Solo Diving, How about WHY we should not instead of just NO you should not.

[scubahound_1]

As you can see we all have differing opinions. The bottomline is that every story I have ever read where an accident has happened it is because broke one of the cardinal rules. I am not saying that diving with or without a buddy is one of those rules, but you have to really know what you are doing out there and dress accordingly. Also knowing the area you are diving is paramount if you do go solo. Whether I am teaching a class or on a fun dive I always assume I am a solo diver. Regular diving is one way to reduce (not eliminate) your risk level to yourself and others, DAN has many stats to back that up. So many times I have watched divers jump in the water and ask their buddy(s), "so what are we going to do?" That is a form of solo diving just because a lack of planning ahead. Two things that every diver needs to remember, 1) plan your dive and dive your plan 2) leave your arrogance at home. Whether you have 4 dives or 4000 dives, every time out is different just enough to get you killed if you aren't careful.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

As you can see we all have differing opinions. The bottomline is that every story I have ever read where an accident has happened it is because broke one of the cardinal rules.

In fact, most diving accidents are the result of breaking more than one safety rule ... a "chain of events", if you will. Break the chain at any point, and the accident would not have happened.

One of the best reasons to dive with a buddy is that you won't often be in a position to notice the chain of events ... either because of perception or due to circumstances. A dive buddy can notice things about yourself that you won't notice ... the leaking first stage, the improperly stowed pony reg, your altered behavior due to narcosis, and a raft of other common examples.

This, of course, assumes that you're diving with a buddy who's taking their responsibility to you seriously. I can see in this thread that many folks don't believe such buddies are common ... or even that they exist at all.

So it boils down, ultimately, to perspective and choices ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[AK49]

I get a big kick out of the individuals who ride their bikes on the shoulder of the highways. They have their bright colored windbreakers donned over proper biking attire and plod along near the white line with their noses to the pavement and not a care in the world. Once when I was driving recently, an oncoming pickup swerved into my lane on a fast collision course and I had to quickly screech onto the shoulder at highway speed. Scared the crap out of me After I got it back together I wondered what I might have done if I had to choose between a head-on and a biker on the shoulder. It seems that the shoulder bikers have effectively placed their lives in my hands. I'm glad I didn't have to make that decision since either would have been devastating.
I have yet to dive solo, but I will. When I'm ready I will start with the simplest of dives and when I'm ready I'll go the next step from there. I know that any solo diving I do will be at limits that I feel confident with and will not go as far as I will with my dive buddies present. I have always had a sense of adventure and I have found that to satisfy my needs I've had to be willing to occasionally do things by myself.
I have great dive buddys and I trust them as much as I enjoy their company. I have found myself at times seperated from them and it was always nice to enjoy the more relaxed pace of not having to keep up with their competiveness. It also took away the responsibility of being there for them and allowed me to focus on buoyancy and looking at what I wanted to without wondering if they had took off without me. We do a lot of adventure and adrenaline activities together and know eachother well so I could always hook back up with them before they would start to worry. We all appreciate eachothers independance as it allows us to enjoy the experience more than when we have high maintenance people along.
What I don't have is any intrest in riding bikes on the shoulder of the highway or placing my life in someone elses hands.

 

[tedb]

Having read the enourmous number of responses I think I should add some nauance to my previous comment (see "Murphy's Law)

There is no sphere of human activity which is risk free; we spend our lives taking calculated risks. I have no time for people who try to ban all sorts of sporting activities just because they are dangerous.
I believe that what is important is to be able to correctly assess a risk before deciding to take it, and this is the essential point in this discussion about solo diving.
Most (all?) of the solo divers who have taken part in this discussion are highly experienced divers and clearly feel that they have a good understanding of the situation to which they expose themselves - their decision to solo is a responsible decision.
David, who asked the original question, indicated that he is new to diving, so is unlikely to be able to foresee the dangers. This is the reason for my response to respect Murphy's law and dive with a (good!) buddy.
When do you have enough experience to decide to dive alone? This is extremely personal but needs at least scores of loged dives, lots of training and lots of conversations with very experienced divers.

Keep safe (but have fun)
Ted

 

[Rick Murchison]

How many of us actually open our car hoods on a regular basis to clean, maintain, and make sure our car engines are working as well as our dive equipment?

Doesn't everybody?
Rick

 

[Rick Murchison]

Not to beat a dead horse... well, maybe swat it a time or two
Personally I don't think "number of dives" is a very good yardstick as a solo dive measure. When I think back on my own diving, in the late 60's/early 70's, many of my first dives - in fact many of my pre-cert dives, and my very first post-certification dive, were solo.
In those days it was just impossible to find a buddy much of the time. And so if I wanted fresh fish for supper I went alone.
But... though I don't think "number of dives" is a very good yardstick, I do think "a mature realistic view of solo diving risk" is a necessary one.
From the very first time I went solo, I made some accomodation for the risk. Less depth, less dive time, smaller targets, closer to shore, someone ashore with my schedule. No equipment change though... redundancy just didn't exist in those days.
Now when I dive solo it is for the same reason - no (competent) buddy available for the dive - and my accomodation includes redundancy.
I'll also make the dive "envelope" smaller. Sometimes drastically smaller.
But I ain't stayin' dry for lack of a buddy, either.
Rick

 

[Heffey]

I get a big kick out of the individuals who ride their bikes on the shoulder of the highways. They have their bright colored windbreakers donned over proper biking attire and plod along near the white line with their noses to the pavement and not a care in the world. Once when I was driving recently, an oncoming pickup swerved into my lane on a fast collision course and I had to quickly screech onto the shoulder at highway speed. Scared the crap out of me After I got it back together I wondered what I might have done if I had to choose between a head-on and a biker on the shoulder. It seems that the shoulder bikers have effectively placed their lives in my hands. I'm glad I didn't have to make that decision since either would have been devastating.
I have yet to dive solo, but I will. When I'm ready I will start with the simplest of dives and when I'm ready I'll go the next step from there. I know that any solo diving I do will be at limits that I feel confident with and will not go as far as I will with my dive buddies present. I have always had a sense of adventure and I have found that to satisfy my needs I've had to be willing to occasionally do things by myself.
I have great dive buddys and I trust them as much as I enjoy their company. I have found myself at times seperated from them and it was always nice to enjoy the more relaxed pace of not having to keep up with their competiveness. It also took away the responsibility of being there for them and allowed me to focus on buoyancy and looking at what I wanted to without wondering if they had took off without me. We do a lot of adventure and adrenaline activities together and know eachother well so I could always hook back up with them before they would start to worry. We all appreciate eachothers independance as it allows us to enjoy the experience more than when we have high maintenance people along.
What I don't have is any intrest in riding bikes on the shoulder of the highway or placing my life in someone elses hands.

I don't mean to burst your bubble, but you are already diving solo.

 

[DrSteve]

I had to put my 2c into this. Afterall, here I am bored at work.

The buddy system can work. It worked for me and my buddy when I had my computer blow off the end of its hose in the Bahamas. We followed standard procedure and all was well.

Now take the other approach of there being lots of other divers around you. If you are "solo" you can get help from them. Possible. In the previous incident I just mentioned as we were swimming, buddy breathing with a stram of bubbles coming from my hose another buddy pair swam by us, looked at us and ignored us. OK we looked fine, we weren't panicked, but an "OK?" would have been nice. Also those other divers are not there to keep an eye on you! When I think the amount of times my wife has tried to point out a specific formation or life form *in front of me* and I fail to see it, makes me wonder how observant other divers are during the dive of anyone other than themselves (and their buddy?)

I dove solo for the first time 2 weeks ago, dive number 125 in 20 feet of water. All my buddies had left and I wanted to dive some more. I had a great time, got to spend 5 minutes trying to get that one perfect picture (failed miserably, but that's why I practice). That's a good reason to dive solo. If I had a buddy I would have done, but finding a buddy who has the exact same interest as me (sight seeing and photography) is tough. Hell, finding any buddy is tough!

I've also dived with "pick up" buddies and found them lacking more often than not. That's why I would prefer in many cases to dive solo. When I think of the amount of dives I missed because I didn't have a buddy...

Also...just curious what the cert level is of some of the self-acknowledged solo divers. Have you taken one of the various "Stress and Rescue" courses? I think that course really seperates the keen divers from the ones who just want to be allowed to do a 100 foot dive with the AOW ticket.

 

[Johan]

I don't have much to say on this topic. If you dive alone you die alone. We all know what can happen and everyone must take the responsibility that goes with diving.

 

[brussellsprouts]

After hyperventilating, take a deep breath, dive, and keep on going. It's amazing how deep you can dive without that constant supply of air. There are no uncontrolled ascents, and there are no fatal embolisms, since the intake of gas was done at the lowest pressure.