solo diving as a beginner

[Sas]

What you are describing is buddy seperation, not solo diving. Solo diving is an intentional act. If anything, this example illustrates a failure of the "buddy" system.

Yes, buddy seperation is very different to solo diving. I mean, they are both solo diving technically but accidental solo diving is not the same as people planning to do a dive solo. If one has not prepared appropriately for a solo dive and becomes seperated from a buddy, this can be dangerous and I believe many of the "solo diving deaths" can be attributed to buddy seperation rather than deliberate solo diving.

 

[on_two_wheels]

I'd be interested in seeing a study/stats on how many of the diving related deaths are truly solo divers. By that, I mean they left their house to go diving with no intention of meeting up with a buddy, didn't enter the water with a buddy and planned to exit without a buddy....NOT a separation. I'm betting that the number of solo divers involved is very low. I think divers with buddies get more complacent than solo divers. Just to clarify, I'm not a solo diver with no intention of doing so. I just know some that are over-the-top with redundancy and safety nets.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I was on a charter when a diver died while diving solo a few years ago - not the game plan but he got separated from his buddy so the dive was solo - direct experience that maybe had his buddy been there the outcome might have been different.

Agree with the above ... this isn't an example of a solo dive. It's an example of a breakdown in the buddy system. Incidents like these are better used as examples of how people are told to dive with a buddy, but not taught the skills to do so. It would be equally valid to speculate that maybe had his buddy been there they'd have both ended up dead.

Solo diving involves forethought and preparation. Buddy separation lacks both of those elements ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Web Monkey]

I'd be interested in seeing a study/stats on how many of the diving related deaths are truly solo divers.

There are no stats for SCUBA injuries or deaths that can be used to determine the risk/nnnn dives for any type of SCUBA diving.

It's unlikely you'll ever see any either, since only the cert agencies know how many cards they've sold, and nobody knows how many of those certified divers are still active (or even alive) and out of the active divers nobody knows how often they dive or where.

My buddy and I dive pretty much all year, while the woman down the street from me was certified at some point and hasn't been in the water in 10 years. None of us "report in" when we go diving.

Terry

 

[Web Monkey]

I was on a charter when a diver died while diving solo a few years ago - not the game plan but he got separated from his buddy so the dive was solo - direct experience that maybe had his buddy been there the outcome might have been different.

AS NWG pointed out, that wasn't a solo dive death.

A solo dive death would be the guy that dug a hole under the The Islander in Alexandria Bay, crawled in, cut a hole in the bottom of the wreck, got trapped and died in 40' of calm water, 40' from shore.

For new divers considering diving solo, doing something like this is a really bad idea. The guy that died had a lot of dives. I don't remember the exact number but beleive it was way over 500.

Terry

 

[Pre BC]

Great Thread... Very interesting reading from all contributers!

Here is a link to an article about a recent solo diver death (April 09) in Southern California. Of particular note, it was on the diver's 14th dive... ever!

Man drowns scuba diving off Anacapa Island : Local News : Ventura County Star

I have a feeling that a lot of new divers are "solo diving" without knowing it. They assume there is safety in numbers when infact they have no one watching their back or vice versa. For beginners, the simple test for buddy diving should be making eye contact with one other diver, checking each other's gear and promising to stick together (one on one) for the entire dive. Anything else is flirting with disaster should something go wrong on the dive.

P

 

[Jupiter31]

Wow - sorry - I'll be more careful in terminology in the future - LOL

It was late last night and I did not feel like writing "War and Peace" -

I "get" it - solo diving is when you go in by yourself; its a consious decision.

Reason I termed it solo diving is they separated as soon as they got in b/c they were hunting - no actual plan to stay together - they got in and one went one way, the other went the other way -

How I know this is via the interview the surviving "buddy" gave the authorities who boarded us on the way in -

Sorry I did not give ALL the details and while some of you are technically correct, for all intents and purposes it was a solo dive from the get go.

My interest is in clarifing my previous post; not getting into endless hair splitting posts.

 

[Jupiter31]

This is the type of post that causes solo diving to be held in a (falsely) dim view by some.
What you are describing is buddy seperation, not solo diving. Solo diving is an intentional act. If anything, this example illustrates a failure of the "buddy" system.

Not by me - read my previous post(s) -

I've admitted I solo dive on ocasion; also have posted my age, dive experience, and certifications

Not every diver should consider it and certainly not the OP until they get lots more expereince.

If anything our thoughts on this subject are far closer than the point of view of those who say "no solo diving under ANY conditions at any time"

Read the previous post for a better clarification -

 

[on_two_wheels]

There are no stats for SCUBA injuries or deaths that can be used to determine the risk/nnnn dives for any type of SCUBA diving.

It's unlikely you'll ever see any either, since only the cert agencies know how many cards they've sold, and nobody knows how many of those certified divers are still active (or even alive) and out of the active divers nobody knows how often they dive or where.

My buddy and I dive pretty much all year, while the woman down the street from me was certified at some point and hasn't been in the water in 10 years. None of us "report in" when we go diving.

Terry

I simply mean OF the scuba related accidents (aka deaths) how many of them were diving solo at the time. That wouldn't be too hard to calculate. e.g. "There X diving related fatalities this year. Of them Y were diving solo at the time which equals Z%."

 

[Web Monkey]

I simply mean OF the scuba related accidents (aka deaths) how many of them were diving solo at the time. That wouldn't be too hard to calculate. e.g. "There X diving related fatalities this year. Of them Y were diving solo at the time which equals Z%."

That would rate a "maybe" if you were willing to work at it.

There is no central repository for SCUBA injuries or deaths, so I'm not sure where you would even start. Additionally, a heart attack underwater might be classified as "SCUBA Accident" or "Drowning", while the guy that became trapped in the hole he cut in the wreck might also be classified as "SCUBA Accident" or "Drowning". Figuring out if the victim was solo or not and if it was actually a SCUBA death would take quite a bit of detective work.

Terry