand the difference. If you're going to team dive the way you were most likely taught in class you might be just as well off to just quit fooling yourself and just go solo diving.

Mike - on this we agree.

Regarding instructing, a student on their first ocean dive is not a competent buddy. I've had hundreds of them (most, not trained by me, just happen to be their first ocean dive), and I have yet to see one that was competent in the water (Most will get there, if they learn and practice), and if I was trusting on them, I would have been in deep trouble.

 

[Puffer Fish]

I'm ganna' puke

Be kind and understanding Aqua - he will learn with time (we hope).

I don't think he will be one to ask about solo diving.

 

[ataman]

Hey grazie42

No you are not over reacting, and i appriciate the way you explained everything. No i did not dove 147ft solo. it was with a buddy and was planned. How many dives were just me and my buddy i would say about 80 or so. all in the last 10 months. i really started diving about a year ago. before that i only had about 40 dives or so. In most of dives, i did act as the leader and looked after my buddy rather than vise versa. That is also another reason why i feel more confident.... No course prepared me for 147ft, my experience did. From 120 dives i have 29 of them are actually deeper than 100ft i beleive i have enough experience to dive at that depth. I appriciate your post, will take it into consideration....

cheers

 

[Walter]

Gary, I'm glad to hear you're coming for a visit.

Regarding instructing, a student on their first ocean dive is not a competent buddy. I've had hundreds of them (most, not trained by me, just happen to be their first ocean dive), and I have yet to see one that was competent in the water (Most will get there, if they learn and practice), and if I was trusting on them, I would have been in deep trouble.

That's why I stopped accepting check out students unless I personally know their intructor. Mike is 100% correct, if a student isn't a competent buddy, he shouldn't be in the ocean, he should still be in the pool. Unfortunately, you are also correct, most instructors are incompetent and therefore most students are not competent buddies. Any instructor who sends students to open water who are not ready to be dependable buddies is not doing their job.

I am kind of disappoited that no one expressly stated THE SKILLS needed to dive solo ( come on Wlater)

Well, Darlin', it's like this -- I don't teach solo diving. I don't believe it can be taught anywhere but in the school of hard knocks. While I practice it, I do not encourage it. I also firmly believe if you haven't already figured it out for yourself, you shouldn't be doing it. If you have figured it out, why would you need my list? With that in mind, why would I start listing solo diving skills and equipment requirements?

 

[DennisW]

What an interesting thread. Well, it is to me anyway. At one time I was at a point where I thought I was capable of diving solo. I had been diving a lot and it was before my 100th dive and I was proficient, confident, capable, and understood the risks involved. I made the dive on a liveaboard off Ft. Myers Beach. Donna found out about it and asked me to promise that I would never dive solo again. I have never intentionally dived solo since and I will never intentionally dive solo again. I have, unintentionally dived solo. Some buddies just aren't very good, especially when you are a odd person on the boat. And before someone else says it, I know I'm a bit odd anyway.

Walter made an interesting comment earlier. Women tend to become better divers because they finesse themselves through problems. I've found that women also make better pilots. They finesse the plane and the flight is smoother and much more pleasant. Men tend to manhandle an airplane until they get some experience. Interesting, isn't it?

Oh yes, if a diver is considering solo diving, they should be extremely proficient. Not just experienced. I think many of you have said this in different ways, but as a pilot, I can be qualified and current, but not proficient. There is a big difference. Diving is the same.

 

[Puffer Fish]

Gary, I'm glad to hear you're coming for a visit.



That's why I stopped accepting check out students unless I personally know their intructor. Mike is 100% correct, if a student isn't a competent buddy, he shouldn't be in the ocean, he should still be in the pool. Unfortunately, you are also correct, most instructors are incompetent and therefore most students are not competent buddies. Any instructor who sends students to open water who are not ready to be dependable buddies is not doing their job.



Well, Darlin', it's like this -- I don't teach solo diving. I don't believe it can be taught anywhere but in the school of hard knocks. While I practice it, I do not encourage it. I also firmly believe if you haven't already figured it out for yourself, you shouldn't be doing it. If you have figured it out, why would you need my list? With that in mind, why would I start listing solo diving skills and equipment requirements?

Walter, please understand that this scares me, but I agree with everything you said here - nice wording.

Most if my "new divers" were from the midwest, did their checkout dive in a quarry or small lake and now are on a boat in the middle of the Pacific, and I get to take them out and see how good they handle waves, current, buoyancy and lots of things that sting and bite. Just once I would have liked someone to ask for a checkout dive or say what their real skill level was. It was solo diving, with a handicap. Makes actual solo diving relaxing.

 

[vkalia]

Walter made an interesting comment earlier. Women tend to become better divers because they finesse themselves through problems. I've found that women also make better pilots. They finesse the plane and the flight is smoother and much more pleasant. Men tend to manhandle an airplane until they get some experience. Interesting, isn't it?

Dunno about piloting, but I dont buy the argument that women make better divers than men (or that men make better divers than women, either). Being comfortable in the underwater environment is the main element in becoming a good diver, and being male or female has nothing to do with that.

(Phew, I did end up disagreeing with Walter, albeit on a relatively minor point - all is right in the world again! )

Vandit