Solo diving

[pilot fish]

Interseting idear.... Hey, PF, when are you coming down to Southwest Florida to dive with some of us? So far no hurricanes to muddy the waters, though I did get a rough seas adventure 2 weekends ago...

What part? I'll be in Florida next month.

 

[BIGSAGE136]

Is that due to (Ionesco's) Rhinoceros effect you reckon? Or just plain old irony?

Excellent! Only substitute Pirate for Rhinocerous!

 

[BarryNL]

"Putting the buddy first" is PiFi for "I have no clue, but it sounds good to me".

Enlighten us, please. Tell you what, I'll start a thread.

Here's a link to it, PiFi.

Being a good buddy is ensuring you are in constant contact with your buddy - you should always be able to reach out your arm and touch your buddy. If you can't do this you are basically solo diving.

Admittedly, I don't always dive like this, though I try on on deeper dives and in low vis conditions. Having said that, a well equipped and trained solo diver is probably safer than a lax buddy diver.

 

[BIGSAGE136]

Being a good buddy is ensuring you are in constant contact with your buddy - you should always be able to reach out your arm and touch your buddy. If you can't do this you are basically solo diving.

Admittedly, I don't always dive like this, though I try on on deeper dives and in low vis conditions. Having said that, a well equipped and trained solo diver is probably safer than a lax buddy diver.

Whoa!!! And dont call me Francis! Nobody calls me Francis

 

[CBulla]

What part? I'll be in Florida next month.

I live in Southwest Florida.. most all diving is a drive for me...

 

[Jim Lapenta]

There are as many bad reasons for diving solo as there are good. It is unwise to dive alone, which is why all the agencies in the World stress buddy diving.

Many of these same agencies, especially the ones that are so against it also try to sell you on the idea that you need alot of cards to be a good diver. Even what I call fluff courses that supposedly count towards Master Diver. I'd like to know how diving with a bugeye mask contributes to you being a "Master Diver". Or taking a course to tell you how to dive off a boat. I have taken specialty courses yes. But I've tried to take ones that would give me the knowledge to do the types of dives I enjoy and do them safely. I began diving solo after rescue. Somewhat out of necessity (due to lack of buddies or buddies I would dive with), but also due to the fact that I enjoy challenges as well as solitude. I don't do photos underwater except when I pick up one of those throw aways on vacation. I have been known however to spend 20 minutes looking for just the right piece of driftwood for my freshwater aquarium. I also have spent just as much time observing a fish that I believe was perch no bigger than my thumb. One of the best local dives I did was a solo night dive. Best vis I ever saw, nobody to screw it up and more kinds of fish as I slowly floated through the water without worrying about who was behind, above, beside, or infront of me. I also solo to build my self rescue and general dive skills. I am on a technical diving path and the type of dives I want to do are deep wrecks. I get a rush out of deep dives and wrecks. Many of these are understood that if you are diving with a buddy they most likely will not pull your butt out of the fire. What they will do is try to give the recovery team the right location of your body. I accept this. I also will not dive with anyone who puts my safety before their own. I dive with alot of students but my safety and well being comes first. If there is an accident I can be of no help if I'm incapacitated.

This is where these agencies are doing a real disservice to many. They put the idea in their heads that as long as you dive with a buddy things will be ok. To rely on your buddy. More emphasis is placed on depending on someone else than on yourself. This is what IMO gets people hurt or worse. Is solo diving for evryone? ABSOLUTELY NOT! It is not for those who are not properly prepared with experience, gear, and training. And I do not mean a solo course. While I would like to have the card just to be able to dive places that will not let you solo without it, I don't believe that solo diving really can be taught. You cannot teach a mindset. You cannot teach total self reliance. You cannot teach confidence in one's gear, experience, or training. That must come from within.

The results of not having these traits and abilities can be tragic in the water or in any truly challenging solo endeavor. Those who do not possess them should stay away from these types of activities. If there is any doubt in your abilities to handle the risks and responsibilities don't. But for those of us who have these skills and abilities and choose to accept the risks, the rewards far outweigh the danger and we should not be subject to criticism for taking on the challenge. For daring to follow our dreams.

"We are raised to honor all the wrong explorers and discoverers- thieves planting flags, murderers carrying crosses. Let us at last praise the colonizers of dreams"
Peter S. Beagle, 14 July 1973

 

[LavaSurfer]

Personally I like both styles of diving but Solo offers one thing I cannot get with a buddy and that is moving at my own pace. I like to move slowly on dives where most "buddies" think it’s a marathon down there. When I dive with a buddy I always wonder what I missed while charging along the bottom looking for the elusive big thing when all the cool little things are passed by.

I am also more aware of my surroundings, my body and my environment because I only have me to watch out for not some other dude with their own agenda. Even the best laid plans with a buddy go awry when a turtle swims by and they decide to chase it down for the perfect Kodak moment or I find a small eel imbedded in the coral and spend 5 minutes watching it move around while the buddy either swims off or gets impatient waiting for me.

Alone I get to be one with the sea, I get to move at a pace I want and take on risk I can handle. When with a buddy, I get ballsier and try things I would never try alone like tight swim through or lava tubes. This is good and bad.

Both have their place and I do enjoy both. Obviously Solo is not for everyone and there are times I drive to a site, start gearing up and get the feeling that today’s not a good day to solo. That’s when I look for a buddy or thumb the dive on myself. I actually did that just the other day at Puuhonua O Honounau. I pulled up, geared up and something wasn’t right so I returned a full tank. It just felt like the right thing to do that day.

This is one of the aspects I love about diving, I get to be totally responsible for my actions and I get to pay the price. Its all on my shoulders and nobody can tell me what to do. That’s why I get irritated when someone tells me I "Shouldn't" dive alone that its "Irresponsible". NO, ITS TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY!

 

[JimC]

I started solo diving precisely because the places I wanted to go are so small one person just fits into them. A buddy becomes more of a hindrance than a help in silty an 18 inch bedding plane.

Besides, no one would come with me.

 

[LavaSurfer]

I started solo diving precisely because the places I wanted to go are so small one person just fits into them. A buddy becomes more of a hindrance than a help in silty an 18 inch bedding plane.

Besides, no one would come with me.

I would but there is no room You would have to wait outside lol!

 

[fire_diver]

There are as many bad reasons for diving solo as there are good. It is unwise to dive alone, which is why all the agencies in the World stress buddy diving.

How about sticking to the question posted? These old diatribes are boring.

FD