Solo diving for or against

[Arduous]

I go solo quite often. In the year 2001 I logged 26 solo dives. Like others have stated I also like the solitude and the freedom of responsibility for another diver. My solo dives take me to about 70 to 80 fsw. Most of my buddy dives are in shallower waters. As for the Techie dives mentioned by others, when your diving tech, your always diving alone whether you think so or not.

……………Arduous……………

 

[pipedope]

There are a number of problems with diving with a buddy or without.
Even when you have a buddy, as soon as you loose contact you are solo but you don't have the advantage of knowing it.

Quick quize, "How many have surfaced at the end of a dive without a buddy or with someone different than they submerged with?"

Finding a good buddy is helpful as it is much easier to stay with someone who has the same underwater goals as you. A bottom crawler with a spearfisher is a bad mix. A person who burns a tank of air within a few feet of the touchdown point is a bad match for a cruiser who swims a mile or more on a dive.

Also, how do you identify your buddy and they you?
In the days of black *everything* I used to paint my name on my hood, gloves and fins. This way when my buddy looked at me, they knew it was *me*.

There is an alternative to a buddy for some dives and practice sessions, a tender. This person doesn't have to be a diver but divers usually make better tenders and if they are a diver they can also double as a safety diver. The tender can watch the bubbles for location and movement and can monitor time. A cell phone can call rescue if it is needed. If you use surface supplied air (hooka rig) then running out of air is unlikely.

As always;

Do what you will, but
Know What You Do!

michael

 

[Rick L]

Hi I have also done a lot of solo dives!
I do a lot of lobster diving and the visibility is usualy 5 to 25 feet here! So unless one buddy follows the other you lose them all the time. So my 2 buddies and I just do are own thing.
If I go with someone who wants to stay together I do.
I try to stay above 60 feet.

Rick L

 

[Ferrara]

As an instructor, who watches what goes on around me, I am of the pessimistic view that the too many divers shouldn’t dive without supervision, never mind without a buddy. That said, good solo diving is riskier than good buddy diving. When solo you do not have a backup for your most important piece of equipment, your brain. I believe solo diving is a form of technical diving and should not be done without appropriate preparedness.

The divers who are ready to solo know who they are. The problem is there are many who think they are ready who aren’t. I rescued one of those last summer.

I have and will do solo dives. I like diving alone. However, I will never admit it’s a good idea (for the vast majority). Poor buddy diving is no excuse to embrace solo diving. Poor buddy diving is evidence that most are not prepared for solo diving. I would never encourage solo diving just as I do not encourage deep diving or cave diving.

 

[kru]

I dive solo all the time. When you're looking for lobster in low vis or waiting for that perfect photo it's almost impossible to be close to a buddy.

I use a pony mounted as a stage, used only for emergency, not to extend bottom time. I've never had to use it.

When diving recreationally, I dive with someone I know well and trust, or I dive alone.

 

[kru]

I dive solo all the time. When you're looking for lobster in low vis or waiting for that perfect photo it's almost impossible to be close to a buddy.

I use a pony mounted as a stage, used only for emergency, not to extend bottom time. I've never had to use it.

When diving recreationally, I dive with someone I know well and trust, or I dive alone.

 

[wb416]

Just over 20% of my dives are solo (20.4% to be exact) and most of those were in a shallow quarry practicing specific skills (bouyancy, finning, etc).

Most of the boat dives that I've had in the Caribbean were with (by choice) photographers or videographers that were essentially solo dives. I generally prefer this as it gives me some measure of freedom from "clinging" & "unknown" dive buddies that I might otherwise be assigned to on a boat.

I don't advocate solo diving for everyone, nor solo dives for technical level diving.

wb

 

[flash]

Probably the greatest obstacle to more people diving more often is the frustration of trying to find the right buddy. I don't think many would argue that diving alone is a lot more fun and definitely much less hassle. Just know what you are doing, though. Diving without a buddy or tender is like driving without a seat belt. You are rolling the dice.

When something goes wrong, it's gonna be too late for you to change your mind. Spare air and all the experience in the world aren't going to do you a bit of good if you black out. I see people all the time who've had their first seizure, their first heart attack, their first stroke, their first syncopal episode (fainting) and they rarely see it coming. The first time something like that happens to you at depth is the last time. You die.

Everybody has to live their own life, though. I personally don't like the idea of my wife growing old alone so I would never do it.

 

[ebbtide]

i have become a solo diver beacuse finding a buddie here is almost next to impossible .
ya i get some flack about it for sure but at 30 to 70 ft that all goes away ! after my OW i had logged 10 or so dives thats when the solo factor came in . my dive buddie at the time was on his way out of diving . so here i was with 1500 $ worth of gear going dry . cant let his actions spoil my fun ! so there is how it started and i must admit that it does take a ball of nerves sometimes but as long as you stay calm and cautious limit your type of dives
and keep fimalare with your gear ! this has to be #1 rule , never do a solo with borrowed gear you dont know well ! when i dive open water i dont enter the water with out my watcher ,
they have to be sober and straight beacuse if something does go wrong i want someone on top who can use a cell phone and know how to call 911 and not be looking for the 11 button,
i also try to practice while on solo mask fills lost reg with the octi in the other hand and freeflows lost flippers remove weightbelt and replace this 1 i am always doing anyway beacuse i have no butt and my belt slips past me butt down to my ankles b4 i can make it to bottem sometimes so once on bottem i can properly fit my belt :mean:
but ide like to experience more with a buddie than alone

 

[Rick Murchison]

Yep.
Depends.
Rick