Why I should Not be Solo Diving?

[waterpirate]

Hey Bob,
I knew you wuold call me out, LOL
The flaw in my system, how do you mentor a solo diver.
And yes buddys are welcome in the solo forum.
Eric

 

[TomP]

Just a few thoughts on solo diving.
first let me say that I believe in the buddy system. Now having said that I believe all divers should strive to be able to dive solo.

I couldn't agree more. Self-sufficiency is key for any diver and crucial for a solo diver

I also believe that many divers that claim they would never even think about going solo have upon occasion done so and did not even know it. I am not referring to those who chose to be "same ocean, same day" buddies but to those who believe they have someone watching their back but in reality they have a liability. Any diver whose buddy is in those first 10 to 15 dives after OW certification regardless of how thurogh their instructor may have been, or only logs a handful of dives a year is diving solo. The dive instructor with 8 OW students, or worse yet, 4 discover scuba customers is worse off than being solo. The odds of something happening increase exponentially with each student. The odd diver out on the dive boat that is buddied with a pair that know eachother is on his own for sure. In any of these situations the diver that believes that someone will be prepared to cut him loose or pass off an alternate in a OOA situation is blissfully ignorant.

This is Russian Roulette, not solo diving.

I also believe that in some situations diving solo is the more prudent of 2 bad choices (assuming the divers are definatly going to dive). When 2 divers are on a private boat and there is not a third person qualified to operate the boat it is often safer to dive 1 at a time, with the other staying on the boat and watching bubbles and the clock.

Anyone who believes solo diving is a bad choice shouldn't dive solo. Further, electing to dive against ones better judgement is rarely a good choice. This is Russian Roulette too.

Unless a diver is propperly equipped and is propperly trained they should not consider going truly solo.

Certainly the former. As to the latter whether its training and or experience is an ongoing, likely endless, debate.

Promised myself I wouldn't do this..... Maybe I don't have the discipline to dive solo after all

 

[tracydr]

When I was at about 150 dives, and was feeling like I was starting to get modestly competent at this, I had a combination of circumstances that brought me very close to panic. I don't panic easily in other areas of life, and I'd never been particularly anxious or worried underwater, but this hit me like a ton of bricks and scared the stuffing out of me. Not the incident, but that I could still come very close to panicking after what I regarded as "all this experience".

Malfunctions don't kill people, in general. Maladaptive responses kill people, and maladaptive responses are possible to anybody, but become far less likely if you've had a chance to cope with some stresses that stretch but don't break you. Somebody with as few dives as you have just doesn't know enough about his reactions to things underwater to be safe there alone, in my opinion.

Very interesting quote. I'm sort of at the stage you were at. I was super confident from dive 0-100. Now, I think I'm either getting old, or more likely, learning how little I really do know. I'm much more careful and actually less confident (but in a good way) then I was 100 dives ago. I look back at what I did then and I scare myself!!

 

[Cacia]

Out of curiousity ... how to you mentor a solo diver?

I know a group of solo divers who share insights about how to do things more safely when alone.

I suggest to new solo divers not to fixate on the more sensationalized diver deaths and stay equally focused on the "little things"..because those things can be just as deadly, and I am constantly looking out for those things...when one *****slaps me against the head, I share what happened in the hopes it will make others think..and I have benefited greatly from other solo divers, passing forward their experiences....both positive and negative, including how to handle resort management, boat captains, fellowdivers, family, as well as diving skills.

Mentoring does not imply a physical presence to me, but most of my solos start with another diver initially and I'd say I gain support even just discussing ocean conditions or comparing notes on perception. Another solo kayak diver gave me some great tips that saved me from re-inventing the wheel in certain situations.

 

[RoyN]

Why would you want to dive solo? Its very scary having billions of eyeballs looking at you. Very uneasy feeling!

 

[waterpirate]

Hi Catherine,
Mentoring a solo diver is exactly what you outlined, it is all in the head. My fellow divers and I spend untold hours discussing gear configuration and protocols for solo diving. Interestingly enough all of our gear configurations are different, and we each will defend our personal choices whole heartedly. Of the three in our core group you have:
bpw hp 120 slung pony bottle
zeagle ranger hp120 no pony less than 100fsw/ bpw independant doubles 100fsw+
bpw manifolded doubles
Eric

 

[Zeeman]

Why would you want to dive solo? Its very scary having billions of eyeballs looking at you. Very uneasy feeling!

Ever been a photographer in a group of non photogs?


Try it and see if you change your mind...

Z...

 

[evil_xander]

Ever been a photographer in a group of non photogs?

Or to test new uw photo stuff/gear. I prefer to do that solo in a familiar environment, at my 'home' diving site, I only need 5-10m of maximum depth.

If I bring somebody along, they'll be bored out of their mind as I try to manually focus something that is moving and etc, trying to get that perfect shot, angle, etc. It can last forever, I can spend 10+ minutes fixed at one spot experimenting.

BTW, RoyN, if you're uncomfortable thinking about diving solo, perhaps you should reconsider the sport? I believe one should always dive 'solo' in their mind, meaning be prepared to handle all possible situations on your own, not rely exclusively on a buddy to be there and help. This does not automatically mean to ignore your buddy though.

 

[kirwoodd]

Couldnt read the ENTIRE thread, too long.

But here's my input as a noob.

For the last year on this board I have heard:
"Don't Panic"
"You Don't Know What You Don't Know"
"Follow Procedure"

Yeah yeah yeah, I hear, and I agree.
Then last week, dive #27........
Standing on the swim platform, all suited up and ready to dive. I am 100% sure that I am 100% ready. So I put my regulator in my mouth and get ready to step into the water. Breath in from the regulator and NO AIR! Yeah, you guys with 1,000 dives are probably saying "Yeah? So what, you were ON THE BOAT IDIOT!"

Uh, yeah, well, it wasn't what I was expecting, I was expecting air, like the other 26 times I did it. My chest got tight, I got anxious. I leaned back on the boat so that I wouldnt fall into the water. I reached for my valve, it was off. How can THAT be? I put air in my BC 5 minutes ago, how did it get turned off?

Here's my point. I didn't "need" to check my air. I KNEW it was on. I KNEW that I was good to go, but I wasn't. The only reason I checked is because:
"You Don't Know What You Don't Know"
so
"Follow Procedure"

On another note....
I have a dive buddy that I trust and respect, when I practice emergency drills he is there in case something unexpected happens. When what I dont know happens, its good to know that I have a buddy there to help out and laugh at me when its over.

 

[tonka97]

I feel bad for hijacking another thread so I'll move the contents here.

Suggest that when you are OP, that you not delete/signif change your initial post. Kinda ruins the entire thread as all the responses are, of course, based on the exact wording and content of your OP.