Strongly considering solo diving - lets talk

[pipedope]

I've done near-zero (1' or less) vis while working on my boat. It wasn't very enjoyable, but the zincs had to be changed, and I wasn't gonna pay someone else to do it.

The only thing I could "see" was a diffuse glow where "up" was, and I was only about 3' underwater. Did the whole job on the "touch" system..... what fun. NOT!

Now you know why I make the big bucks.

Try doing jobs like that every day and in a few weeks it will be easy and 'fun'.
OTOH It is probably not worth the time and suffering.

 

[Genesis]

No thanks Michael I enjoy diving too much to make a job out of it

 

[grazie42]

First let me join the choir that is offended by IB...
As a "single" the implication that my life is worthless speaks more of IB than anything, IMHO. Even the life of someone who is completely alone without any contact with other humans is NOT worthless, to even suggest this, is to me more a measure of the speaker than any who might feel included in this statement (and by definition, to my mind, it doesen´t fit anyone on SB).

Now to solodiving...someone a while back asked for reasons that a buddy would be a good idea...
* I have shared air with a buddy during a dive (not because we had to but because it was the best/most practical solution at the time). Needless to say that wouldn´t have been possible without a buddy and I´d have had to surface in a less appropriate place (the argument could well be made that diving solo I´d have done things/used gear differently but that doesen´t change that my buddy gave me more options in that particular situation).
* Two pairs of eyes see more than one. This is one of the reasons that I don´t see checking on your buddy regularly as a chore (apart from all the social and safety reasons).
* Economics. All overhead is divided by two. Enough said. (ok, this isn´t about safety or risks but still applicable)

And for me, a short time (10 months) in Swedens conscriptive army instilled in me, the habit of doing things in pairs.

As for reasons for/against solodiving...
Obviously the statistics aren´t saying anything either way...
The number of equipment failiures (all things being equal) just mean that buddy pairs will have twice as many but only half as serious (conditioned on it being a "true" buddy pair i.e. that both the will and ability to help each other is present).
Psychological failiures in one diver may cause an entire buddy pair to be lost but may also be aleviated by the other buddy thus ensuring that no incident takes place...

Oh, one other thing before I close...I NEVER dive without a snorcle how anyone could is beyond me...if for no other reason that the red/orange dayglow thingie helps others to spot you in low viz...

Feel free to discuss/debate above (as post #193 you weren´t really expecting anything radically new were you?) or even to nitpick if that is your fancy...
Let´s at leas make it to 200 :lol3:

 

[scubasean]

Oh, one other thing before I close...I NEVER dive without a snorcle how anyone could is beyond me...if for no other reason that the red/orange dayglow thingie helps others to spot you in low viz...

Well, I generally don't dive *with* a snorkle(hooked to my mask, anyway), since I don't dive with equipment I'm not likely to use. If I might need one, I might put it in a pocket.

And, if someone is looking for me in low vis and could have seen a day-glo snorkle on my head, they can probably see my fins, body, etc.


:banana:

 

[pipedope]

Just grab the hose and start going.
If you run into an air tank/filter unit attached to a compressor then turn around, I am on the other end of the hose.

Now where is that dead horse smiley???????

 

[Pimbura]

In 36 years of diving, I have never needed a buddy to help me out of a bad situation. In the past two years, I have cut one buddy out of an entanglement and brought three different people (3 different dives) up from well below 100 fsw on my octo. These were seasoned divers, not newbies. I always assume that I will be 'on my own' and plan for it, even when I know that a buddy will be within 10 feet of me throughout the dive. I seriously doubt that having a buddy along is anywhere near as important to me as it was to those four people I just mentioned. I don't like diving solo, because 51% of the fun of diving (for me) is the 'after dive' conversation on the beach. I make it a point to dive with the new guys as much as possible. Someone did it for me and I have been trying to put something back in the sport ever since. Two or three times a year, I help a friend (instructor) with his OW classes. I absolutely hate it, but I will meet one or two people that want to go diving and consider the new found friends to be priceless. Bill

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Always dive with a buddy who is about your size and strength. If your buddy is smaller than you, that is not a problem for you, however. But it could become a problem for your buddy.

I'm 6'4", 210 lbs. Damn, now I have to tell my shorter friends that they can no longer dive with me.

4) Never follow a (bad) buddy into a hazardous area. Wait at a safe location for as long as is safe for your buddy to return. If your buddy does not return, return to the beach or boat and report your buddy missing.

You claimed earlier that buddy seperations constituted solo diving. Now you're advocating it?

 

[Carpio]

Many times a buddy wasn't available but mostly, I got a bad buddy. In my experience,
what good is it to have a buddy that is no good. I've resorted to solo diving. I just
don't dive too deep and besides living in Michican, the best diving is in water no deep-
than 30 feet - all the sun shine, plants and fish that makes my diving most enjoyable
is at this deph. As you, I think the solo experience offers sensations and sights that
may not be experienced body. A good buddy is so hard to get.

If no one has already suggested this, there's a book titled; SOLO DIVING - The Art
Of Underwater Self-Sufficiency, 12th Edition by Robert Von Maier. I found the book
very very useful to apply with my solo diving. Good luck.

 

[dlndavid]

Here here,
The dive buddies I've had could care less. I had to buddy up underwater with the ones that did care. Being new to diving, but not stupid, solo diving has its appeal.
If you had an alternate air supply in case of OOA, a knife to cut yourself free of entanglement, and not going beyond or entering your limitations, it could be safe. But I am new to diving so my opinion may just be a reflection of the way I conduct myself on the surface.