PerroneFord
Contributor
Deep penetrations by the "DIR GODS" as you called them are done as a pair as far I can tell. I've never heard of one being done solo.
Thoughts on Deep and Wreck Diving
- Thread starter LavaSurfer
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To be honest, I don´t know how they dive, it´s just what I heard and it sounded reasonable to me...I guess I should have left that sentence out entirely...
The semantic in me forces me to point out that you can be solo even if you dive in a pair...some would argue that that is the most common kind of buddy diving but that´s for another thread...
JeffG
Contributor
Well that helps when we read any post you make about DIR.grazie42:
OP
On who's part may I ask.wedivebc:
I started the thread and that comes as an attack on me.
I can ASSURE YOU that YOU ARE WRONG.
Unless trying to better my knowledge is self serving and then you are correct.
Let your ego get out of your way for awhile.
DEEPLOU
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JeffG:
Having spoken with a diver who was on many of those trips, he indicated there WAS a bit of dramatic license being done
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As one who has spent all of his adult life in a community that believes in, (advocates, requires, etc.) buddy diving, I must say that that does not obviate examining solo techniques and absorbing many of them.
I dive (and have always dove, and will always dive) as a part of a team that trains together and practices together, but anything that we can learn that permits us to solve our own problems without having to draw on our buddy or thumb the dive is too the good.
I personally think that the solo divers are nuts, (irresponsible, suicidal, egotistical, adolescent, etc. - take your pick) but they're not stupid! I recommend that you look at what they do carefully, esp. in terms of gas management, deco and overall dive planning. It doesn't mean that you have to dive alone, just that you can be less trouble to your buddy who is never more than an arm's length away.
I dive (and have always dove, and will always dive) as a part of a team that trains together and practices together, but anything that we can learn that permits us to solve our own problems without having to draw on our buddy or thumb the dive is too the good.
I personally think that the solo divers are nuts, (irresponsible, suicidal, egotistical, adolescent, etc. - take your pick) but they're not stupid! I recommend that you look at what they do carefully, esp. in terms of gas management, deco and overall dive planning. It doesn't mean that you have to dive alone, just that you can be less trouble to your buddy who is never more than an arm's length away.
JimC
Contributor
LavaSurfer:
Its funny. When I team dive and when I solo dive - my gas plan looks strikingly similar.
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I'd imagine, I've never planned for just my self ... but if I were to I guess that my additional reserves would be very similar to what I carry "for my buddy,"JimC:Its funny. When I team dive and when I solo dive - my gas plan looks strikingly similar.
In my opinion, solo diving has the advantage of slightly lower task loading as there is no need to try to keep track of a buddy. This is based on experience primarily in limited visibility. The need to keep track of the buddy is inversely proportional to the skill of the buddy and at some point with a very good buddy of equal ability, they basically take care of themselves, can be counted on to be exactly where they are supposed to be and you know each other well enough that communication is almost automatic. At that point a buddy is a real asset - short of that point, you need to devote a certain amount of your attention and resources to keeping an eye on them and they are a liability.
So my feeling is that in technical diving having a very good buddy along is a good thing, while just having a buddy along is often not (poor skills, silt out the wreck, hoover their gas and then ask you for yours, etc. In those cases I definitely prefer to be solo and I feel it is definitely safer.
In either case, I plan my dives on the assumption that I will be solo. I also plan them on the assumption that each diver will be fully self reliant and carry adequate gas to get themselves to the first deco stop in the event something goes wrong and plan for the loss of one deco gas. The concession I'll make on a buddy dive is to increase the reserves needed to accommodate a buddy with a higher SAC.
On dives where the deco is long enough that decoing off the backgas as a backup is not an option, two deco gasses (or at least two separate deco bottles each with adequate gas) are required to ensure you still meet the loss of one deco gas criteria.
In terms of deco planning, I use a computer but it is more of a means to get to the surface quicker in the event the dive is called early. Otherwise the primary deco plan as well as contingency plans for lost deco gas, and excess bottom time are carried on a wrist slate next to the bottom timer. What I don't like about computer diving is that it makes it too easy to skip detailed gas planning.
In the end though I agree that the critical difference between rec and tech diving is the idea of self relaince with a committment to having adequate redundancy and reserves to ensure that you can get your self back after one reg failure or the loss of one deco gas. Even with divers who push a team approach, I don't think they would tolerate a diver who puts him or her self in a situation where they "need" the resources of the team to get him or her self to the surface after a single failure.
In the very unlikely event you experience multiple failures, having a team along is nice - as long as the team as a whole has enough rsources to get everyone back - otherwise it gets psychologically messy unless the team member who started it all is altruistic enough to go it alone and accept the consequences of his or her failures. Of course if you are having multiple failures, you need to take a hard look at the quality of your equipment, the quality of your maintainence and the quality of your skills and judgment.
The borrowing of philosophies and approaches that are optimized the particular dive I am doing probably makes me an ecclectic tech diver.
So my feeling is that in technical diving having a very good buddy along is a good thing, while just having a buddy along is often not (poor skills, silt out the wreck, hoover their gas and then ask you for yours, etc. In those cases I definitely prefer to be solo and I feel it is definitely safer.
In either case, I plan my dives on the assumption that I will be solo. I also plan them on the assumption that each diver will be fully self reliant and carry adequate gas to get themselves to the first deco stop in the event something goes wrong and plan for the loss of one deco gas. The concession I'll make on a buddy dive is to increase the reserves needed to accommodate a buddy with a higher SAC.
On dives where the deco is long enough that decoing off the backgas as a backup is not an option, two deco gasses (or at least two separate deco bottles each with adequate gas) are required to ensure you still meet the loss of one deco gas criteria.
In terms of deco planning, I use a computer but it is more of a means to get to the surface quicker in the event the dive is called early. Otherwise the primary deco plan as well as contingency plans for lost deco gas, and excess bottom time are carried on a wrist slate next to the bottom timer. What I don't like about computer diving is that it makes it too easy to skip detailed gas planning.
In the end though I agree that the critical difference between rec and tech diving is the idea of self relaince with a committment to having adequate redundancy and reserves to ensure that you can get your self back after one reg failure or the loss of one deco gas. Even with divers who push a team approach, I don't think they would tolerate a diver who puts him or her self in a situation where they "need" the resources of the team to get him or her self to the surface after a single failure.
In the very unlikely event you experience multiple failures, having a team along is nice - as long as the team as a whole has enough rsources to get everyone back - otherwise it gets psychologically messy unless the team member who started it all is altruistic enough to go it alone and accept the consequences of his or her failures. Of course if you are having multiple failures, you need to take a hard look at the quality of your equipment, the quality of your maintainence and the quality of your skills and judgment.
The borrowing of philosophies and approaches that are optimized the particular dive I am doing probably makes me an ecclectic tech diver.
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