The solo diving movement, a good idea?

[TMHeimer]

Well, same old topic, but I'll throw something in. Buddy diving is better (safer) if you have a reliable buddy. It probably CAN be safer even with a questionable insta buddy, because the is another air source other than what you have on you. It can be less safe if your buddy is not very skilled and/or is prone to panic, or tends to wander off unexpectedly, causing concern.

The benefits of solo diving are--
--As stated, you don't have to consider a buddy's ideas for the dive plan.
--You can do what you want at your own speed.
--Other things, like meeting someplace, do we stop for lunch, let's take a longer SI: You don't have to worry about these things. You do what you want and plan your day--you know when you will be done.
--You can dive any (week)day you want, since you're retired. Similarly, if your planned buddy dive is cancelled due to weather, you will have to reschedule instead of just going tomorrow yourself instead.
--YOU CAN COLLECT ALL THE SHELLS YOU WANT AND NOBODY HASSLES YOU....

 

[captain]

This thread is way too civilised, so I will try to warm it up a bit:

Do you know where the buddy system originated in diving? When the YMCA sat down to draft "safe diving" rules, they started by copying the "safe swimming rules", including never swim alone. They also had one recommending that you don't dive within 45 minutes of having eaten.

Along with the 130 foot depth limit from the Navy diving manual which was about how much work time could be accomplished with the twin 72 cu/ft tanks they used.

 

[DaleC]

In the last two weeks I've had two buddies no show on me. No warning, just not there. Hard to work with someone like that. If I were buddy dependent I would be pissed but instead I just wait 1/2 hour and dive without them.

 

[TSandM]

After all, how many serious divers who sought out, paid for & endured a GUE Fundamentals course, and thus value highly trained team work and a particular diving philosophy, want to dive with people who don't share any of that?

Back a couple of years ago, my husband and I did a few days of diving with a fellow who goes by Charlie99 here on SB (he's not here much any more, but he used to be). Charlie's primarily a solo diver and has no DIR-type training at all. But he was a GOOD diver, and we thoroughly enjoyed diving with him, and would happily do it again.

My example of the GUE world was not intended to say that that's the only place you can find a good buddy. It was intended as an example of the fact that good buddies EXIST, and that if you are using bad buddies as a reason to dive solo, maybe you just need to find better buddies.

DaleC, that would royally annoy me -- and if there were ever a time when I would consider diving solo, such a situation would be it!

 

[rivers]

On the issue of buddy quality, when TS&M posted, I thought about the DIR approach used by GUE. See, that's a good example of why having the solo option is a nice alternative. From what I've read, DIR is a well-thought out effort to optimize diving, and thus somewhat rigid in some ways (I'm thinking). Not everyone wants to think & dive like that. So the very training (DIR) that makes GUE divers exceptional buddies could be off-putting to some.

After all, how many serious divers who sought out, paid for & endured a GUE Fundamentals course, and thus value highly trained team work and a particular diving philosophy, want to dive with people who don't share any of that?

I took fundies, passed it, and plan on continuing onto tech 1 at some point in the future. I dive with a lot of other GUE trained divers. but I also dive with a lot of non-gue trained divers. There are two things I care about in a dive buddy: Are they a safe, competent diver? And are they a d*ckhead? I will dive with anyone as long as they are safe, competent, and all around chill person. I'm not concerned about agency.

 

[Subcooled]

Always assume that you are diving alone. Sometimes the buddy may be of help. Sometimes the buddy is looking away and chasing some fish while you are drowning. Sometimes the buddy and peer pressure actually causes problems. Real problems. So, sometimes diving alone may be the safer option. There are situations though, where you would die without (or with) a buddy. Only one thing is certain: life is lethal. Try to enjoy it while it lasts.

And yes, I do dive alone sometimes. Those dives require a lot of planning and thought.

 

[Hickdive]

See the words written below. They were you're words, not mine.



I dive with many kinds of divers. Yes, even GUE divers.

My posts aren't mutually exclusive. What is your point again?

 

[Hatul]

I think the traditional teaching and imprinting that you need to have a buddy to dive, otherwise it's not safe, has done a lot of harm to scuba diving. Many of us just cannot find a buddy when we can dive, and much potential diving is eliminated. The sport is suffering from lack of participation and cannot break out of its niche status.

Also the idea that you need a buddy to check your gear before you enter the water--another bad idea that leads to complacency in checking your own gear and dependency on others.

We drive cars at high speed without a buddy and that's ok, but when we dive it takes two?

 

[TSandM]

Many auto malfunctions can be solved by simply coasting to the side of the road. Very few situations in driving would require or benefit from the assistance of a second person. And the act of driving itself does not impair your ability to think. I do not think the two situations are comparable at all.

 

[Laurie S.]

A lot of the drivers here in Tucson seem to lose the ability to think once they get behind the wheel.