Why I should Not be Solo Diving?

[ShallowDiverDave]

Call me crazy. I haven't been diving for very long, but I always figured it wasn't a matter of 'IF' you were going to have a malfunction... it's "WHEN" you'll have a malfunction. Maybe it's that Army pilot side of my life popping out.

I just can't see how going by yourself is safe given that thought...

Yeah, but also given that thought, it's not safe period, no matter diving buddy, solo, group, etc...

 

[Cacia]

IMO poor viz and I mean really poor viz, can have a tremendous effect on you mentally.

yea, especially when you swim into a net you cannot see. That would be upsetting.
I get your point, do you get mine?

I just can't see how going by yourself is safe given that thought...

because many problems are caused by the other guy. If you are a new diver, it is probably safest to dive with someone better than you. If you are an excellent diver, the poor diver can become a liability. (That is the thinking)

The dive community is touchy about this one, for some reason. We do all sorts of things alone, but diving somehow has special sentiments, even though it risks others to a much lesser degree. (than cars, jetskis, motorcycles.)

So...Army pilot. Is it okay to fly a private plane alone? Or is that wrong too?

Take Doc, for example. I respect him. Everybody respects him. Great diver, smart man, principled man. So, I cannot help but be puzzled that he rides a motorcycle but probably does not approve of solo diving. Which do you suppose would put him at more risk for death? Assuming great viz, of course, since it is my question. I am mystified. Please, someone, what am I missing?

Bob will just say I am off topic. I don't see that either.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Bob will just say I am off topic. I don't see that either.

The "off-topic" part, Catherine was your insinuation that I said solo diving was unsafe.

I never said, or even implied, any such thing.

I have nothing against people solo diving.

I do get concerned when people dive beyond their training and experience levels ... however they choose to do so ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Cacia]

okay, sorry misunderstood. I agree new divers should proceed very cautiously.

 

[jeckyll]

Catherine,

Somewhere this must have gotten lost in translation. I never argued that noone should go solo. I argued that the OP should not go currently, which he agreed with and that maybe he should revisit this topic after doing about 100 dives or so with a buddy.

I'm sure he'll have bad and good buddy experiences, run into a few problems that need to be solved under water, even if minor and in general get more experience.

I then argued that having a good buddy is much better than having no buddy. I disagreed that diving in low viz is equal in it's risk to solo diving. I agreed with you that diving solo in bad viz would be even worse, IMO, base on what I experienced.

Personally I'm still on the fence on the whole bad buddy thing. I try not to dive with people that I believe are unsafe.

To touch on the motorcycle thing, noone will be able to help me if I screw something up while dragging a knee in a corner at 80 mph (yeah, I do that). Having someone else around really doesn't help. Now if I crash and am still alive after, having someone come back to haul my broken body out of the ditch _may_ help. From personal experience, if they're screaming it's good and being able to go for help immediately is also good. And by the way, I am quite certain that riding a sport bike the way that I and my friends do, places us at far great risk of death.

Same with airplanes I would think, hard to help your buddy if you are a commercial pilot.

Not so with diving IMO.

 

[Cacia]

I disagreed that diving in low viz is equal in it's risk to solo diving.

And..I am challenging that. I sort of doubt it.

Same with airplanes I would think, hard to help your buddy if you are a commercial pilot.

well, last I checked we have co-pilots in case the pilot has a heart attack.
If I fly solo my little Cessna, I could take out some people pretty easily. yet, I never hear a peep about that.

I just wonder if most people are not overly reactional about solo diving, for some undiscovered reason. It does not seem logical to me, that's why I am always harping on it. So..if you ride a motorcycle and I don't...can you at least admit that it would be reasonable to use my "risk quotient" by going solo? Even though untrained?

 

[Diver Dennis]

It depends where you dive. I just got finished having my ***** kicked over a choice of taking a reg from my buddy in a runaway situation instead of following him to the top. I rarely dive with someone for more than a dive or two because I dive in resort situations. They usually let me dive solo because I'm taking pictures but most of the time they will pair other divers up with someone and you don't have a choice. How do you avoid bad buddies in that situation? You can't tell how good a diver someone is until you see them in the water IMO and I've seen some bad ones.

I'm not saying newer divers should solo, especially since they will be doing a lot of their dives locally with a regular buddy but not everyone is in that position.

 

[jeckyll]

And..I am challenging that. I sort of doubt it.

well, last I checked we have co-pilots in case the pilot has a heart attack.
If I fly solo my little Cessna, I could take out some people pretty easily. yet, I never hear a peep about that.

I just wonder if most people are not overly reactional about solo diving, for some undiscovered reason. It does not seem logical to me, that's why I am always harping on it. So..if you ride a motorcycle and I don't...can you at least admit that it would be reasonable to use my "risk quotient" by going solo? Even though untrained?

1) I meant pilots from other planes, not inside the same plane.

2) I believe I already said motorcycle riding is far more dangerous than diving

And by the way, I am quite certain that riding a sport bike the way that I and my friends do, places us at far great risk of death.

 

[captain]

Catherine,

Somewhere this must have gotten lost in translation. I never argued that noone should go solo. I argued that the OP should not go currently, which he agreed with and that maybe he should revisit this topic after doing about 100 dives or so with a buddy.

I'm sure he'll have bad and good buddy experiences, run into a few problems that need to be solved under water, even if minor and in general get more experience.

I then argued that having a good buddy is much better than having no buddy. I disagreed that diving in low viz is equal in it's risk to solo diving. I agreed with you that diving solo in bad viz would be even worse, IMO, base on what I experienced.

Personally I'm still on the fence on the whole bad buddy thing. I try not to dive with people that I believe are unsafe.

To touch on the motorcycle thing, noone will be able to help me if I screw something up while dragging a knee in a corner at 80 mph (yeah, I do that). Having someone else around really doesn't help. Now if I crash and am still alive after, having someone come back to haul my broken body out of the ditch _may_ help. From personal experience, if they're screaming it's good and being able to go for help immediately is also good. And by the way, I am quite certain that riding a sport bike the way that I and my friends do, places us at far great risk of death.

Same with airplanes I would think, hard to help your buddy if you are a commercial pilot.

Not so with diving IMO.

But the bottom line is death, be it in a motorcycle or airplane crash or solo diving. To escape from a near fatal motorcycle accident or solo diving accident is no different. To die in either is no different either. The only difference is how we perceive the risk of injury or death in either case, and the perceived risk may not represent the actual risk

 

[Cacia]

whew. I thought you would never get here.

where is Nemrod? Asleep at the wheel, I guess.

I was wearing down.

Not only is the bottom line death, but WHOSE death? Mostly your own, comparitively to almost anything else.

You know, we have divers solo here all over the place, in Hawaii, and I don't get the impression they die as much as the buddy folks. They are even spearing most of the time. Which means aggressive, goal oriented, sharks, etc. Most of the divers I hear about dying have buddies. Just curious. Does DAN have numbers on this? Seems that they would.

the perceived risk may not represent the actual risk

which is what I suspect.