Why I should Not be Solo Diving?

[Packhorse]

I did not say I WOULD NEVER GET TANGLED, but rather I have never been tangled. I also said I do carry two knives (actually bungied line cutters). You should read things more carefully before posting inflamatory comments.

As Nemrod mentioned BC failure is a non-issue as long as he is weighted properly. Also those extra tanks are ditchable weight. I do not remember his wetsuit and tank configuration but I know mine and I know I can swim it up from the depths without dropping the belt but I would need to drop it if I needed to stay on the surface for any length of time. From the depths I and he dive I am positive I can do a free ascent to the surface.

I would really like to see more constructive posts like Nemrod's on how to solo dive more safely, rather than rants.

You never mentioned 2 knives/ shears in the post I quoted you from. You mentioned 1 knife.
Also my comments were not so much directed at you but to the OP and anyone else considering solo.
Redunancy is more than about air. It is about ALL vital equipment. Cutting, bouancy,mask, air etc.
If you cant see this as constructive advice I suggest its because YOU dont want to.
Also I for one would consider dropping weight as a very last resort. If I couldnt swim my gear up Id use my SMB. This works well for redundant lift and as a marker.

Anyway what part of my post seemed inflamatory? I just ask as to avoid inflamming you more .

 

[ShallowDiverDave]

I once got entangled to the point where I could not free myself ... no matter what I would've had available for a cutting device. My dive buddy had to free me. The most likely place to get entangled is around your first stage/tank valve ... right where you can't see it. But your buddy can, and if you just hold still they'll have a good shot at untangling you without cutting anything. Second thought ... most people who try to untangle themselves immediately do the worst thing ... they twist around to try to see where they're entangled, which often only makes matters worse.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I have thought about entanglement a good deal, and was thinking that if I was entangled around the first stage/tank valve, as a last resort, that I would attempt to get out of my BC, while holding on to it of course, and examine the situation with my eyes, and attempt to "become the buddy". Unless, I was entangled to the point of not being able to remove my BC, would this be an option?

 

[jeckyll]

Just curious, Bob, for arguments sake and all.

How would people react if some solo group said divers should not dive in poor viz?

Because, the way I see it, poor viz can be as deadly as being solo. So why is one kosher and not another?

Poor viz scares me. Solo doesn't. You can usually see monofilament when the sun is beaming through 150+ viz.

I think that the two are quite different. In bad viz the 'soundness' of the buddy team is what counts. In solo you are alone no matter what.

I've been in good viz (20+ feet) with a bad buddy and felt rather alone.

Frequently been in bad viz ( 5 feet or less) with a good buddy that I dive with regularly and have wonderful dives, never losing contact.

Diving in poor viz reminds me of the last few scenes in Top Gun "I will not leave my wingman!". You know the one?

The thing of it is, I can't breath the water no matter how clear it gets, or what depth I'm at, so I'd rather have a good buddy along.



Bjorn

 

[Doc Intrepid]

It isn't actually a matter of being kosher or not.

It is more a matter of knowing what the risks are in the first place, and then knowing how much risk one is comfortable dealing with.

Not unlike investing, to use a bizarre analogy.

Your comfort level expressed in terms of how much risk you may be willing to assume is going to vary based on many elements (age, environment, temperature, weather, vis, etc.)
I suspect that ANY diver is going to recognize some personal variance between, for example, doing a reef dive on Maui one day and a 3000' penetration into an underwater cave in Florida the following month.

So long as the diver is making a reasonably informed decision, so be it.

What I find disturbing is the number of relatively new divers who decide to dive solo.

In essence, they don't know what they don't know. I've made a number of mistakes over the years, any of which conceivably could have been fatal, which were not because of a team mate. It has taken some time for me to decide on the parameters that govern how much risk I'm willing to assume. In the absence of that experience, new divers don't have any guidelines to aid them in deciding how much risk they're willing to assume - in part because they may not be entirely familiar with each and every potential risk they may be facing. And being a divemaster or an instructor is no defense - many instructors have died in Florida caves, and it was an Instructor in Bob's example who died after becoming entangled. It was an experienced east coast instructor who died last year on a dive for lobsters when he became wedged between the bottom and the hull of the sunken wreck he was reaching beneath to grab a bug. I personally witnessed an instructor's near-death episode after becoming entangled in a gill net. The net enmeshed this diver to the point that it tore his mask off, tore his primary reg out of his mouth, pinned his right arm to his side, left his left forearm (only) mobile, and prevented him from moving down or in any direction laterally. To move up, he needed to drag the weight of the gill net up with him, so he could go up but not stay up. He couldn't access a pony bottle anywhere on his body, even had he had one available.

Emergencies have this disconcerting habit of not occurring in the way we plan for them to.

A new diver doesn't know this. Has no idea how many ways a dive can go badly wrong. Hasn't been blown off a wreck by currents and into a net, never been caught up in kelp, never gotten their leg caught beneath a piece of steel inside a wreck, never been lost inside a wreck when the visibility becomes silted out, never been hit with surge and wedged beneath a coral head, never been hung up trying to negotiate a restriction in an overhead environment, never been narced at 100'+ and focused on trying to solve a problem until they run out of gas - in short - they don't have the experience to identify the various risk spectrums for particular environments. But by god they wanna be solo divers.....

 

[divemaster_jim]

I think that the two are quite different. In bad viz the 'soundness' of the buddy team is what counts. In solo you are alone no matter what.

I've been in good viz (20+ feet) with a bad buddy and felt rather alone.

Frequently been in bad viz ( 5 feet or less) with a good buddy that I dive with regularly and have wonderful dives, never losing contact.

Diving in poor viz reminds me of the last few scenes in Top Gun "I will not leave my wingman!". You know the one?

The thing of it is, I can't breath the water no matter how clear it gets, or what depth I'm at, so I'd rather have a good buddy along.



Bjorn

I'm more reminded of a dirty harry movie ~ a good man has got to know his limitations~
I've read all of his posting and still I'm left with one thought, He's not ready,
Not that the OP can't or shouldn't be doing solo at some time in his diving "life"
just that he needs more, more dives, more experience, more training,
I mean we can think through problems, but what really happens when the ***** hits
the fan. He (the OP) talks about being aware but I have to wonder if he really does know,
FWIW I don't believe he's ready to do that right now.
I know he'll do it anyway.......

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Just curious, Bob, for arguments sake and all.

How would people react if some solo group said divers should not dive in poor viz?

Because, the way I see it, poor viz can be as deadly as being solo. So why is one kosher and not another?

Poor viz scares me. Solo doesn't. You can usually see monofilament when the sun is beaming through 150+ viz.

Well first off Catherine, let's stay on topic ... I never said someone shouldn't dive solo. I did suggest that the person get some experience ... and some training ... first.

And to be honest, I'd say the same thing about diving in poor vis.

But poor vis scares you because you're not used to it. When I was in Maui they wouldn't even rent me a tank on a day after a heavy rainfall because they told me the vis was too poor for diving. The guy said it was about 10 feet. I reminded him that at home we call that a good day. My definition of poor vis is when you stretch out your hand and can no longer see your fingers. Otherwise, I'm comfortable in the water.

But like solo, diving in poor vis requires some special considerations and techniques ... closer contact with your buddy, slower swimming, buoyancy control that lets you swim inches off the bottom ... that sort of thing.

If a newly-certified diver were to ask me if they should dive in those conditions, my response would be "sure ... but make sure you take an experienced buddy with you." I would also be sure to explain to them why they would want to adopt those techniques I mentioned above. Otherwise, I would say it's not OK ... too easy to lose your buddy or get creeped out, and it's not worth the risk.

But like solo ... if you've got the experience and training to know what the risks are, and are prepared to mitigate those risks ... go for it.

I just don't like seeing people get in over their head out of ignorance ... whatever the conditions might be that cause it ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[ShallowDiverDave]

FWIW I don't believe he's ready to do that right now.
I know he'll do it anyway.......

Apparently you missed "my decision" post. I am a rationale human being who has thought through all your comments and came to a logical conclusion, and it is not the conclusion you have stated. See Post Number 68.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I would really like to see more constructive posts like Nemrod's on how to solo dive more safely, rather than rants.

There's a whole forum for that.

The OP didn't ask how to solo dive safely, he asked why he should not be solo diving. Those are two very different questions ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

The mythical powers of dive buddies is wide spread. I would agree that people dive all of the time with buddies in situations that are more dangerous that solo diving in an easy environment.

I would also agree that's the case ... but that's not the question to be answered here.

The question is whether or not someone with little practical experience should be diving solo ... and I think most responsible solo divers would also say no. It's not the conditions that are a concern ... it's now you're conditioned to react if you have to respond to an unexpected situation. A diver who doesn't respond with proper safety protocols can injure or kill themselves in 10 feet of crystal-clear water ... especially if they don't know enough to be properly prepared to deal with those emergencies beforehand ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Cacia]

And to be honest, I'd say the same thing about diving in poor vis.

okay...just curious.

I mean, I never see any bad viz "special training" so I thought it was a decent question.

I was just making the point that an avid freediver is further ahead of the game than his 25 "logged" dives might indicate...from what I see.

But, basically we are saying the same thing.

Freedivers (he said he was one) are usually very adequate in the water and I could imagine them getting out of tights more nimbly than your average recreational diver. If you have spent a lot of time freediving, you will know about currents, etc somewhat like a more experienced scuba diver.

I would say you should not solo for the following reasons:

1) Out of shape
2) accident prone (history throughout life...they know who they are)
3) family members adamantly opposed and making you miserable
4) Conditions of poor viz, because entanglement more of an issue.

I am not really convinced it is more dangerous. I know being on a bike is worse, so giving that up would probably make more sense. I am just tempted to join the thread because I solo pretty often. I think it gets a bum rap for the most part. You are so much more careful when you are alone, at least I am. I take more chances diving in a group, hands down. I am on my best behaviour when solo. I realize a lot of people do not agree, and I respect that.

In fact, I would like to emphasize my earlier point, since I think I am qualified, having worked around accidents for 11 years.

Individuals who have frequent accidents and mishaps are at higher risk for accidents in the future

So..if you have never wrecked your car, your motorcycle, fallen down in the ice, broken your arm skiing, overdosed, had DUI's, shot yourself accidently while hunting, been mugged, been bent, etc, etc...then you can probably solo dive earlier and more safely than sombody who, for "whatever reason" has had many mishaps.

Some individuals display a history of making bad calls, being clumsy, even being unlucky.

If you have a history of "being unlucky" don't solo.

Ask anybody in ER medicine. There are intangibles involved.