Solo dives

[ScubaFeenD]

New York is close to North Carolina? i also saw that he will teach out of Florida too. Am I correct on this.

For his quality of instruction NC and NY are super close. I think he does travel, but you would have to speak with him directly. You can get his contact info off of GUE. And for the record, he is worth traveling to. IJS

 

[danvolker]

For his quality of instruction NC and NY are super close. I think he does travel, but you would have to speak with him directly. You can get his contact info off of GUE. And for the record, he is worth traveling to. IJS

Bob and Errol are teaching a fundamentals class in Feb. There will also be some Very cool dives we will be doing with divers wanting to experience DIR.

Regards,
DanV

 

[Diver003]

Bob and Errol are teaching a fundamentals class in Feb. There will also be some Very cool dives we will be doing with divers wanting to experience DIR.

Regards,
DanV

Are the specifics (location, dates, price, etc.) set, or are they still TBA?

EDIT: I see Ft. Lauderdale, FL as the location on GUE's website. Jan. 26-30 or Feb. 14-18 to those interested.

 

[danvolker]

Are the specifics (location, dates, price, etc.) set, or are they still TBA?

EDIT: I see Ft. Lauderdale, FL as the location on GUE's website. Jan. 26-30 or Feb. 14-18 to those interested.

Location has moved to Palm Beach....you will hear the specifics in the next 2 days

Regards,
DanV

 

[mfascuba]

I've been lurking for awhile on this thread and would like to put a few comments of my own out there. First, I did Apprentice Cave with Bill Rennaker, I thought that he did a great job of making me think about "what if" scenarios, and what the possible outcomes / consequences might be. I have my own way of looking at things and make my own decisions - but I also usually dive solo. I've had equipment failures "fairly deep" in caves with decompression obligations that I did not want to blow off - part of training is learning how to deal with these situations and resolve them in the water without blowing to the surface and getting bent. In one of my classes my instructor had a reg pop at 180 ft when he switched to his first deco gas - I had the same gas, offered to share, he declined, breathed using the valve to deliver his gas. Quite a while later I had the same thing happen - I resolved it the same way. Redundancy is key - I always carry a separate redundant gas supply. As far as being aware, I've run across buddy teams in caves and given each person an "OK" with my light and had no response - I mean repeated signaling to get their attention to just verify they were alright. I give up - they are not my responsibility. My dive last weekend was to a new passage in a cave that is fairly deep - the passage turned out to be very dusty and cramped - I hit a point where I turned and exited. Had there been a buddy one of us would probably have not seen much just from the debris raining from the ceiling from exhalation bubbles. Not fun - but it was a great solo dive.

Don't knock solo diving out of an "all or nothing" approach - keep an open mind, you might find that the challenge and the solitude are very rewarding!

Dive Safe,

Mark

 

[novicediver]

I fall into one of those inexperienced categories. I have read several threads and a few articles about solo diving and one interesting school of thought is that unless both divers are moderately to very experienced, one partner winds up being a solo diver and the other a dependent diver. If I go diving with someone with 200 plus dives under their belt and I have only a handful, in essence the diver with 200 plus dives is a solo diver and I am somewhat on a "trust me" dive. Reality is that even in the most benign conditions, something can, will, and eventually does go wrong. At some point people need to just know their own limitations and stay within them. In the long run, it comes down to personal responsibility and risk acceptance.

 

[DaMaDo]

Although somewhat true, I think a diver with a lot of experience going on a dive with a new diver still has the benefit that if something goes wrong, the new diver can still go to the surface and call for help...or cut them loose, or make their octo available, etc. So it's a lot better than actually solo; although I guess you could argue otherwise due to greater probability of the inexperienced diver causing both to get into trouble.

But, hell I don't mind if an experienced diver considers me a large, self-propelled, homing pony bottle

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I fall into one of those inexperienced categories. I have read several threads and a few articles about solo diving and one interesting school of thought is that unless both divers are moderately to very experienced, one partner winds up being a solo diver and the other a dependent diver. If I go diving with someone with 200 plus dives under their belt and I have only a handful, in essence the diver with 200 plus dives is a solo diver and I am somewhat on a "trust me" dive. Reality is that even in the most benign conditions, something can, will, and eventually does go wrong. At some point people need to just know their own limitations and stay within them. In the long run, it comes down to personal responsibility and risk acceptance.

Not necessarily so ... depends on the diver. I have a new dive buddy who has fewer dives than you do (if your profile is accurate) who is anything but dependent ... I'd entrust him to rescue me if needed. He usually lets me lead the dives, sure ... but that's because I know the dive sites way better than he does ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Jax]

Not necessarily so ... depends on the diver. I have a new dive buddy who has fewer dives than you do (if your profile is accurate) who is anything but dependent ... I'd entrust him to rescue me if needed. He usually lets me lead the dives, sure ... but that's because I know the dive sites way better than he does ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

. . . sounds like its all a matter of attitude!

 

[novicediver]

There will never be a clear consensus on solo diving. My .02 psi is to do your own risk evaluation and go from there.