prepared?? To meet your maker?

[sylpha]

What do you take me for...a fool!?! I am unwilling to entrust my life to a single tool...all of the aforementioned are separate pieces carried within, or clipped onto, my BC which is essentially a custom-made dive trench coat. If you ever see a SCUBA-Neo that is me, navigating gracefully and safely in the aquatic Matrix!

and, of course you carry 2 of everything

 

[sylpha]

I hear we (solo divers) do not make good dive buddys, this is a load of sh!t. When diving with others, most
want to be my buddy due to the way I help and know what is going on around me. This is true for all the
solo divers I know.

actually i have buddied some regular solo divers who, although very safe & technical good buddies, are not enjoyable to dive with because they are so used to diving alone they have lost the technique of doing something fun & sharing it.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

actually i have buddied some regular solo divers who, although very safe & technical good buddies, are not enjoyable to dive with because they are so used to diving alone they have lost the technique of doing something fun & sharing it.

I'm not sure about the fun part, but there is enough of a difference in mental approach to the dive that it's noticeable. Since I started solo diving, I have found that a part of the awareness I had trained into myself as part of a buddy team doesn't come as automatically as it once did. It's not a "switch" you can turn on or off ... or at least not in my experience ... and although I think I still make a very good buddy, I definitely find it takes more conscious effort to maintain that communication level that used to be almost automatic.

Awareness is a fundmental skill for both the solo and buddy diver ... but the emphasis on what you're being aware of is definitely different depending on whether or not you are in the water with another diver ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Stoo]

Don't assume that because someone is there they can help you.

I just had a vision of me having a massive heart attack in the water and my buddies feverishly passing notes back and forth on slates:

"I want his new Quantum, but you can have his regs"
"Ya but he's still moving"
"Patience Grasshopper, patience...."

My will is in the process of being revamped. My organs are too old and dusty for anyone to want them I suspect, but that document is ready, as are Powers of Attorney. I don't carry them with my dive gear though...

 

[vapourinthesea]

"The fool has said in his heart, there is no God." ---Psalms 14:1

 

[NAM001]

As already said the debate will probably never end. My perspective is this... a buddy is not who you are with... it is the skill set you are with. That said. i would venture to say that most of the "BUDDY PAIRS" are buddy by proximity and not by skills. They can assist in most minor functions like asking if OK. The buddy has to know how you dive, be able to monitor, be close in proximity, able to recognize a problem, communicate, determine a solution, effect that solution, and remain CALM through out the duration. You have to respect the buddies observations and concerns. AND VISA VERSA..... That is a mighty tall order for the majority of divers. In most cases i could say overconfidence in the buddy/system is a prime factor for an incident just waiting to happen. Solo or with a buddy that does not know how to assist still can result in a mad dash for the surface. Most couples i see are.... one experienced and one not. There is nothing wrong with that so long as appropriate limits to actiities are established. Never the less one has a physical buddy and the other does not by virtue of skills and ability to assist. We have all been there. We have all seen the father daughter pair in the water and wonder how this 80#er would get her dad out of a fix. I have watched it happen,, the dad does not listen to the BUDDY child with air leaking from his bc vent. Clearly the perception of roles is link one of a chain of events to follow.

I think one must ask themselves the ? for every activity one does. And .....Have i done everything I can to delay that meeting. If during the dive planned, after risk accesment, the physical buddy is a factor to delay it then you need one. PERIOD.

Point to think about, When you went out with your instructor for your OW cert, who did he consider as his buddy? Most likely he was diving solo next to you.

The ongoing debate will never be solved. The debate solo vs. buddy. If you strip away the reasons and the training and the years you got away with it. Are you truly prepared?
What brought this question to the forefront for me is the simmilarities in diver fatalaties that are not skill, equipment, or training related. Most diver fatalities are listed as drowning or trauma related to surfacing prematurely for unkn own reason. If you have a medical issue while diving solo are yoe prepared? This is the only time a buddy would come in to play, being able to assist you to complete a safe ascent or render assistance.
So in the rush to solo or conduct a solo dive are you and your spouse or loved ones prepared for you to meet your maker?
Eric

 

[waterpirate]

Holy resurection! Pun intended, lol.

This debate will continue as long as there is allways someone new to pose the querry. Bringing this thread back around does seem rather timely given the other thread where I was accused of being a censor.

Love me or hate me it is still a valid question to ask prior to entering any enviroment that you are not native to, or even your daily commute on the local beltway.
Eric

 

[Kevrumbo]

Holy resurection! Pun intended, lol.

This debate will continue as long as there is allways someone new to pose the querry. Bringing this thread back around does seem rather timely given the other thread where I was accused of being a censor.

Love me or hate me it is still a valid question to ask prior to entering any enviroment that you are not native to, or even your daily commute on the local beltway.
Eric

The ongoing debate will never be solved. The debate solo vs. buddy. If you strip away the reasons and the training and the years you got away with it. Are you truly prepared?
What brought this question to the forefront for me is the simmilarities in diver fatalaties that are not skill, equipment, or training related. Most diver fatalities are listed as drowning or trauma related to surfacing prematurely for unknown reason. If you have a medical issue while diving solo are yoe prepared? This is the only time a buddy would come in to play, being able to assist you to complete a safe ascent or render assistance.
So in the rush to solo or conduct a solo dive are you and your spouse or loved ones prepared for you to meet your maker?
Eric

Yes . . .what a timely coincidence for this thread to "re-surface". . .
I'm down and out indefinitely with Corneal Hydrops OS . . .

My "Maker" is telling me to be very patient for now, but be careful & prudent with whatever visual acuity I have remaining with one good eye.

 

[divad]

So in the rush to solo or conduct a solo dive are you and your spouse or loved ones prepared for you to meet your maker?
Eric

Yes................................

 

[DaleC]

I actually find solo diving to be a good way to train ones mind to keep its composure when it does come time to meet ones maker - you will be doing that alone too.