Professor Nemo
Registered
Is it okay to be a quasi-solo diver in certain situations?
***Note: I have Open Water, EAN/Nitrox, and Advanced Open Water certifications if that information is needed to better answer my question]***
I have a question for the board. Of late, I have been considering the nature of solo diving and the function of dive buddies. I have not yet received my solo certification; the last time I checked with the local dive stores that have an educational component they conspicuously did not offer that course. I am hoping that will change in the future but I think my question is worth addressing because I am sure I am not the first to ask it. In fact, I may very well not be the first to ask it on ScubaBoard. If that is the case I am sorry for being redundant. Much of my diving done her in NC is through charter outfits. I don’t live in NC (it’s where my family home is located; I earned my BA at UNCW so I am familiar and comfortable with the area). I don’t have a regular diving schedule and thus don’t have a network, as yet, of dive buddies. So, usually when I go out on these charters I pair up with someone else who also came solo, creating an insta-buddy. [Or, I pay to have a dive master come with me as my dive buddy.] However, this sort of half-hazard pairing always makes me a little uncomfortable for a variety of reasons. I ask myself questions such as:
Do my new “buddy” and I share the same level of experience?
Do our agendas for this dive match-up?
Are they actually comfortable diving with someone they have just met?
Am I inconveniencing them in some way? I don’t want to be “that person” who ruined their $150.00 dive.
Am I familiar with their equipment enough to be able to help them in an emergency? (For example, what if my buddy is using a full face mask and loses consciousness? [I intend for rescue diving to be my next course])
I could list many more questions. And I know that good communication is essential for a dive team to work together, but so many of us will confess to being tactful rather than honest in our daily lives and I would argue that this impulse is felt, if not always adhered to because it is outweighed by our own sense of self-preservation, when we are on a dive boat.
I just recently acquired a redundant air system (an AL19 tank with fully operational regulator). I carry a second dive mask with snorkel, DSMB w/ reel, Noise makers, two cutting tools, spare equipment, etcetera. I practice using these devices in the pool at my local dive store so that I can be familiar with them.
My question, finally, is, if we are diving a wreck which has a fixed location in which everyone is going to be localized, is it okay for me to go down without a “buddy” given that I have the proper equipment to serve me like a buddy would in the event of an incident? The dive environment would mean that I am actually very close to many divers and could get to one if a need on their or my part arose. I would never attempt to actually go diving alone, at least not until I have taken a solo certification class and have many more dives under my belt, but it seems that in an environment such as this one, my knowledge of my own equipment, limitations, and abilities (basically my own self-awareness) would make me a safer buddy than working with someone who is basically an unknown and unpredictable factor. In that situation it would seem that we both might become liabilities to each other more so than we would be a safeguard in the event of trouble.
***Note: I have Open Water, EAN/Nitrox, and Advanced Open Water certifications if that information is needed to better answer my question]***
I have a question for the board. Of late, I have been considering the nature of solo diving and the function of dive buddies. I have not yet received my solo certification; the last time I checked with the local dive stores that have an educational component they conspicuously did not offer that course. I am hoping that will change in the future but I think my question is worth addressing because I am sure I am not the first to ask it. In fact, I may very well not be the first to ask it on ScubaBoard. If that is the case I am sorry for being redundant. Much of my diving done her in NC is through charter outfits. I don’t live in NC (it’s where my family home is located; I earned my BA at UNCW so I am familiar and comfortable with the area). I don’t have a regular diving schedule and thus don’t have a network, as yet, of dive buddies. So, usually when I go out on these charters I pair up with someone else who also came solo, creating an insta-buddy. [Or, I pay to have a dive master come with me as my dive buddy.] However, this sort of half-hazard pairing always makes me a little uncomfortable for a variety of reasons. I ask myself questions such as:
Do my new “buddy” and I share the same level of experience?
Do our agendas for this dive match-up?
Are they actually comfortable diving with someone they have just met?
Am I inconveniencing them in some way? I don’t want to be “that person” who ruined their $150.00 dive.
Am I familiar with their equipment enough to be able to help them in an emergency? (For example, what if my buddy is using a full face mask and loses consciousness? [I intend for rescue diving to be my next course])
I could list many more questions. And I know that good communication is essential for a dive team to work together, but so many of us will confess to being tactful rather than honest in our daily lives and I would argue that this impulse is felt, if not always adhered to because it is outweighed by our own sense of self-preservation, when we are on a dive boat.
I just recently acquired a redundant air system (an AL19 tank with fully operational regulator). I carry a second dive mask with snorkel, DSMB w/ reel, Noise makers, two cutting tools, spare equipment, etcetera. I practice using these devices in the pool at my local dive store so that I can be familiar with them.
My question, finally, is, if we are diving a wreck which has a fixed location in which everyone is going to be localized, is it okay for me to go down without a “buddy” given that I have the proper equipment to serve me like a buddy would in the event of an incident? The dive environment would mean that I am actually very close to many divers and could get to one if a need on their or my part arose. I would never attempt to actually go diving alone, at least not until I have taken a solo certification class and have many more dives under my belt, but it seems that in an environment such as this one, my knowledge of my own equipment, limitations, and abilities (basically my own self-awareness) would make me a safer buddy than working with someone who is basically an unknown and unpredictable factor. In that situation it would seem that we both might become liabilities to each other more so than we would be a safeguard in the event of trouble.
