My first solo

[ArcticDiver]

Addendum:

From a risk analysis viewpoint the number of people in a dive party is a compromise. More people means more resources to solve a problem, if it arises. But it also means more opportunity for equipment and human malfunction. So, the number of people on any given dive should be a matter of concious decision, not an automatic, unthinking rule.

 

[nereas]

That's your opinion ... but I think the only absolute reason for solo diving is because you want to. Why you want to isn't anyone else's criteria. Sometimes I just want to be alone and not have to feel responsible for someone else. That's as good a reason to solo as any I can think of.


That's your choice ... mine is to avoid cattle boats and unknown dive buddies. To my concern, those conditions represent the VERY BEST reasons to go solo, since by doing so you're eliminating a lot of unknowns and potential liabilities.

...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Anything anyone says anywhere is their own opinion. The ancient Greeks established that in their invention of philosophy.

 

[nereas]

Addendum:

From a risk analysis viewpoint the number of people in a dive party is a compromise. More people means more resources to solve a problem, if it arises. But it also means more opportunity for equipment and human malfunction. So, the number of people on any given dive should be a matter of concious decision, not an automatic, unthinking rule.

And the more the merrier. That way you are statistically less likely to become lobster food.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

The ancient Greeks established that in their invention of philosophy.

... actually I think that distinction would more rightly go to the Chinese ... Kong Tse predated Socrates by nearly a century ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[nereas]

... actually I think that distinction would more rightly go to the Chinese ... Kong Tse predated Socrates by nearly a century ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

But as East is East, and West is West, they both developed independently and did not meet up until the paving of the silk road.

There is also a problem, however:

Phrase not found in the Dictionary and Encyclopedia. Please try the words separately:
Kong Tse

According to Diogenes Laërtius (DL 1.37-38), the chronicle of Apollodorus says that Thales died at 78 in the 58th Olympiad. The year of his birth was the first year of the 35th Olympiad, or 640 BC.

 

[Cacia]

The only absolute reason for solo diving that I can think of is because you absolutely have done everything you can to find a buddy, but you could not find one, and there are no prospects of finding one anytime soon.

It is always better and more fun to dive with a buddy. It is never a good idea to dive alone.

When I dive solo, it is because I want to go diving and there is no buddy available to come along. Sometimes, on a cattle boat, I can find someone who came without a buddy. Otherwise, I dive solo because I am alone.

I respectfully totally disagree with this.

Solo, for many is not a fall back position, but an experience all it's own, with inherent risks and rewards. I'm in the camp that believes if your are diving with a weaker buddy, you probably have more risk than solo.. By the same token, when I am with a stronger partner, I am probably safer because the risk of dealing with a problem outside myself is less than with the weak link, yet I do have additional options in an emergency such as OOA, without the risk burden of a weaker diver.

Also, another assumption that is so often overlooked here on SB, especially with the DIR debates is not everyone buys the assumption that
a SAFER=Better Dive.

 

[rahuck]

I agree with NWGratefulDiver. As your experience grows (at least with me) you become more and more aware of your buddy (and even others in the water around you). I have found that this means I spend more and more time checking on my buddy etc... This is NOT a bad thing. However, when I dive solo I am free of that responsibility and take more enjoyment in the dive itself and what I am experiencing. I think that this is the main reason I have/and will continue to dive solo when conditions are such that I am comfortable doing so.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I respectfully totally disagree with this.

Solo, for many is not a fall back position, but an experience all it's own, with inherent risks and rewards.

Exactly ... in many ways being underwater alone is very liberating. Certainly one needs to prepare for it, but the risks/rewards ratio is a very personal thing, and not subject to someone else's criteria.

Also, another assumption that is so often overlooked here on SB, especially with the DIR debates is not everyone buys the assumption that a SAFER=Better Dive.

It's important to point out that ... at least on SB ... the majority of people who engage in DIR debates are not, themselves, DIR. Often they are simply mimicking comments they read somewhere, without really understanding why they are saying it.

"Safe" has more to do with your mental approach to diving than it does your skill set ... I think most experienced divers, whatever diving style they choose, understand that ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Blitz]

The only absolute reason for solo diving that I can think of is because you absolutely have done everything you can to find a buddy, but you could not find one, and there are no prospects of finding one anytime soon.

It is always better and more fun to dive with a buddy. It is never a good idea to dive alone.

When I dive solo, it is because I want to go diving and there is no buddy available to come along. Sometimes, on a cattle boat, I can find someone who came without a buddy. Otherwise, I dive solo because I am alone.

That isn't anything other than preference and opinion.

I dive solo because I am one of the few people that I know that is will to spend 70 minutes at depth taking pictures. It's an extremely difficult to hang out in 50 degree water with someone that barely moves 15' a cross the bottom in 20 minutes. Then there is the 30-50 minutes deco hangs. For me taking pictures is a perfectly good reason to solo dive. I feel bad for freezing my friends to death!

 

[fire_diver]

The only absolute reason for solo diving that I can think of is because you absolutely have done everything you can to find a buddy, but you could not find one, and there are no prospects of finding one anytime soon.

It is always better and more fun to dive with a buddy. It is never a good idea to dive alone.

When I dive solo, it is because I want to go diving and there is no buddy available to come along. Sometimes, on a cattle boat, I can find someone who came without a buddy. Otherwise, I dive solo because I am alone.

Sorry, but that YOUR OPINION ONLY! I solo dive becuase I enjoy being the "alone-ness." I am also a better buddy to myself than many "true" buddies are. Especially, a make-shift insta buddy!