Thinking back, what caused you to go solo?

[happy-diver]

At one with the ocean, and the dive flag.

Now who came up with that dumb idea.

The dive flag is only insanely dangerous

 

[scubadada]

I always see people talking about carrying the flag. Started diving last year and not once have I seen anyone use a flag at any of my local shore sites. Now if there is boat traffic when I am ascending, a DSMB launch is always a good thing; but I have never seen or used a flag while shore diving, and they are not required by law to be used while shore diving, where I live. What are the laws in your area regarding flags?

At one with the ocean, and the dive flag.

Now who came up with that dumb idea.

The dive flag is only insanely dangerous

Florida

Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

 

[Ana]

At one with the ocean, and the dive flag.

Now who came up with that dumb idea.

The dive flag is only insanely dangerous

I think the flag is useless for many type of dives, but extremely useful for drift diving, regardless of the law.

It isn't easy to follow the bubbles of a diver, following the flag is a lot easier. If your exit is not going to be the same as your entry the flag is a great tool for the boat that is picking you up. One can get used to everything, for my type of diving I rather use a flag and go anywhere I want, close or far, instead of having to comeback to an anchored boat.

 

[Marie13]

Some inland lakes in WI require use of the flag by law. And the conservation wardens WILL ticket you if they catch you. Fine is at least $125, maybe more. Per diver. This is in WI state parks, at least.

 

[BlueTrin]

Some inland lakes in WI require use of the flag by law. And the conservation wardens WILL ticket you if they catch you. Fine is at least $125, maybe more. Per diver. This is in WI state parks, at least.

Makes the DSMB look cheap in comparison

 

[Marie13]

Makes the DSMB look cheap in comparison

Can’t use a DSMB. Has to be the red and white diver flag. I have one of the inflatable floats but I’ve not had to use it yet as every time I’ve dived at this site others have brought a flag and pulled it.

For those wondering, this is Devils Lake State Park near Baraboo, about 45 minutes north of Madison, WI.

 

[AfterDark]

I started solo snorkeling at age 12 or so. I towed a inner tube around a big pond with enough line so I could dive down. When I began scuba diving finding a buddy could be a problem because I only had one dive buddy and he wasn't always up for a dive. So after some thinking I decided to do a dive alone. That was 1970-71 been solo diving since. One of the original "bad boys" I guess.

 

[jborg]

Unreliable buddies not showing up as agreed, or ending up having equipment problems, or running out of gas after 20 minutes, or suddenly disappearing during the dive necessitating a search, or otherwise generally being a nuisance. After having quite a few dives prevented or made less enjoyable by buddies ... here we are. No buddy, no problem. (I also have some very good buddies who I enjoy diving with.)

 

[Akimbo]

This was my answer in another thread:

For me, and I suspect many other pre-solo-course divers, the evolution came about naturally and went something like this:

• Learn to dive with a buddy
• Discover that it requires a lot of attention to maintain contact in kelp forests, bad visibility, and swift currents
• Figure out that nobody wants to stop and look at what you are interested in. This process is greatly accelerated if you are a macro photographer
• Discover that more and more dives consist of leaving the boat together and never seeing your buddy again until you are back onboard.
• Mentally review your past 50 dives and determine that the primary advantage of having a buddy was to tuck in your hood.
• One day; nobody you know wants to go diving, the seas are flat, and your tanks are full...
• That wasn't much different, except for tucking your hood in was a PITA.