ShallowDiverDave
Contributor
I feel bad for hijacking another thread so I'll move the contents here.
Why I should Not be Solo Diving?
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OP
ShallowDiverDave
Contributor
Quote:
Originally Posted by NWGratefulDiver
Hmmmm .... 0 to 24 dives and you're already solo diving?
Maybe his concern has less to do with DIR than it does the fact that, as your OW instructor he failed to impress upon you that maybe you should get a little experience before heading off underwater by yourself.
Did you get any solo training first?
Personally, I'd be a little concerned for any student of mine who decided to go solo with so little experience.
Probably has nothing to do with DIR ... he's probably worried that you'll hurt yourself and blame it on "poor instruction".
As for the rest of this thread ... haven't y'all got better things to argue about than a marketing slogan? I mean, isn't American Idol on or something ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
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Bob,
Thanks for the comments. The more I think about it, what you have said is probably true, with regards to my instructor.
I knew the day would come when someone would actively question my decision to turn solo so early. I very much understand the concern an experienced diver would have about my decision. The simple response from me is that I’m very very different from any other diver. Yes I am currently diving solo, but I have limited the profiles tremendously. I’m not going to explain all the details here, because I don’t feel the need to justify it given that I knowingly understand the risks, and perhaps most importantly I’m an extremely cautious and logical person. In brief, I haven’t and don’t plan to dive solo below 30 ft for hundreds of dives, so that I can gain the experience while minimizing the risk to what I believe is right for me. I have spent many hours in my life beneath the surface at such depths without scuba equipment (free diving), and am therefore extremely confident in the water. I know you were not asking me to justify my situation, but I figured I would satisfy any curious minds.
--
David
Originally Posted by NWGratefulDiver
Hmmmm .... 0 to 24 dives and you're already solo diving?
Maybe his concern has less to do with DIR than it does the fact that, as your OW instructor he failed to impress upon you that maybe you should get a little experience before heading off underwater by yourself.
Did you get any solo training first?
Personally, I'd be a little concerned for any student of mine who decided to go solo with so little experience.
Probably has nothing to do with DIR ... he's probably worried that you'll hurt yourself and blame it on "poor instruction".
As for the rest of this thread ... haven't y'all got better things to argue about than a marketing slogan? I mean, isn't American Idol on or something ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
------------------------------------------------
Bob,
Thanks for the comments. The more I think about it, what you have said is probably true, with regards to my instructor.
I knew the day would come when someone would actively question my decision to turn solo so early. I very much understand the concern an experienced diver would have about my decision. The simple response from me is that I’m very very different from any other diver. Yes I am currently diving solo, but I have limited the profiles tremendously. I’m not going to explain all the details here, because I don’t feel the need to justify it given that I knowingly understand the risks, and perhaps most importantly I’m an extremely cautious and logical person. In brief, I haven’t and don’t plan to dive solo below 30 ft for hundreds of dives, so that I can gain the experience while minimizing the risk to what I believe is right for me. I have spent many hours in my life beneath the surface at such depths without scuba equipment (free diving), and am therefore extremely confident in the water. I know you were not asking me to justify my situation, but I figured I would satisfy any curious minds.
--
David
OP
ShallowDiverDave
Contributor
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daryl Morse
I completely agree with Bob. If you have only 25 or so dives, you have no business diving solo, be it at 30 fsw or otherwise. You claim to be extremely cautious and logical, but your actions bely that claim. At 25 dives, you don't even know what you don't know, let alone have the skills to do it even if you've "read about it". How can you possibly claim to know enough and be skilled enough to dive solo safely, particularly considering that many would argue that safe solo diving is an oxymoron irrespective of how much experience one has. Do you have any redundant equipment? If so, do you know how to use it? Do you know what you'd do if you got entangled or had a major equipment failure? You claim to know all of the risks, but in reality, you're ignorant and if ***** happened while you were solo diving you would stand a significant likelihood of dying. I can see why your former instructor would disassociate himself from you. This has nothing to do with DIR. There is no agency that would support your contention that you should be solo diving.
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First let me start by saying, this post is extremely disrespectful and insulting, even if you are trying to make me understand the danger. Of course I am using redundant air and of course I know how to use it, are YOU nuts? I have experienced a minor random equipment failure, and I calmly resolved the issue, underwater. How dare you speculate about what I may or may not know. I never claimed to know all the risks. And how dare you tell me what I have business doing or not. You may not drive a car, do you understand all the risks, do you know how you will respond in an equipment failure, then you will most certainly die if you don't, you have no business doing something that might kill you like that? You shouldn't be making assumptions about someone you don't know. I would never want to dive with someone like you, and I will most certainly make that assumption.
--
David
Originally Posted by Daryl Morse
I completely agree with Bob. If you have only 25 or so dives, you have no business diving solo, be it at 30 fsw or otherwise. You claim to be extremely cautious and logical, but your actions bely that claim. At 25 dives, you don't even know what you don't know, let alone have the skills to do it even if you've "read about it". How can you possibly claim to know enough and be skilled enough to dive solo safely, particularly considering that many would argue that safe solo diving is an oxymoron irrespective of how much experience one has. Do you have any redundant equipment? If so, do you know how to use it? Do you know what you'd do if you got entangled or had a major equipment failure? You claim to know all of the risks, but in reality, you're ignorant and if ***** happened while you were solo diving you would stand a significant likelihood of dying. I can see why your former instructor would disassociate himself from you. This has nothing to do with DIR. There is no agency that would support your contention that you should be solo diving.
--------------------------------------------
First let me start by saying, this post is extremely disrespectful and insulting, even if you are trying to make me understand the danger. Of course I am using redundant air and of course I know how to use it, are YOU nuts? I have experienced a minor random equipment failure, and I calmly resolved the issue, underwater. How dare you speculate about what I may or may not know. I never claimed to know all the risks. And how dare you tell me what I have business doing or not. You may not drive a car, do you understand all the risks, do you know how you will respond in an equipment failure, then you will most certainly die if you don't, you have no business doing something that might kill you like that? You shouldn't be making assumptions about someone you don't know. I would never want to dive with someone like you, and I will most certainly make that assumption.
--
David
OP
ShallowDiverDave
Contributor
Quote:
Originally Posted by NWGratefulDiver
I'm not questioning your decisions, David ... but I know that if I were your instructor, I'd be worried about you.
Most of us have had a tendency at some point ... usually between the time we get comfortable in the water and the time we start to realize just how much there is about scuba that we hadn't thought about yet ... to overestimate our ability as a scuba diver. I know that I have on more than one occasion. Usually something will happen that will impose a reality check. It's good to have enough knowledge and skills to be able to survive the epiphany ... particularly if you've already decided you don't need a dive buddy.
You can easily die on a 30-foot dive if something happens you're not prepared for. Best to get some solo training, if for no other reason than to have someone with some experience help you get better prepared for contingencies ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
--------------------------------------
Thanks Bob, I respect what you have said, unlike the disrespectful post by another. I understand that I could die at 30 ft., it is a risk reduction, not a risk eliminator. I can promise you that I will strongly consider what you have said here, and I will methodically reexamine my situation.
--
David
Originally Posted by NWGratefulDiver
I'm not questioning your decisions, David ... but I know that if I were your instructor, I'd be worried about you.
Most of us have had a tendency at some point ... usually between the time we get comfortable in the water and the time we start to realize just how much there is about scuba that we hadn't thought about yet ... to overestimate our ability as a scuba diver. I know that I have on more than one occasion. Usually something will happen that will impose a reality check. It's good to have enough knowledge and skills to be able to survive the epiphany ... particularly if you've already decided you don't need a dive buddy.
You can easily die on a 30-foot dive if something happens you're not prepared for. Best to get some solo training, if for no other reason than to have someone with some experience help you get better prepared for contingencies ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
--------------------------------------
Thanks Bob, I respect what you have said, unlike the disrespectful post by another. I understand that I could die at 30 ft., it is a risk reduction, not a risk eliminator. I can promise you that I will strongly consider what you have said here, and I will methodically reexamine my situation.
--
David
OP
ShallowDiverDave
Contributor
Originally Posted by lamont
I did two solo dives back around dive #60 for me. I'm also very comfortable in the water having grown up around canoes and kayaks. I had also at that time experienced minor equipment failures and resolved them underwater. On dive #25 or so I actually experienced a major failure when someone shut my valve down on the boat and only turned it on 1/4 turn which resulted in an OOA at depth that I resolved reasonably calmly by getting on another diver's long hose.
And when I did those two solo dives I was overconfident and didn't know what I didn't know. I may not know you, but I'll lay bets based on your experience and your defensive attitude that you're probably actually worse off than I was.
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Well, if I die, you can contact my lawyer to collect your winnings.
Let me get defensive however:
I was defensive once I was personally insulted. Did you see my response to Bob ??? it was submissive:
"I can promise you that I will strongly consider what you have said here, and I will methodically reexamine my situation."
--
David
I did two solo dives back around dive #60 for me. I'm also very comfortable in the water having grown up around canoes and kayaks. I had also at that time experienced minor equipment failures and resolved them underwater. On dive #25 or so I actually experienced a major failure when someone shut my valve down on the boat and only turned it on 1/4 turn which resulted in an OOA at depth that I resolved reasonably calmly by getting on another diver's long hose.
And when I did those two solo dives I was overconfident and didn't know what I didn't know. I may not know you, but I'll lay bets based on your experience and your defensive attitude that you're probably actually worse off than I was.
-----------------------------------
Well, if I die, you can contact my lawyer to collect your winnings.
Let me get defensive however:
I was defensive once I was personally insulted. Did you see my response to Bob ??? it was submissive:
"I can promise you that I will strongly consider what you have said here, and I will methodically reexamine my situation."
--
David
JeffG
Contributor
Looks like I missed some fun in the DIR forum.
JeffG
Contributor
Ahhhhhh...Brian.jeckyll:Jeff, I wouldn't call it fun, but folks from Edmonton always seem to have a different spin on these things
I miss that forum every once in a while.
Yeah its out of control....Its decostop caliber 
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