On Your Own: The Buddy System Rebutted By Bob Halstead

[Celt]

I believe any diver can learn to dive alone but no agency can teach you everything you need to learn. Sooner or later you have to get in the water on your own and come up with a system to suit your needs and minimize any associated risk. There isn’t an agency on this earth that would condone the personal risk that some divers are prepared to take.

 

[NAM001]

Actually, I think that 'SOLO' is a far too limiting term, and that PADI got it right when they went with 'Self-Reliant'. (This is not a PADI promotional statement - I would say the same thing if SDI, or some other agency, had used it.) If PADI were to change the descriptor to 'solo', it would be both disappointing and regressive.

Now, I candidly admit, my initial reaction was much like yours - "Oh, PADI simply can't bring themselves to use the term 'solo', so they came up with 'Self-Reliant'. What the heck does that mean?" Smirk, smirk. . But, on more reasoned consideration, I realized that 'self-reliant' is what the training is all about, what the training SHOULD be all about, and therefore what the terminology should properly be.

Whether I dive alone or with a buddy is, frankly, irrelevant. Whether I am self-reliant is at the heart of the issue. Going back to the article that started this thread, Halstead used the term 'self-sufficient', which is far closer to synonymous with 'self-reliant' than 'solo'. A diver can be a solo diver, and not be self-reliant / self- sufficient. A diver can be a buddy diver and not be self-reliant / self- sufficient. But a self-reliant / self-sufficient diver is just that, irrespective of whether they are alone, or with a buddy.

I too agree with PADI's use of self reliant. It is the overall best way to go. They can do that becasue for lack of better terms,,,, They can copy a solo course adn just rename it and the documented materials legal purpose for the course. Doing that says they still do not promote diving with out a buddy, and for dive operations their self reliant card will be counted equal to another agencies solo card. It is a win win. And I say that mostly from a legal outlook. I find no fault with PADI on this. The chain of events would be completely different if PADI did self reliant as a ice breaking aspect to diving instead of trailing behind. PADI is a business and if ther is a buck to be made ,,,, like all the other agencies.... then they have to pursue a slice of that market. That fact that they were behind the curve and had to reconcile themselves regarding the appearance of solo when compared to their core standards of buddy diving pushed them to this middle ground solution. Its a business decision, and overall a wise one. The just have to teach the equivilant skills and then say you dive buddies but if you get separated you will not perish. Othere agencies call it like it is .... A course that teaches skills to dive alone. Its all in presentation. I find the distinction from some in entering the water alone and coming out of hte water alone amusing. Kind of like the difference between stealing and barrowing indefinately with out the owners approval.

 

[NAM001]

You are certainly hung up on words. If you were to actually read the PADI materials they DO talk about diving with no buddy, and the course content is nearly identical to SDI's course, if not slightly better.

And that is the result of how time has changed their position over the years. Im waiting to see how the various agencies are going to treat use of recreational rebreathers. They right now are not that popular, as far as demand for training, But the day will come where one agency after another will slowly come on line with them also, That day will be a very long one also.

 

[tursiops]

And that is the result of how time has changed their position over the years. Im waiting to see how the various agencies are going to treat use of recreational rebreathers. They right now are not that popular, as far as demand for training, But the day will come where one agency after another will slowly come on line with them also, That day will be a very long one also.

Are you suggesting PADI is not doing rebreather training?

 

[jlcnuke]

As someone who recently did PADI's "Self-Reliant" course I can tell you personally that the course does teach self-reliance for the purpose of diving whether with a buddy or solo, and the course is definitely designed to ensure you are capable of safely diving alone. However, it also teaches you to be a more responsible/capable buddy at the same time. Calling it a Solo diver course would not reflect the full breadth of the course materials imo. I think the title is more accurate as is, than if it said "solo diver" personally.

 

[NAM001]

Are you suggesting PADI is not doing rebreather training?

NO IM NOT

I said that the same thing would happen (reluctance and then over time slow implementation of new training areasthroughout the industry) when it comes to recreational rebreathers. If padi has already made that transition then good for them. I dont have any serious interest in them so i dont folllow those training pipe lines. A similar reluctance existed in the cave community. RB's at one time just did not fit the established model, built around the existing OC diving, Lots of organizational opposition to using them. Even then a few started teaching it as it related to cave environment, and now it has spread to wider/full acceptance. Nitrox went through a similar phase. """"mixed gas means technical diving"""" not a recreational area of training. and that NOW has equally been accepted through now all agencies teaching recreational courses.

 

[EFX]

But, 'capable' and 'self-sufficient' are not mutually exclusive, they are complimentary.

This is not what I claimed to be mutually exclusive.

 

[EFX]

After reading Halstead's article on bad buddies I agree with his general premise that there is not enough education and training to learn to be a good buddy. However, he throws the "baby out with the bath water". Rather than promoting good buddy skills he pushes solo diving skills. I've got nothing against learning to be self-sufficient but you can be self-sufficient and not be a good buddy. How does one acquire self-sufficiency skills outside of a solo-diving specialty if the prerequisite is 100 dives? Halstead does a great job of listing all the ways a diver can be a bad buddy (angry diver, untrained diver, egotistic diver, etc.) but where is the list of cons for solo diving? Others have mentioned a few. Halstead assumes that every solo diver's equipment, judgement, ability, and luck are superior to a buddy's. He does say if you must buddy dive go with someone you trust. Great. Unfortunatly, we don't all have the luxury of interviewing prospective divers before our dives. Better training on actual needed buddy skills probably similar to GUE's approach to team diving, but not as extensive, would go a long way. That's my $0.02 worth.

 

[NAUI Wowie]

The article posted in the O.P. is a good one. And, each of us probably to some extent reads into it what WE want to believe Halstead was saying. But, the process of 'reads into' reasonably requires that we read the entire article, not simply stop reading after we see something we enthusiastically support, or with which we vehemently disagree. Proper interpretation of this article is also helped by reading other articles that Halstead wrote in his lifetime (as one example, 'Assume the risk and take the blame'. SPUMS 27: 3-1) because doing so helps put the thoughts in this article into context. Halstead clearly believed that divers are responsible for their own safety, and cannot shift that responsibility to another diver.

It wasn't a condemnation of the Buddy System, per se. Rather, it was a reasonable criticism of the misguided assumptions and blind trust, that too many make about, and put into, it. It was a reasonable criticism of the buddy system that is the unfortunate reality in diving today, but NOT a criticism of the ideal. The buddy system does not make an unsafe diver safe. Two half divers do not make a whole diver. When competent, skilled divers go into the water as buddies, it is a good system. Otherwise, it is false security. To quote Halstead: a buddy dive is a 'situation that occurs when two divers of similar interests and equal experience and ability share a dive, continuously monitoring each other throughout entry, the dive, and the exit, and remaining within such distance that they could render immediate assistance to each other if required'. He goes on to say that such a situation is quite often NOT the case.

The 'bottom line' is clearly stated in the summary paragraphs at the end of the article. It is one that I wholeheartedly endorse: EVERY diver should develop their skill to the point that they are capable, and self-sufficient. Only then, should they 'share their dive with another independent diver that they trust'.

It is pointless to obscure the message of Halstead's article by quibbling over semantics. It is disingenuous to assert personal beliefs about the buddy system, or solo diving, as 'FACT' when no data exist to support those assertions. Rather, in the context of the intent of this forum - discussion of the techniques and strategies involved in Solo Diving (the title of the subforum) - it is most appropriate to ask, 'How do I become a capable, self-sufficient diver?'

No one is really saying what you are implying. Some on this thread are beating a drum that buddy diving is unsafe and solo diving is safer. AS A GENERAL PRINCIPLE.

That is false. Diving is safer for almost all divers with others nearby BECAUSE most divers are not like people on scubaboard. We all do tropical dives we all know what im talking about. most average divers if alone will do very stupid things sooner or later which they will need to be bailed out of.

is that anyone reading this forum? possibly but not likely. We , even us ones with few dives, are a lot more careful than all that.

 

[NAUI Wowie]

This thread can run forever.

I would change my mind if there's any evidence out there that tells me solo is any more dangerous than buddy or team or group.

I don't think I'd change my diving but I would not suggest anyone (starting with my kids) to go solo.

Just the same, there's no evidence solo is any safer either. So the people against solo will always be against solo.

Comes down to a reality that many refuse to accept. Diving is not that difficult, I know it makes divers feel special when non-divers approach and their mouths open big with amazement, but if you can walk and chew gum simultaneously you can manage to dive without getting yourself hurt.

Things go bad sometime and people get badly hurt or die underwater, but people also fall in their bathtubs/showers and bust their behinds, some even die.

You don't believe diving is easy? there's a thread of a newbie asking for ideas because he (or she) doesn't like it when water hits the face. I'm not making it up, do a search. Of course I can't post in that thread because I will be banned for life if I say what I think. But we all know this person is going to get in the water and dive, maybe not today but tomorrow. Someone will hold their hand and attempt a temporary brain wash so that water in the face doesn't create a full blown panic attack. Can this person fully overcome that issue? who knows, I believe that bad vibe will remain in the background until something else happens. Who knows how many people like that are in the ocean this instant, and nothing happens. They dive their 1 or 2 weeks a year and call themselves divers.

post away I'm already daydreaming about tomorrow's dive.

you just posted the best reason most average to below average divers should NEVER solo dive.