Some thoughts about diving alone

[knowone]

Clear, concise and well thought out paragraph. Thank you.

BTW 2 questions

1. what color is the sky in your world

2. would it be possible for you to send the mother ship to my house... I beleive

Just poking fun

I'm glad you brought this up Tom. I've been hiding a secret. Reading Bob grateful has also prompted this outcoming.

Mostly I prefer the sky to be filtered by a few metres of salt water, of course blue with a wisp of cloud travelling to and fro.

The mother ship however has been bedridden here at my temporary adoptive residence with irrepairable fractured vertabrae and myaloma for the last two years. Me and the old man do it in shifts, so I don't get much sky and sometimes it is very black.
When the mother ship suffered a massive heart attack a couple of months ago I had time and very clear thoughts regarding morality contemplation, as I grabbed my oxygen and started rescusitation. I acted selfishly due to my parents previously discussed wishes.
The mother ship still exists but unless you find Scotty, travel is out of the question.

Despite these events my attitude towards the human stain remains as it was.

In making conclusion regarding others I rely solely on current behaviours.

Anthropocentricity is irrelevant.

Solo is Zen.

Cheers. Emile.

 

[Kern]

I'm glad you brought this up Tom. I've been hiding a secret. Reading Bob grateful has also prompted this outcoming.

Mostly I prefer the sky to be filtered by a few metres of salt water, of course blue with a wisp of cloud travelling to and fro.

The mother ship however has been bedridden here at my temporary adoptive residence with irrepairable fractured vertabrae and myaloma for the last two years. Me and the old man do it in shifts, so I don't get much sky and sometimes it is very black.
When the mother ship suffered a massive heart attack a couple of months ago I had time and very clear thoughts regarding morality contemplation, as I grabbed my oxygen and started rescusitation. I acted selfishly due to my parents previously discussed wishes.
The mother ship still exists but unless you find Scotty, travel is out of the question.

Despite these events my attitude towards the human stain remains as it was.

In making conclusion regarding others I rely solely on current behaviours.

Anthropocentricity is irrelevant.

Solo is Zen.

Cheers. Emile.

Difficult times.

Best wishes.

Don't let the sky get too black.

 

[bigblue_hi]

I was doing a night shore dive and got separated from the group. Since I was only in 35 feet of water I just decided to ascend since I knew I was only about 200 yards offshore (This was off a fairly familiar residential area).

FWIW, I always carry redundant lights, a whistle, and a strobe as well as always dive with a compass no matter the situation (day, night, shore, boat, whatever) so as to set myself up for success.

Bottom line is.. I was alone. If something had happened, I would have had to deal with it myself. Certainly there is a difference between intentionally placing yourself in such a situation and ending up in one.. but at the end of the day - **** happens. I am very new to diving - but not new to the ocean and its hazards. I think as others have said there is generally greater potential for safety when diving with a buddy - but it depends on the buddy!

If you dive with someone that is unpredictable or unsafe then you are probably better off alone. There are simply some hazards that you can mitigate if you dive alone - such as greater redundancy of navigation/air/etc - as well as generally operating more conservatively (shallower.. lighter.. more trafficked areas.. familiar.. etc). There are some you cannot - for example a brutal attack, getting hopelessly entangled/trapped, severe envenomation, randomly blacking out, etc.

I think diving with a buddy can give a false sense of security - particularly when teamed with a random 'buddy'. I'm in the progress of looking for someone that can be a regular dive buddy and since I would view them as part of my safety system I would then be 'invested' in their gear/condition/etc. If you really trust some random person you just met to save your life - I think you are foolish. An attitude of "Oh I don't need to worry about that - I have my buddy" is dangerous. What if you don't? Oh crap.

Just saying 'diving solo is dangerous' is as questionable as saying diving with a buddy is safe... Being safe (like being secure) is a process.. whereby you examine the relative risks and how you have prepared for them. You cannot plan for everything in any endeavour and diving is ultimately no different - and has greater risks than many activities - but perhaps equal to many things that are more familiar to us (driving comes to mind). Humans are generally not very good at understanding risk - and I think familiarity/comfort breeds more hazard due to complacency. A solo diver who adequately prepares and assesses the risks can be much safer than two people joking around carelessly.

Be Safe.
- bri

 

[bjhawthorne]

Diving is a higher than normal risk sport, but we do it because we love the wonder and freedom that opens up to us when we enter the aquatic world. One of my favorite dives of all time was alone at night along a jetty off a beach. Risky, sure, but very rewarding. The buddy system is a good thing. I got hung up in the kelp once and was very glad for my partners quick thinking and assistance. I prefer to dive with a buddy as I find most things in life are more fun when shared with a friend. If you do choose to dive alone, be very sure of your skills and equipment, the conditions of your dive site, and let someone know. That way at least if you don't return they can come looking for you.

 

[cmburch]

A best friend in High School was riding a motorcycle with his girl friend late one evening a week after graduation.

They were found the next day in a residential neighborhood on someone's side lawn.

If a neighbor had heard the crash and looked out their window, they may be around today.

It is hard to think about how long they lay on the cold damp lawn until death took them.

When I am without a buddy and dive alone, it is safer than my commute on my bicycle and motorcycle due to other drivers. I have been hit many times.

Lucky there are no boaters where I dive.

 

[lowviz]

............Solo is Zen.

Cheers. Emile.

I'm pissed at the current attitude on the board so I signed off for a while (again). I know that the board hasn't changed, -it's me. There are a lot of wonderful people posting, thus I contine to lurk. This (#999) has got to be your most amazing post, so I'm making an exception. I, too, need the one single great ocean above me. Some people need to chop it up into seven or eleven, -they can't even agree on that.

We do a dive together, wherever the hell you are. Solo.

 

[DennisS]

My relatives look at diving about the same as they do sky diving. He died diving would be an acceptable explanation. If it was a heart attack, out of air or eaten by a shark, it would still be the same explanation, he was diving. They don't differentiate between solo, rec, tec, cave.

If they knew about solo vs buddy, there would always be the question, couldn't his buddy have done something else to save him.