What Is A Solo Dive?

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yknot

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I see some good advice for gear, training, etc. but does a solo dive necessarily mean you entered the water alone? Say two divers enter the water together, proceed to over 100' depth and then separate by 50'. Maybe one diver is working on a macro shot and another is investigating something else a ways off. Without starting a discussion about buddy skills and obligations, dives like this happen when dive buddies have a long standing trust in each other and in their own abilities. When or at what point does a team dive become a solo dive?
 
yknot:
I see some good advice for gear, training, etc. but does a solo dive necessarily mean you entered the water alone? Say two divers enter the water together, proceed to over 100' depth and then separate by 50'. Maybe one diver is working on a macro shot and another is investigating something else a ways off. Without starting a discussion about buddy skills and obligations, dives like this happen when dive buddies have a long standing trust in each other and in their own abilities. When or at what point does a team dive become a solo dive?

In a cave or wreck team members are sometime seperated unavoidably by a restriction. Whether you are in it or waiting for a buddy to get through either in front or behind you they you are temporarily solo.
 
I think accidental seperation is a possibility in any environment, certainly more likely in low-vis or penetration diving. These are excellent reasons to prepare for every dive with the utmost self-suffiency.

Solo diving as we are discussing here could be defined as a planned solo entry, execution and exit. Planned being the key.

That being said, it is also possible to have a planned seperation. This too could be considered a solo dive and certainly needs to be treated as one during planning, preparation and equipment configuration.
 
I will often plan a dive in low visibility conditions with a buddy with the understanding that if we separate we will both proceed solo. This avoids the need to surface to regroup, a procedure can be contraindicated on a deep dive as it would pretty much be a dive ender.

I don't regard this as a buddy dive but rather as a solo dive and plan and configure accordingly.
 
I agree with Cortez.

Solo DIves, at least those discussed here are PLANNED from the start to finish as SOLO dives.

Just because you are solo does not mean half the planning, rather twice the planning is necessary as you are your own Buddy.
 
yknot:
I see some good advice for gear, training, etc. but does a solo dive necessarily mean you entered the water alone? Say two divers enter the water together, proceed to over 100' depth and then separate by 50'. Maybe one diver is working on a macro shot and another is investigating something else a ways off. Without starting a discussion about buddy skills and obligations, dives like this happen when dive buddies have a long standing trust in each other and in their own abilities. When or at what point does a team dive become a solo dive?

I'm going to give you my definition of a solo dive as I understand you to have requested.

You become a solo diver, whether you intended it or not, when you have no one who you can effectively signal if you become in need of assistance and that individual can provide effective assistance in a reasonable amount of time.

Definitions:
Effectively signal- using a signaling device have the intended recipient receive the signal and respond appropiately.

Effective assistance- provide what ever assistance is required. ie- disentanglement, alternate air source, etc.

Reasonable amount of time- this will be variable depending on the emergency. Out of air or free flow the time will be much shorter than if it is a simple entaglement.

Make sense?

TwoBit
 
TwoBitTxn:
I'm going to give you my definition of a solo dive as I understand you to have requested.

You become a solo diver, whether you intended it or not, when you have no one who you can effectively signal if you become in need of assistance and that individual can provide effective assistance in a reasonable amount of time.

Definitions:
Effectively signal- using a signaling device have the intended recipient receive the signal and respond appropiately.

Effective assistance- provide what ever assistance is required. ie- disentanglement, alternate air source, etc.

Reasonable amount of time- this will be variable depending on the emergency. Out of air or free flow the time will be much shorter than if it is a simple entaglement.

Make sense?

TwoBit

Part of my point in the original post is that a lot of dives end up becoming solo dives even if they aren't started as such. I spend more time in quarries than any other enviroment. As vis can change in a matter of feet I am mentally prepared to finish every dive alone. Too many times we may start as a group but never finish as one. Maybe instead of the tendancies of most rec training agencies to in a sense prohibit or deny the existance of sole diving they should at least make solo skills part of their training.
 
yknot:
I see some good advice for gear, training, etc. but does a solo dive necessarily mean you entered the water alone? Say two divers enter the water together, proceed to over 100' depth and then separate by 50'. Maybe one diver is working on a macro shot and another is investigating something else a ways off. Without starting a discussion about buddy skills and obligations, dives like this happen when dive buddies have a long standing trust in each other and in their own abilities. When or at what point does a team dive become a solo dive?


Why does the distinction matter?

I think a solo dive is any portion of a dive where you can't rely on each other to help in time of need.
 
yknot:
Too many times we may start as a group but never finish as one. Maybe instead of the tendancies of most rec training agencies to in a sense prohibit or deny the existance of sole diving they should at least make solo skills part of their training.

That is because you have not heeded the proper training you received in how to MAINTAIN buddy contact. With touch or a buddy line if necessary.

They do provide solo skills: as a buddy-trained diver without redundant air source and emergency management skills, your solo training was to look for your buddy for 1 minute and then go to the surface where you will be safer given your current skills and equipment.

theskull
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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