Solo.. Or No Solo?

[Divermark2003]

Have dove solo on 1 occasion. It seems that one has to look at the situation the the diver is diving into.

Overhead obstruction = don't do it!

Diving Deep = don't do it.

Depth of around 30ft or less = shouldn't be a problem.

I would probably only dive solo in my local quarry. Max depth is around 25 ft. Besides what buddy wants to hover around while you check your buoyancy, practice breathing, and or zero in your weight?

 

[Narced141]

I dive solo no deeper than 40' or so and I use redundant air supply (pony) three lights and a smb on a real. In most cases,I dive with a redundant air supply for all dives. I have been partnered up with some realy bad buddys

 

[midwest_matt]

I'll dive solo, no deeper than 10 meters without a redudant air source. An emergency swimmming ascent from this depth is no problem at all.

I believe that that as divers we are all responsible for ourselves. I think the buddy system helps the diving certification agencies avoid lawsuits.

 

[Allison Finch]

What does keeping other divers in sight do for you?

It keeps me going the same direction as everyone else. I often dive high currents and it is prudent to stay with the pack. It is easier on the boat at pickup time.

 

[DORSETBOY]

yep, a teacher can light a ciggy in the staff room, but not in the playground dude. I maintain that if solo diving is to be discussed, it should be done so in a Tec forum not general diving

The difference between the other tec activities and solo diving, is that you need special or different equipment to participate in trimix or rebreather or even cave diving. A joe avarage diver may not see the need for additional equipment while solo diving, and consider it just the same as normal diving, just without a buddy.

Interesting annalogy but it des make your point very well, I honestly hadn't thought of it from that point of view.

 

[spthomas]

A buddy that works (well-trained, knows you, will STAY with you, will respond well in an emergency. And you KNOW all this ahead of time) is a good safety asset, intelligent redundancy.

A buddy that isn't ALL the above, or that you don't know if they are ALL the above, is more dangerous than not.

The buddy system isn't outdated. It's not overkill. It's actually fun. But, the buddy system is BROKEN. An unknown buddy likely won't help.

Teaching CPR, we abandoned two person CPR for laypeople years ago, because the chances of two people that don't know each other, that were trained differently, that likely aren't highly trained or experienced, being able to effectively coordinate CPR together??? Highly unlikely. better to have to people do it separately.

Sounds like most of the divers I've been paired up with on dive boats. I'd have been safer and better off alone.

So, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER depend on your buddy for your safety. No matter what, NEVER!!!! Take care of all that yourself. Then, if you have a GOOD buddy, well, you can never be too safe. And it's quite enjoyable.


=Steve=

 

[DivingFlyer]

I have dived solo with my brother(Free-Diver). I dont drop below 20' and he follows my bubbles on the surface of the water and free dives to me every few minutes. Actually alot of fun down under alone. I dont think that I would go any deeper or dive without him. There is just too much that could go wrong. Especially when you have rental gear on...."How many times has this been dropped??".

 

[sea nmf]

"An interesting fact:
The YMCA taught (and probably still teaches) that you should never swim alone. The YMCA, as we all know was the first certifying agency. The swim buddy carried over to the scuba program, and that's where dive buddies started."

Here's a recent story: I was snorkeling (mostly - a little bit of free diving) in Haunama Bay last week. I was by myself - the only one in the outer reef area. Sometimes my snorkel fins make my feet cramp up. At that point I usually remove the fin from the offending foot for awhile.

This happened and I removed the fin. The water was beginning to get a bit more rough and I was too close to the reef so I decided to swim away, using the crawl stroke. One of my hands had a fin in it and, of course, one foot was fin-less.

Try to imagine what this must have looked like from shore.

Anyway, shortly I put my fin back on and swam through the cut in the reef. After I got in, the lifeguard was right there on his surf board. I popped my head up and he asked if I was swimming alone. I replied yes. He didn't say anymore.

I'm thinking he saw my "crazy" swimming and came out in case I needed help. He didn't say that but I certainly suspect it.

Swimming alone makes lifeguards nervous.
__________________

 

[jtivat]

I dive alone a lot and would love a forum to discuss and talk with other about the subject. I don't think a lot of you realize you have a higher chance of being killed while driving to your dive site than diving! So lets not talk about driving to the dive site b/c new divers might do it and as stupid as that sounds it's not as bad as some of the things I have read in this thread.

 

[MikeFerrara]

I dive alone a lot and would love a forum to discuss and talk with other about the subject. I don't think a lot of you realize you have a higher chance of being killed while driving to your dive site than diving! So lets not talk about driving to the dive site b/c new divers might do it and as stupid as that sounds it's not as bad as some of the things I have read in this thread.

Nope. After over 30 years of driving around this country and a few others I have no idea how dangerous it can be.