The solo diving movement, a good idea?

[MXGratefulDiver]

Bob.... As you point out in your post..... TEAM.... Team diving is not Buddy diving as it has become.... Teams work as a single unit, Each member is part of a whole .... Buddy diving ( instant buddy ) does not lend itself to this single unit... Teams take time to work as one.... To " know " what the guy/girl you are with is most likely going to do....

It depends entirely on what the diver has been taught. Current diver OW training tells divers they should always dive with a buddy ... but rarely teach them how. In fact, the common practice of having an instructor or DM "lead" on a checkout tour works against the very concept of diving with a buddy, since none of us have eyes in the back of our head and therefore learn to "trust" that the diver in the rear will behave as we assume they will. This isn't buddy diving ... it's two people swimming close to each other. There's a huge difference. And what it amounts to is a diver learning habits that contradict the system of diving with a buddy ... usually taught those habits by the same instructor who just got finished telling them they should.

Then you get the typical scenario at popular dive destinations where the dive guide takes the lead and everyone else just follows along ... rarely paying attention to anyone except the dive guide. This isn't buddy diving either ... even if you've agreed before the dive to "buddy" with another one of those divers swimming in the group. There are no buddies there ... just a bunch of solo divers swimming close to each other. The dive guide's rarely paying attention to any of them ... he or she is spending most of their time looking for critters to point out to the herd.

Where I dive and teach, divers are expected to be capable of planning and conducting unsupervised dives straight out of their OW class. For this reason, I and many other instructors I know (not all in my area, by any stretch) put some emphasis on training divers HOW to dive with another diver. Buddy diving is all about predictable behavior ... knowing what to expect from the other diver, and vice versa. This begins with an attitude of commitment to the other diver (thinking in terms of our dive rather than my dive) and continues with planning, positioning, communication, and a knowledge of proper descent/ascent techniques. These are part of the OW curriculum ... taught from the first pool session and emphasized during the checkout dives, when a diver is developing the foundation for how they're going to dive. And once learned, they can be applied with pretty much anybody you'd want to dive with. Yes, certainly there are some people out there, even locally, who haven't learned those techniques ... or who simply don't buy into them. And there's a way to deal with those people too ... don't dive with them. Weed them out as potential buddies before the dive even begins by going over your expectations and, if they show any hesitation, politely telling them you'd prefer to dive with someone who's more familiar with how you like to dive.

I'm not counting on some unknown person to stay with me when the $hit hits the fan....

... then you should not be agreeing to get in the water with that person ... not under any circumstance ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[jonniex]

I've done thousands of solo dives starting with my very first one in the winter of 1961-62 (we only had one set of gear). One thing I do NOT do is recommend solo diving to anyone else. Why? Because I very rarely know what I consider to be the most important fact in determining whether a person should dive solo... their response to unexpected emergencies. If one panics in such situations, no way should they be solo diving IMHO.

Even for those who would never consider diving solo, I think training in self reliant diving is a good idea.

Wow so you have been diving for over 40 years, that's amazing. You have seen the evolution of all the gear, equipment and computers over these years. What I have learned over the short number years of diving (compared to you) that I have done is the real magic of diving is sharing that experience with others. The safety is key so learning how to be self reliant while also sharing the experience with others is probably striking a good balance on this issue of solo diving.

- Jon

divesummit
"People protect what they love." - Jacques Cousteau

 

[Bob DBF]

Wow so you have been diving for over 40 years, that's amazing.

That would be over 50 years. Dr Bill is much too polite to make the correction.


Bob
-------------------
Another old timer.

 

[drrich2]

What I have learned over the short number years of diving (compared to you) that I have done is the real magic of diving is sharing that experience with others.

To you. What 'the magic is' is a very individual thing. For me, sharing an experience with a friend can be special. So can enjoying one myself.

Richard.

 

[Nemrod]

I find the magic in being alone, just me and the sea and all that it holds.

N

 

[Vegan Shark]

Sharing the joys and excitement is definitely important to me as well...but there are different ways to share.

For solo diving, I share with my friends on land. After a dive I'll immediately text my SO or close friends that are interested about how awesome (or ****ty) it was, and post any pictures or videos I took.

I think it really just comes down to personality. Some people enjoy doing activities by themselves. Others refuse to do sports, go to entertainment venues, etc. alone, because it's not fun for them. I have no problems hiking, going to music concerts, a restaurant, or anything else by myself, so why would diving be any different?

 

[drbill]

That would be over 50 years. Dr Bill is much too polite to make the correction.

Nah, my math isn't good either!

I love diving with some of my favorite buddies (most of whom are women for some strange reason), and almost always dive with a buddy when I am away from my usual haunts and don't know the particulars of a site. When I'm on a working dive (which most of mine are), I prefer solo because I need to focus on my work and my diving. Regardless of how good my buddy is (and some are better divers than I am), having a buddy still distracts me from my focus. I dive and film to bring home video footage to share with others, often non-divers.