Is a Dive Buddy Necessary?

[kidspot]

While I'm thrilled to live in an area where there are no regulations concerning diving solo - I have chosen not to solo dive. I frequent the dive shop, invite the instructors to go diving on their days off (yes they actually like to dive ) plus I meet a lot of the new divers in the area and invite them to join me... I have my regular buddies (2 actually) that I prefer to dive with, but by broadening my choices I get to meet some new divers and get in some bottom time too. I have also chosen not to do new dives or more "interesting" (ie deeper, current, etc..) without one of my regular buddies that I know I can trust.

All that to say - think creatively and look for others to enjoy the sport with. I have also found Scubaboard a great place to meet new dive buddies - you might visit the Ontario Fresh Water Freaks here on Scubaboard too - http://www.scubaboard.com/forumdisplay.php?f=54 let them know you're looking for buddies - it's amazing how many folks are out there that enjoy diving!

Aloha, Tim

 

[hvulin]

hm, since noone said it:

-- diving in pair is better then diving in threesome (or whatever it is called), so remember, 2 IS better than 3

 

[The Kraken]

I'm going to address this post to the wreck diving portion of your question.

While one should never assume anything, one could rightly suspect that when you mentioned wreck diving you may have, by inclusion of the term "wreck diving", implied that there would be penetration of the wreck. If not, I apologize before I make my opinion known.

In my opinion, one should NEVER make a solo penetration wreck dive. Penetration wreck diving brings the possibilities and probabilities of a serious accident too close together.

Even non-penetration wreck dives add a higher degree of danger to an otherwise normal dive.

 

[miketsp]

Unless you are a divemaster certified by one of the major agencies, you certainly should not dive solo.

In what way does being a DM qualified by a major agency have to do with requirements for solo diving?

"Safe" solo diving involves risk contingency and mitigation planning and this requires enough experience to be aware of the risks and detailed planning on how to avoid them and what to do when (not if) they happen.
It requires a meticulous attitude to equipment practice, adequate redundancy and mental discipline.

Unfortunately qualities lacking in too many DMs.

 

[ScubaSarus]

I agree. There is much more to solo diving than being a Dive Master.
DM'S arnet trained in use of pony bottles, entaglements, self rescue at 100 ft etc and neither are most experienced solo divers. Most experienced solo divers like said take care of their gear in an anal way and dive very conservatively and have a good sense of their limits and the dangers of the area they dive in.

 

[ScubaSarus]

Further more. An instruction course should be able to provide you a buddy even if it's the instructor or one of the staff.

 

[lorien]

It has been said but it is so important that I have to reiterate: Dive with a Buddy!
You are going to be a very new and inexperienced diver. You will not be really ready to take care of yourself if anything should go wrong. You need a buddy with you and there are plenty of people out there who are diving so they also need a buddy! When I finished my OW class one of the people in the class and I decided to go diving together (we had no dive buddies, knew no one who dove so decided to go together-bingo a dive buddy) but we knew that we were very inexperienced and were slightly hesitant over doing a dive by oursleves. The LDS that rented us our gear told us where to go and as luck would have it when we arrived there were 2 experienced divers getting ready to dive. We talked to them and they very kindly offered to take us along with them. I was far more comfortable in that situation. I buddied with the person from my class, they buddied together and all 4 of us did the dive as a group. They knew the area, what to look for, the depths, etc. Thru them and the LDS I discovered a local club where I met lots of others who dive and I started joining whomever from the club was interested in diving on the weekend so I got to dive with lots of different buddies.
I have now completed most of my Divemaster class and I have NO desire to dive solo, I like to dive a safely as possible and to me that means with a buddy!
Talk to your instructor and LDS and I am sure you will be able to find others in the area who dive, you just don't know that they are out there yet but I bet they are! Diving with a buddy should also be pretty much hammered into your head during your classes. If not, just ask your instructor the same question and see what answer you get

 

[ChrisA]

A few random comments.


Some peole do dive solo but it is _absolutely_ not recommended for a beginner and for some long time to come you will remain a beginner. They call that c-card you get after OW class a "learnner's permit".

Shipwrecks are NOT for untrained begining divers. Ideally you would dive with someone who knows about wreck diving and you wuld take the wreck class yourself.

The last local diver to die near here was experianced but died in about 35 feet of water due to a simple acident that a buddy could have helped him out of, we don't know the details but soething related to being entangled and having the air off at the same time.

When you learn to dive in OW class you should also learnabout the local dive clubs and meet other divers. Yourinstructor _really_ should introduce you to the local "scene" and help you get hooked up withbuddies

If there is a dive shop and the dive shop is not gone broke then there ARE local divers. Who else is spending money enough to keep the place in bussiness? There must be quite a few local divers if there is a shop that can make the payroll every week

Hi All,

I am going to be taking my open water certification at the end of June, and there really doesn't seem to be a lot of people into diving in my area, (Mostly a retirement area)

I was curious, is it really necessary to haev a dive partner? Most of the diving in the area will be on shipwrecks in (Usually) no more than 30 feet of water.

I don't mean to say I don't want a diving partner, or that I'm too macho for a dive buddy at all. The class will probably have abot 10 people in it, so I will do my absolute best to get a dive partner, and I will be at the LDS to check out/post on the bulletin board for one, not to mention talking to the owner, whos's a total riot....

I just mean, Is it alright to dive without?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[drbill]

I have been predominantly a solo diver for the last 38 years, but I would never recommend it to anyone else without knowing their dive experience and capabilities. I think it makes far more sense to dive with a buddy for a few years before you make that decision.

Your status as a newcomer to diving strongly suggests the need to get a fair bit of experiene under your belt first. Do you know how you'd react to an emergency underwater? Most likely not. Once you have a few such experiences, you'll have a better idea how calmly you react to potentially life-threatening situations.

Until then enjoy sharing your dives with (preferably) a good buddy. That sharing can really heighten your appreciation of your dives.

Dr. Bill

 

[HammerNoMore]

Hi All,

I am going to be taking my open water certification at the end of June, and there really doesn't seem to be a lot of people into diving in my area, (Mostly a retirement area)

Your area, Ontario, has a very active dive community. You should have no trouble finding buddies.

I was curious, is it really necessary to haev a dive partner? Most of the diving in the area will be on shipwrecks in (Usually) no more than 30 feet of water.

It is extremely important for new divers to have a buddy.

I don't mean to say I don't want a diving partner, or that I'm too macho for a dive buddy at all. The class will probably have abot 10 people in it, so I will do my absolute best to get a dive partner, and I will be at the LDS to check out/post on the bulletin board for one, not to mention talking to the owner, whos's a total riot....

I just mean, Is it alright to dive without?

Thanks for any advice.

Solo diving, IMHO, is perfectly acceptable for an experience diver, who a) has all of his skills to a good level and b) knows the risks and takes appropriate action. For a new diver, forget it. Find a buddy.

James