prepared?? To meet your maker?

[Jax]

:shocked2: What, and take away the chance of people to say, "You're gonna die?!?!?!?!"

Eric, what you see here is pretty normal. People do not like to face the fact of their own mortality, and making sure your affairs are in order forces them to do so.

If you (the reader) hate the thought of people suing the bajeezus out of dive ops, dive guides, etc., then you (the reader) need to have "that" discussion with your family. You have to inform them that this is your choice, that you make it of free will, and except in cases of gross negligence (like the boat / op had bad fills), don't be suing anyone because the businesses accepted your free-choice decision.

If you're diving solo, do you put a dive plan on the dash with emergency contact number and need to know medical information? What's it take to print out your dive plan and leave it on the dash? With a handwritten, "Time entered water, xx:xx"? How about allergies? One thing you don't want is to have someone taking the time to call, hopefully find someone that knows, to learn about your allergies. They may need to give that shot NOW to save your life. What's it take to write up that info and leave it "just in case"?

 

[aquaregia]

The problem with the OP is that it assumes that solo diving is riskier, which is not an assumption that much of this board shares.

 

[Jax]

The problem with the OP is that it assumes that solo diving is riskier, which is not an assumption that much of this board shares.

I'm not seeing that "solo diving is riskier" as a premise in his OP. He is definitely asking about a situation given as solo diving.

Eric, was that your point? That solo diving is riskier?

 

[scuba=dude]

some times I feel getting out of bed is a big risk..........

I know when I first anserd this therd I was being "tuchy" about the wording. I understand more about the OP then I did when I blrerted out my reply.......Sorry guy your right we should all have some kind of "Living will" or just a dive plan given to someone that cares.

 

[AfterDark]

Just some observations.

This post came about as a result of a recent incident I witnessed, the rip solo diver thread, and the solo cert. I truly wanted to know how far people had thought this out. The medical issue that "can not be planned for". Devon brought this to light in the other thread and I thought it deserved a look. What I did not think needed to be said were the comments about failing the course.
For my efforts to enlighten myself I was accused of being a solo forum troll, anyone who is familiar with my posts should have gotten as big a chuckle out of that as I did, thanx. Devon brought some other very rellavant issues to light in the thread that accused him of being a troll, "bubble of invincibility" is a quote I will use again.
I guess I am one of the few who thinks this through to the end, outside of the bubble while solo diving. This whole thread became lame, and dumb, due to the lack of real input or thought. So if the jury thinks it should be closed or deleted please feel free to do so.
Eric

Gee sorry I can't take seriouly a thread about a solo diver dying during a cert course when he wasn't solo!

 

[Mark Michaud SELAUSAR]

Fair enough, my oversight. Apologies.



I see a clear distinction between two equally skilled divers, one a confirmed solo diver and the other a confirmed buddy diver. I believe that there will be a difference as to how either processes and manages the same dive problem.

I still disagree. You can be an excellent diver and skilled buddy without ever adopting a solo mindset, card or no card. Possibly you take solo to mean any skilled diver that is capable of self-rescue. I see solo as being something quite different.

No offence taken. I guess since this is a broadly written original post, I am basing my reply on what I have seen over the years. Many people dive together and many times both are the "weaker" diver. In most, not all, recreational buddy teams there is usually an alpha and a submissive diver. This can be through one being more experienced or could be male female, or many other reasons. If you are the strong one, do you really have a buddy. My point was this.....When you become experienced enough to handle most issues on your own, you become a solid buddy for the person you dive with. If you can't handle these issues, you may be of little or no help in a bad situation.

As Bob said, and he is right, most solo divers are poor buddies. There are exceptions in both but when you have truly mastered diving, you are a solid solo diver and a solid buddy.

 

[Jai Bar]

Hi there OP! Here in my place the last scuba related fatalities were:

- a couple in honeymoon vacation went diving with another friend. She felt the regulator breathes hard, panicked, husband tried to assist- both died. Friend stays alive to tell the story

- an OW diver went on a guided dive, had separation problem, water entered the mask, he rocketed to the surface in panic, failed to remove weights, sank, drowned, died.

- an AOW diver had hard times swimming against the current (on surface). Buddy tried to help him by removing the weight belt, belt got entangled with octopus, diver dragged to bottom, died.

Point is, a buddy is not always a good insurance for life. In some cases (honeymoon couple) the results is two dead instead of one. in others, the buddy can be the cause of the problem or make it worst, and even buddying with an experienced guide and a whole group is not 100% guarantee.

Statistics may also be confusing: many divers get in panic when separated from buddy and if it ends in casualties you may understand that death was caused becuase the diver being alone but the truth is that it is just another example of the classical buddy system failure.

Just don't panic! Good advice for both solo and buddy divers, eh?

Just like any other scuba related activity, solo diving is as safe as any- assuming one mitigates the risks by good training- including appropriate gear, reasoning, preparation & planning and state of mind- failing with these is just as bad with buddy as in solo...


Back to the original OP question: "Prepared?? To meet thee maker??" the answer is "No, I am prepared in order NOT to meet him". Have you?

 

[knowone]

Astronaut, went same solar system solo, one day
a buddy peeping through a porthole, had comms
no faded note left on dash entire world watching


Required only half the training rigmarole that is claimed to be required for diving

 

[waterpirate]

I'm not seeing that "solo diving is riskier" as a premise in his OP. He is definitely asking about a situation given as solo diving.

Eric, was that your point? That solo diving is riskier?

My point was not that solo was riskier, my point was the medical emergancy can not be trained for, period. Solo diving involves a certain amount of chest thumping and I have done my share in the past. Of late I was amazed that when I turned around behind me people were following me, looking to me for mentoring. That was a wake up call for me.
Devon pointed out a flaw in the solo dive plan I had not addressed in my youth. With age I conceed that a buddy does add safety in regard to a medical emergancy. As remote as that failure may be I think older divers are more likely to have a medical event brought on by depth or exposure than be eaten by rogue marine life.
That was my point. Call it reflection brought on by my recent birthday combined with the realization that "I am not 21 anymore and diving in a bubble of invinceability" A true look at my mortality without the chest thumping associated with youth.
Eric

 

[vladimir]

Perhaps medical emergencies can't be trained for, but training and preparation can help prevent them. First, and most obviously, maintain a level of fitness suitable for the dives you do--with some margin for error. I hit the gym six days a week for at least 40 minutes of cardio, and I up the intensity before dive trips by adding high-intensity intervals. If I encounter a physically stressful dive, it won't be the first time my cardiovascular system has been tested recently. Second, get a physical. When I was younger, I'd go a decade without a physical. I visited a doctor whenever I needed a vaccination or stitches. But I'm 50 now, so I got an "executive physical" a couple of weeks ago, including, well, you name it, but most importantly, I think, a stress EKG.