Solo.. Or No Solo?

[Brian Gilpin]

A funny story...


Any way I had finished teaching a class and needed to go out and get my float. Doing so involved a short swim and a drop to 20 ft to untie the thing. As I headed out alone to get it (something I've done many many times at this very dive site as have they) they informed me that I couldn't go alone unless I was solo certified.

I nearly busted a gut. I have ten times the training and experience with redundant equipment as either of their so called solo instructors. LOL so I took a student with me.

As a divemaster candidate I was often assigned the task of setting and retrieving the dive buoy. Often it involved a surf entry, a fair swim, and dealing with lines underwater in thick kelp. Funny how nobody called that a solo dive.

Let em find out you did a "solo" dive there when it wasn't making life easier for them and watch the same instructors yelp.

Actually for me diving with a buddy is a much better experience anyways. Somebody to share with after the dive is a lot more rewarding.It will be interesting to see if the current trend towards legitimizing solo diving will cost lives.

 

[flw]

Self awareness is the reason the "so called" course requires the stdent to have >100 dives under their belt before taking the course

I'm not sure even then that a set number of dives is any indicator of how well someone will cope on their own, I've dived with some real muppets with way more dives than that, and equally with some with less who I'd trust far more.
Only when you are honest with yourself can you have any idea of whether or not you can cope on your own

 

[wedivebc]

I'm not sure even then that a set number of dives is any indicator of how well someone will cope on their own, I've dived with some real muppets with way more dives than that, and equally with some with less who I'd trust far more.
Only when you are honest with yourself can you have any idea of whether or not you can cope on your own

Good point, but how do you evaluate a potential students ability to cope. Everyone who signs up for the course thinks they're ready.

 

[Mako Mark]

As a divemaster candidate I was often assigned the task of setting and retrieving the dive buoy. Often it involved a surf entry, a fair swim, and dealing with lines underwater in thick kelp. Funny how nobody called that a solo dive.
.

No, this is referred to as a STUPIDITY DIVE, and would and should get you and your instructor expelled from PADI (or whatever training agency you belong to) for breaking safe diving practices while in a training situation.

Now please take a clean sheet of paper and write:

"I deserve to drown and am terrible role model for my students"

100 times.

and if you think I am joking, I am NOT.

If I saw an instructor making a DM candidate do this I would personally wring both their necks. What are you thinking????

What you do on your own time Skippy, I dont give a toss, but doing this in front of newbies AND ESPECIALLY STUDENTS is inexcusable.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Let em find out you did a "solo" dive there when it wasn't making life easier for them and watch the same instructors yelp.

.

I set out and retrieved floats while alone many time when teaching or assisting for the very same people. However that was before they were selling solo classes.

 

[FreeFloat]

It must be a rather common thing. I seem to recall seeing the DMs on my OW course doing the same sort of thing, minus the kelp of course..........

 

[Warren_L]

No, this is referred to as a STUPIDITY DIVE, and would and should get you and your instructor expelled from PADI (or whatever training agency you belong to) for breaking safe diving practices while in a training situation.

Now please take a clean sheet of paper and write:

"I deserve to drown and am terrible role model for my students"

100 times.

and if you think I am joking, I am NOT.

If I saw an instructor making a DM candidate do this I would personally wring both their necks. What are you thinking????

What you do on your own time Skippy, I dont give a toss, but doing this in front of newbies AND ESPECIALLY STUDENTS is inexcusable.

CM, I don't think you could be more right about this .... I was doing an open water certification weekend this past weekend and always always when the flag was set we made sure not to go alone. Even though I could have easily done this on my own, this was not something that would have been appropriate to do in front of students. Sure I could have done it alone no problem, but that wasn't the point.

 

[redacted]

haven't read the other posts just going to toss this log on the fire.

In the narraganset bay block island sound area there were 5 dive realted deaths in 1995 and 8 dive related deaths in 1996. In 1995 all the death were divers diving alone. In 1996 7 of 8 of the deaths were divers diving alone. the 8th death was related to diving the wrong mix on the U-853.

i haven't been keeping up on recent stats but
100% in 95 and 87.5% in 96... math seems pretty easy to me...don't dive alone.

Just to make it clear as I have seen stats in the past that classified divers who became seperated from their buddies as solo divers; were these 12 "solo diver" deaths all from dives that were planned and conducted as solo dives?

 

[scubaguy90250]

I choose to dive solo. BUT I am confident in my training and skills and equipment. I NEVER enter overhead environments without a buddy and I never dive deeper than 40 feet. BUT I enjoy diving SOLO. and have approx 50 dives SOLO. It is definetely NOT for every diver. But I understand the risks involved and choose to willingly accept them.

Bottom Line is : If YOU are NOT comfortable diving SOLO then Dont dive SOLO. BUt your opinions are just that YOUR OPINIONS.


my 2 cents worth...

 

[DORSETBOY]

this is why I started the thread! I find it really useful to get people's differing oppinions on differing aspects of diving - I know that even as an instructor Ive got many things to learn and Im glad to take people's different points of view. Im also aware that in cases such as this one, noone's necessarily right or wrong - as so often, it comes down to opinion.