Solo wreck diving

[Aquawookie]

That was one of the best descriptions of the decision to solo dive I have ever heard.
Thank you AADiveRex. Mind if I copy it for future use?

I agree with your position and I have to admit I have thought about diving solo several times. I decided against it not because solo diving is “evil”, but rather because diving by myself was not the reason I took up this sport in the first place. To me diving is a social activity and so the practice of solo dives goes against my personal interests.

My only concern is people who solo dive who may not be ready to do so. I do not mean not trained, but simply not ready. Many years ago now, I was asked to help in the search for a diver who was lost while solo diving. The person was a trained diver and had been diving for about a year when he was asked to recover a lost object from a peat bog. He agreed to find the object, put on his gear and jumped in the water. We found him 3 days later, with no air in his tank in 12 feet of water.

My worry is someone who is not ready to attempt a solo dive will do so and be hurt by it. That person may not realise the extra techniques needed or be aware of the added preperation required to dive in this manner.

Or to put it another way “Joe solo dives so why shouldn’t I”

NovaDiver, may I ask how many dives you had loged before you started solo diving? Is there a required minimum number of dives before you can take a solo course? Is the course open to Open Water, Advanced or higher levels of certification only? Did you believe your course was sufficent to allow you to solo dive safely? I would be very interested in the answers.

Good diving to you all.
Paul.

 

[AADiveRex]

My worry is someone who is not ready to attempt a solo dive will do so and be hurt by it. That person may not realise the extra techniques needed or be aware of the added preperation required to dive in this manner.

This problem exists with any type of advanced dive activity. Any decent diver (or not) can see a technical diving activity and decide to try it out for themselves. How many non-cave certified divers have died within 50 feet inside a cave, which had a huge sign warning them that they could die? How many non-wreck trained divers have got lost in wrecks and drowned within feet of the exit? It is the responsibility of diving educators to make them aware of the dangers that lie in diving beyond their training and experience.

Many basic OW courses never even mention technical diving activities, such as decompression diving, wreck penetration, cave diving, or solo diving. They ignore the topics as if they don't exist, a throwback to the days when technical diving of any kind was taboo. But the times have changed, and the education needs to as well. Open any dive magazine and you can find articles and pictures of technical diving activities. On the dive sites, especiall ones with a range of diving type possibilities (like an intact wreck with its deck at 60 feet, where a novice can tour shallow and a techie can penetrate deep) they see people diving solo, doing deco, wearing doubles, full face masks, and rebreathers.... the list goes on.

When I train open water divers, I make them fully aware of the range of diving activities that exist. I tell them exactly what they can do, and exactly what they can't. I encourage them to gain experience and education, and if they are so inclined, to work their way up to taking classes in more advanced forms of diving. I tell them that they will see people diving solo, doing decompression dives, and penetrating wrecks, and I make sure that they understand that specialized equipment, experience, and advanced training are required for these activities. In this way, I hope that when exposed to these activities in the real world, they are not tempted to exceed their capabilities.

Dive Safe,
Adam

 

[O-ring]

Most of these dissertations on solo diving are absolute and complete bull**** and you guys know it. You are making the argument that diving with a total hoover that is an abomination underwater and screws up the viz, your line, etc. etc. is more dangerous than diving alone. Actually, I think I may agree with you, but the answer is not "dive solo", the answer is to find good buddies and train with them until you, as a team, become a highly functional, efficient diving unit.

Solo diving is just not the smart way to go about this and you solo guys have the track record (i.e. body count) to prove it.

 

[Mike Newman]

Seems to me that there are too many closed minds on this theme. Solo diving is a practice that can and will be adopted by many who choose to take that route. While there are obvious risks, they can generally be mitigated by appropriate training, preparation and consideration of each circumstance as it arises. It's just not good enough for anyone to suggest that it is inappropriate under all conditions. One thing that I haven't noticed mentioned here is the usual requirement for a solo diver to make a third party aware of their intentions, including likely return timings etc. This can significantly reduce risks arising from entrapment, if it caters for a 'rescue mission' to be undertaken should the soloist fail to re-appear.

Does solo diving appeal to me - not much - I like the company of a buddy and I shrink from the expense of solo rigs. But let's not condemn those who take on the challenge responsibly and accept the elevated risk entailed.

Final comment - there's a potential price for all of us to pay if a solo diver comes to harm through failure to take proper precautions. It can prejudice (already largely ill-informed) public opinion against our sport. But then - so too does any lapse by any of us - solo diving or otherwise - we all have a responsibility to keep the sport as safe as possible.

 

[O-ring]

The only scenario I can see it making sense is when you HAVE to do it and the only people I see doing that level of diving are some of the Brits doing that crazy sump crawling stuff they love to do that we lack the cajones for. Other than that, it is simply taking on more risk to avoid the "hassle" of finding and training good buddies. I can't see a single benefit to it other than the post-dive chest beating and standard "tough guy" attitude that seems to emanate from the solo crowd.

 

[novadiver]

That was one of the best descriptions of the decision to solo dive I have ever heard.
Thank you AADiveRex. Mind if I copy it for future use?

I agree with your position and I have to admit I have thought about diving solo several times. I decided against it not because solo diving is “evil”, but rather because diving by myself was not the reason I took up this sport in the first place. To me diving is a social activity and so the practice of solo dives goes against my personal interests.

My only concern is people who solo dive who may not be ready to do so. I do not mean not trained, but simply not ready. Many years ago now, I was asked to help in the search for a diver who was lost while solo diving. The person was a trained diver and had been diving for about a year when he was asked to recover a lost object from a peat bog. He agreed to find the object, put on his gear and jumped in the water. We found him 3 days later, with no air in his tank in 12 feet of water.

My worry is someone who is not ready to attempt a solo dive will do so and be hurt by it. That person may not realise the extra techniques needed or be aware of the added preperation required to dive in this manner.

Or to put it another way “Joe solo dives so why shouldn’t I”

NovaDiver, may I ask how many dives you had loged before you started solo diving? Is there a required minimum number of dives before you can take a solo course? Is the course open to Open Water, Advanced or higher levels of certification only? Did you believe your course was sufficent to allow you to solo dive safely? I would be very interested in the answers.

Good diving to you all.
Paul.

That's a very good question about the solo course. The course prerequisites for solo are the same as the course prerequisites for tech. 100 logged dives,advanced open water, rescue certification are required, I would never advise anyone to exceed their capabilities, only improve them.and yes, The the course was sufficent to allow ME to solo dive safely.Thanks for the questions

 

[novadiver]

The only scenario I can see it making sense is when you HAVE to do it and the only people I see doing that level of diving are some of the Brits doing that crazy sump crawling stuff they love to do that we lack the cajones for. Other than that, it is simply taking on more risk to avoid the "hassle" of finding and training good buddies. I can't see a single benefit to it other than the post-dive chest beating and standard "tough guy" attitude that seems to emanate from the solo crowd.

I will not respond to criticism, only open honest debate

 

[novadiver]

Seems to me that there are too many closed minds on this theme. Solo diving is a practice that can and will be adopted by many who choose to take that route. While there are obvious risks, they can generally be mitigated by appropriate training, preparation and consideration of each circumstance as it arises. It's just not good enough for anyone to suggest that it is inappropriate under all conditions. One thing that I haven't noticed mentioned here is the usual requirement for a solo diver to make a third party aware of their intentions, including likely return timings etc. This can significantly reduce risks arising from entrapment, if it caters for a 'rescue mission' to be undertaken should the soloist fail to re-appear.

Does solo diving appeal to me - not much - I like the company of a buddy and I shrink from the expense of solo rigs. But let's not condemn those who take on the challenge responsibly and accept the elevated risk entailed.

Final comment - there's a potential price for all of us to pay if a solo diver comes to harm through failure to take proper precautions. It can prejudice (already largely ill-informed) public opinion against our sport. But then - so too does any lapse by any of us - solo diving or otherwise - we all have a responsibility to keep the sport as safe as possible.

Well said, dive safe

 

[novadiver]

Most of these dissertations on solo diving are absolute and complete bull**** and you guys know it. You are making the argument that diving with a total hoover that is an abomination underwater and screws up the viz, your line, etc. etc. is more dangerous than diving alone. Actually, I think I may agree with you, but the answer is not "dive solo", the answer is to find good buddies and train with them until you, as a team, become a highly functional, efficient diving unit.

Solo diving is just not the smart way to go about this and you solo guys have the track record (i.e. body count) to prove it.

I will not respond to criticism, only open honest debate.

 

[Scuba_Steve]

Hey, you responded twice already!

Anyway, my two cents, from being on both sides of the coin. Call me a recent convert, kinda like a reformed smoker...we're the worst kind of non-smoker.

My last solo dive was less than 1 year ago, 180ft wall dive on air, 1 deco gas..........nice CF I had going on there.....why?, just because I guess.

I come up to the dock, and guess who's waiting to see this idiot who managed not to kill himself again? .............. TomR.

We stood on the dock for a few minutes, chatting away. He made some "comment", nothing rude or very harsh, but I got the jist of what he was saying just the same.

We watched a few of my fellow Solo-divers pop up here and there. I didn't notice if TomR was shaking his head in disgust, but in retrospect, I'm sure he was thinking it. I'm equally sure he wanted to kick my sorry a$$ right off the dock. He probably would have, but then my 2nd solo dive of the day would have been his fault!

Since then I've had the good fortune of having some solid "team approach" training by Doppler. I still remember the feeling of trying to get my head around this team "thing". It seemed I couldn't breathe without asking my buddy for the "OK". It was quite annoying really. Somewhere in the course I took with Doppler, the light-bulb went on, and the thought processes started to fall into place. I'm still not what he would consider a great buddy, but I continue to work on it, and that's all we can do.

I still remember the feeling I had when I solo dove. I liked it. I was alone, and everything was peaceful. I was alone in my thoughts, with no distractions.

That's isn't the point though. I don't do it now, and I endeavor to never do it again. I hear the arguement over why buddies are a negative, and I don't buy it, since the answer is simply.....well, we'll let GI3 tell you what to do with that kind of buddy.....

I agree with D33, Boogie etc when they say it's too bad that some look at buddies as a liability, they're there for YOU, incase the unthinkable happens and you CAN'T extricate yourself from the situation you've found (and I will add PUT) yourself in.

In my mind now, I NEED a buddy to make the dive as safe as it can be, INCASE the poop hits the fan. I've even had a few, what I call a "ZEN" feeling with a few buddies on a dive......the times when everything clicks and I feel we are ONE.....and that's WAY better than any solo feeling I've ever had.

Regards guys

Steve

P.S. Thanks again Doppler! I owe a debt I cannot repay!