Solo diving... thumbs up, thumbs down?

[Splitlip]

i just find team diving to be both more challenging and more interesting than solo diving...

i was getting an itch to do some solo diving awhile back, for no good reason whatsoever other than to solo dive, but it went away after awhile..

Ha ha.

My regular buddy team and I are all professionals or students with families and obligations. Geographically there is a ~2 hr travel radius. Sometimes we all get together. Sometimes a few get together. Sometimes two or non

For us , solo diving is not a capricious decision, as you imply in your post. This would apply to others I suspect as well.

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

Why? It looks to me like your poll teased out the point that a lot of SB divers consider themselves the stronger half of the buddy system to the extent that they are more comfortable alone. Beginning divers may be reluctant to go up against the "more experienced" divers, thus the lopsided results. Still interesting, though.


Thanks for posting in the "Advanced" forum: Solo diving has the added advantage of dancing closer to the edge, the rewards are greater as the percieved threat is renewed, fresh, and immediate. Solo diving attracts adrenaline junkies. Solo diving attracts solitude junkies. Solo diving attracts divers fed up the insta-buddy system. Solo diving is not as safe as a solid buddy system. Solo divers typically don't give a rats a** about that. I'm not defending or promoting it, it is just what a lot of divers routinely do.

That whole bottom paragraph is just completely not true. Where do you get the crazy assumptions from? I don't know any diver that dives for an adrenaline rush. If they do they probably won't live very long wether they are solo or with a buddy. I don't know any solitude junkies either. Down here we like to dive, and we have the skills necessary to do it safe wether we are solo or with our buddies. Schedules conflict sometimes and that's no reason to stay dry if you are trained and comfy with the idea.

 

[Splitlip]

Suppose I need to read the entire thread.
lol

 

[lowviz]

That whole bottom paragraph is just completely not true. Where do you get the crazy assumptions from? I don't know any diver that dives for an adrenaline rush. If they do they probably won't live very long wether they are solo or with a buddy. I don't know any solitude junkies either. Down here we like to dive, and we have the skills necessary to do it safe wether we are solo or with our buddies. Schedules conflict sometimes and that's no reason to stay dry if you are trained and comfy with the idea.

The whole bottom paragraph: Thanks for posting in the "Advanced" forum: Solo diving has the added advantage of dancing closer to the edge, the rewards are greater as the percieved threat is renewed, fresh, and immediate. Solo diving attracts adrenaline junkies. Solo diving attracts solitude junkies. Solo diving attracts divers fed up the insta-buddy system. Solo diving is not as safe as a solid buddy system. Solo divers typically don't give a rats a** about that. I'm not defending or promoting it, it is just what a lot of divers routinely do.

I'll explain it from my perspective, -up to you to decide if you agree.

That whole bottom paragraph is just completely not true. Where do you get the crazy assumptions from? ......

My personal experience, primarily off the coast of NJ.

.... I don't know any diver that dives for an adrenaline rush. If they do they probably won't live very long wether they are solo or with a buddy. I don't know any solitude junkies either. ......

Now you do.

.......... Down here we like to dive, and we have the skills necessary to do it safe wether we are solo or with our buddies. Schedules conflict sometimes and that's no reason to stay dry if you are trained and comfy with the idea.

Agree completely, I should have started my mini-rant with the convenience of solo diving. I'm not selling anything and I don't expect you to agree, just looks to me like we aren't that far apart in attitudes to solo diving. Feel free to replace the word adrenaline with endorphins, they also work quite nicely for me, BTW.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

i was getting an itch to do some solo diving awhile back, for no good reason whatsoever other than to solo dive, but it went away after awhile..

It comes and goes ... haven't felt the urge myself for a coupla months now, but I'm fairly certain that once winter gets here I'll feel it again ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

For us , solo diving is not a capricious decision, as you imply in your post. This would apply to others I suspect as well.

It can often be capricious for me ... as in, I'm driving home from work and decide I feel like diving tonight, so I go home, toss my gear in my car, and head down to the local mudhole.

Most of my dive buddies live within a 15-30 minute drive of both me and that mudhole (which is only 2.5 miles from where I live) ... but sometimes it's just nice to get out by myself with just my camera and my little buddy AL and spend a relaxing hour or so unwinding after work.

My personal experience, primarily off the coast of NJ.

It takes a bit of adrenaline to dive off the coast of NJ. For that matter, I think it takes a bit of adrenaline just to live in NJ ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Nemrod]

I am not a "solitude junkie" as I enjoy diving with my wife or other buddies but there is something almost magical about being able to simply get lost in the moment and that rarely happens for me except when I am solo. Being alone relives me of the need to monitor and track and care for my buddy, these efforts require much time and concentration, alone, I have only myself to deal with. I notice also that the marine life reacts to a single diver differently than a buddy team or a gaggle of divers, creatures that won't come out and play normally are willing to be coaxed out for a visit.

One might convince themselves that solo is crazy or unjustifiable, one might tell themselves anything they want to and then it always comes down to of course "is it safe" and and my answer for that is I simply don't care either way. I don't even agree that safety is number one priority, it is important not to be foolish but it is also important to live my life as I see fit and for me that includes solo diving.

N

 

[lowviz]

..... I think it takes a bit of adrenaline just to live in NJ ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Let's see if I can beat RJP to this post...

 

[adurso]

I went solo diving once and enjoyed it; but I was wearing split fins, a stab jacket, and carrying a Spare Air (TM) whilst doing so and thus died.....

 

[Ana]

Frankly, one of the hardest things about solo diving is maintaining the mindset to then go diving with someone else and be a solid dive buddy. I don't think the mindsets are as compatible as some of y'all seem to believe it to be. It can be done ... for sure ... but it does take a bit of effort to remember whether you're wearing your "solo" hood or your "team" hood ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

wow..... that is exactly IT for me.

When my kids (2 sons)were little, solo diving was such a wonderful way to reset my brain. Raising them as a single mom there weren't many peaceful moments. When things got more hectic than normal it was imperative to take a time out underwater, allowed me to see things more objectively.

The kids grew up, I met a great diver that turned out to be a magnificent husband but still now I NEED to once in a while clear my mind underwater by myself.
Fortunately his mind set about solo diving is very much like mine.
Even enjoying each others company under water, a lot of times we dive as same ocean buddies.

Then comes the logistics part. Before getting a boat it took effort to make true solo dives. I could always see divers from the dive boat, when I didn't see them I felt their presence.... enough to brake the magic. After getting a boat most of our dives are solo, to the point that it is a celebration when my husband an I get to dive together.

Even in the middle of such celebration sometime during the dive the "solo hood" tends to come out, this is true for both of us.