My dad cuts out and sends me copies of every article about scuba diving he finds. For whatever reason, I felt this one was worthy of posting on ScubaBoard for the my extended divng family to think about. Every "non-expert" recreational diver should read the attached link to an article about a recent diver death (April 09) in Southern California. The diver died alone while diving in a group.. A simple Google search or visit to the archives at Diver.net/BBS will reveal more of the same.
Man drowns scuba diving off Anacapa Island : Local News : Ventura County Star
While solo diving has risks of its own, it is a conscious choice. Solo divers know exactly what they are getting into and equip themselves with pony bottles and other tools which mitigate the risks.
In contrast, divers who attach themselves to a gaggle without a specific buddy risk becoming Virtual Solo divers... Nobody is specifically watching them (and vice versa) and, if they get seperated from the group, there is a good possibility no one will miss them until they have been gone quite a while. While there certainly are no laws against it, all of the missing diver drills I have endured on vacation trips have been because unattached (unbuddied) divers in a group just wandered off without signaling anyone. Invariably they show up at the boat with everyone worried sick (and the DM checking his/her professional liability policy) just in time to brag about the turtle they followed.... Actually a good outcome when compared to becoming a headline.
For beginners and vacation divers, the simple test for buddy diving should be making eye contact, checking each other's gear and promising to stick together for the entire dive. Anything else is flirting with disaster should something go wrong on the dive.
P
Man drowns scuba diving off Anacapa Island : Local News : Ventura County Star
While solo diving has risks of its own, it is a conscious choice. Solo divers know exactly what they are getting into and equip themselves with pony bottles and other tools which mitigate the risks.
In contrast, divers who attach themselves to a gaggle without a specific buddy risk becoming Virtual Solo divers... Nobody is specifically watching them (and vice versa) and, if they get seperated from the group, there is a good possibility no one will miss them until they have been gone quite a while. While there certainly are no laws against it, all of the missing diver drills I have endured on vacation trips have been because unattached (unbuddied) divers in a group just wandered off without signaling anyone. Invariably they show up at the boat with everyone worried sick (and the DM checking his/her professional liability policy) just in time to brag about the turtle they followed.... Actually a good outcome when compared to becoming a headline.
For beginners and vacation divers, the simple test for buddy diving should be making eye contact, checking each other's gear and promising to stick together for the entire dive. Anything else is flirting with disaster should something go wrong on the dive.
P