Do you dive with a buddy? Always, Sometimes, hardly ever?

[pmcsurf]

I made my first ocean dive Saturday but had no one to dive with. My wife (not cert) was in the boat with the kids. I dove a wreck in 35 feet and shot (pole spear) three nice sized sheepshead. I was down for about an hour and had the best time. Later I told a friend (has card but hasn't dove in years) about the dive. He asked if I'd slept in my class. He also asked if my life ins. policy was paid up. Diving with out a buddy was like the biggest thing with him. It never crossed my mind. I was only in 35 feet and was very careful... didn't think it was a big deal.
How about you guys? Always dive with a buddy? ALWAYS?

Newbie,

Paul

 

[Genesis]

This is a perennial debate for divers and these lists..

You have to balance it all out.

If you have a buddy:

1. He may abandon you. Then you're solo whether you like it or not, and you didn't plan on it. Note that "abandon" only means he's far enough away that if you have a serious problem you can't reach him/her. This is surprisingly close if you're OOA and PARTICULARLY if he is moving away!

2. HE may freak out and endanger you. Your buddy CAN kill you, you know.

3. You may have a problem that simply doesn't change outcomes with or without a buddy. A MI (heart attack) at depth is probably fatal with or without a buddy, for example.

If you DON'T have a buddy:

1. You can get killed by something easily managed if a buddy is there. For example, you could get entangled behind you and be unable to doff your kit to disentangle yourself for any one of a number of reasons.

2. You could have an OOA problem and be unable to surface through an ESA. An EBA could kill you anyway; rapid ascents are dangerous in any event, buddy or not.

3. You could have a problem that is not necessarily fatal with prompt help, but without it you're hosed. Blacking out at depth is one of these; if you don't spit the reg its not immediately fatal, but it will be when your gas runs out!

The bottom line is that ALL the agencies will tell you that diving solo is a death wish.

The TRUTH is that you can manage some of the failure modes with redundant equipment, but not all. With proper management there are risks both ways, and its very, very difficult to say which is the more dangerous.

Complacency kills underwater. If you're complacent because you have a buddy, that's bad. If you're not because you're solo, that might actually IMPROVE safety.

Difficult to make the call here, but you won't find many people supporting the concept of solo diving.

Evaluate what can go wrong, what you can do to mitigate and control those risks, then YOU decide.

After all, its your risk of assuming room (or water!) temperature...

(BTW, I don't solo dive - but I do recognize that there are trade-offs for the risks involved both ways.)

 

[Uncle Pug]

pmcsurf once bubbled...
I was only in 35 feet and was very careful... didn't think it was a big deal

Nobody has drown in only 35 feet of water plus you were only there for an hour... what could go wrong that you couldn't have handled by yourself... and like you said you had your wife and kids in the boat so even if you did get tangled up and die it wouldn't be like you'd *gone missin'*... I mean they would have at least known where the body was.

So... sure... no big deal.

 

[chepar]

Not having a regular buddy to dive with is a bummer.

Sometimes when I'm diving shallow with optimal conditions, the "this isn't so hard, I could do it alone" thought crosses my mind - but then the rational side takes over and slaps it away.

I won't even think about diving without a buddy. There are too many things that could happen and I feel that I am not experienced enough to even consider solo diving - even under optimal conditions.

Even with your wife in the boat - she's not tracking your every single move from above, is she? There are a multitude of things that could potentially go wrong, and if you are a new diver, the safe bet is to dive with a buddy who is right by your side, IMO.

There are divers that dive solo - but I assume that they are not newbies and have got experience and training on their side.

Of course, to each his own. I dive with a buddy because I don't feel like I am experienced enough for solo diving. If you want to dive solo, do so with an understanding of the risks involved.

 

[kystork]

I have done 3 solo dives in a quarry, but there were several people there that was in our group, and I gave them a time limit of how long I was going to be gone. I don't know that I would do a solo dive in the ocean or not.

 

[MissAmberDiva]

I have always had a buddy. I really h aven't had the chance yet to go by myself. I don't think I would either. I really like having someone to surface with and say....Whoa!!!!!!Did you see that?!?!?! I don't think I would have much fun by myself.

 

[DiveTub]

Uncle Pug once bubbled...

Nobody has drown in only 35 feet of water plus you were only there for an hour... what could go wrong that you couldn't have handled by yourself... and like you said you had your wife and kids in the boat so even if you did get tangled up and die it wouldn't be like you'd *gone missin'*... I mean they would have at least known where the body was.

So... sure... no big deal.

Actually there are diver deaths at that depth
There was a certified Diver death 18 months ago in Sydney Australia, A certified tourist diving with an instructor in 35ft got serperated, they found her two days later, she had all her gear in place, but no air in her tank.......

Sure Dive solo, I do from time to time, as long as you are self redundent then you have no one to blame but yourself if you die

Cheers
Chris

 

[Fishkiller]

chepar once bubbled...
Not having a regular buddy to dive with is a bummer.

 

[Scubaroo]

Sydney_Diver once bubbled...
Actually there are diver deaths at that depth

Geez I thought an Australian of all people would have picked up that Uncle Pug was taking the piss...

 

[Zept]

Genesis said...
3. You may have a problem that simply doesn't change outcomes with or without a buddy. A MI (heart attack) at depth is probably fatal with or without a buddy, for example.

Probably. But if you're with a buddy, at least they'll be able to bring your body up and drag it back to the boat. That's a whole lot easier for your wife and kids... at least they can bury you. Plus you don't endanger all the people who would otherwise end up searching for you.

Zept