How many of you think solo is OK to do and why?

[AfterDark]

A person trained and equiped for solo diving is not, as far as I can see, at any greater risk than a person with a buddy.

I think the guys I was night diving with years ago would disput that concept. One guy swam into a gill net one night with less than 1000psi air. He was alone and out front at the time. When we caught up with him it took both me and a second diver to cut him out and I almost got entangled while helping.

There are situations where you could die without outside assistance. I am not solo certified so I don't know if they mention it during the solo class but any solo diver faces the same possibility, that is getting into a jam where only a second set of hands are enough to get you out. There are other situations where having a buddy may not mean a thing at all. If a diver has a heart attack lets say post dive but the buddy doesn't know CPR well other than calling 911 what good is the buddy?

Solo hiking has similar hazards, falling and breaking a leg miles away from anything in the cold without a cell phone or some means to summon help you could become worm food.

No man is an island onto himself; but we do like to dive alone sometimes.

 

[NAM001]

I think it is absolutely OK for the right people, doing the right dives, with proper EXPERIENCE and precautions for the dive. Certainly its not for todays newby. Its not for anyone that dives with the belief that if anything happens its someone elses fault. I say experience and not training bvecause anyone can take a course and get a card. Its takes lots of dives, perhaps a hundred legitimate ones in all environments, to experience the variety of problems tha can happen to a diver. Its one thing for your buddy's tank to come loose, its another for yours to come loose and not have a buddy. Getting out of fishing line ot netting is always easier in the classroom. and when thing go right you have to understand that shooting that buoy is all on you and not a buddy. Like cave divng, some are just ment to do it, and well....... Clint Eastwood said it best.. "A man has to know thier limitations" If you dont know what they are,,,, you shouldnt do solo.

 

[Rich Keller]

I have been solo diving almost from the start. My cousin and I bought tanks, regs, a book on how to use them and started diving. He did not stick with it, there were not a lot of divers around in 1970 and none that wanted to babysit a 13 year old so I had to dive solo or quit. Unlike most I believe the first rule of diving is "If you panic you die" not "Never dive alone". You look at a buddy and think he will make you safer, I look at a buddy and wonder if he is going to panic and maybe take me down with him.

 

[Kharon]

I am curious as to why would some opt to do this, especially when they know this is not a safe practice.

A judgment based on no experience, data, or information. In fact I consider solo diving, when properly equipped, trained, and skilled, to be safer than buddy diving.

---------- Post added January 25th, 2015 at 09:21 AM ----------

I think the guys I was night diving with years ago would disput that concept. One guy swam into a gill net one night with less than 1000psi air. He was alone and out front at the time.

OK, let's see - it's night and the guy abandoned his "buddies" to swim alone and out front. Obviously wasn't watching where he was going because he swam into a gill net which would have been visible when lighted by his torch. Also, by definition, was finning too fast for conditions. Then he most probably thrashed areound (rather than freezing & evaluating) and got himself totally tangled and couldn't cut himself free. What kind of cutting equipment did he have? Or did he have any?

Had nothing to do with solo/buddy. Was entirely due to operator error.

 

[uncfnp]

Z Gear. There is a whole lot of good threads in the solo diving forum. If you are truly interested in some detailed discussions, look there. By posting this in the basic forum, I assume perhaps you are interested in the opinions of newish divers?

I think drrich2 put the risk assessment very well.

As to prerequisites, most any thread will mention experience, gear and mindset. There is no magic number of dives but like other endeavors, some defining line has to be made and 100 dives seems to be the mark. I think experience with dives in a variety of environments is important. And a deep understanding and familiarity with your gear.

But truly, probably the most important piece of safety gear is the diver themselves. The ability to stay calm and rationale. I have read that one prerequisite to solo is that the diver has dealt with some type of critical situation before and knows how he will react. And I agree that this skill is critical to a safe solo diver.

Some divers admit that it is the "poor buddy/instabuddy" experience that pushing them to gear for solo. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Ideally, all divers should be equipped and able to handle most emergencies independently. But to truly "solo" a diver needs the desire to dive alone, to enjoy the calm and "Zen" experience that many divers get going solo. This isn't for everyone. I think most divers enjoy the social aspect. But some of us also enjoy the solitude of solo and seek it for this reason.

And then too there are the diving activities that almost require solo. Such as hunting and for some, photography.

 

[RJP]

As with everything else in diving, the answer is "it depends"

Depends on the diver
Depends on the dive
Depends on the day

I started solo diving very early on... less than 20 dives or so. Here in New Jersey your "buddy" is the guy you drove with to the marina. On several hundred wreck dives here I've had a buddy on fewer than 10... if it was even that many.

My buddy and I got our solo certs on a live aboard a few years ago. At that time we each had already logged more solo dives than our instructor had TOTAL dives. He readily admitted that he learned more from us during the course than we did from him.

In short, if someone is asking "do I have enough dives to dive solo" the answer is probably "no."

 

[tomfcrist]

Z Gear,

I think you have some preconceived notions about solo diving that are just unfounded. Solo diving is no more dangerous than diving with an inexperienced buddy...probably less dangerous actually.

 

[Z Gear]

I don't think it's OK I know it's OK. I've been solo diving since the 1970's and here I am safe and sound and that's how I know it's OK...for me.

I wasn't to sure if I could bring this subject up.It just felt like it was going to be a taboo topic, that no one wanted to admit they did. I guess thankfully, it's not as weird as I thought. Its more normal than strange, and if done correctly its just fine.

Frank G
Z GEAR - Z Gear

---------- Post added January 25th, 2015 at 07:16 AM ----------

My wife would rather that I never dive solo. I have been doing it for years but not really what I prefer to do. So why do it? Well, for those boat dives when you do not want to be paired up with a "first time for everything" diver. When you get to the dive site and the conditions are perfect and your buddy does not show up. You get in the water and your buddy can't get under for some reason (can't clear ears, drysuit flood, etc) and you hate to get all of your gear out of the water and have the long drive back home. Testing new gear at shallow depths where others will be bored. The Cooper river is a solo dive everytime!

If I had a choice I would dive with a buddy just for sharing the dive and talking about it later. Much like golfing by yourself...nowhere near as fun. Also, by diving with a buddy you have a much better chance of getting in the video.

Training, equipment can come into play but mostly it is about your comfort level. You can get all the training, equipment and dives in but if you are not comfortable diving solo (much like cave diving) it is simply just not for you. I can think of only a few dive related deaths that might have been prevented if the deceased diver would have had a buddy...but then we will never really know if it would have changed anything.

That's kind of my scenario. I am always testing out new gear and not only is it boring for some to come along but it actually makes it harder for me at times with a dive buddy. I am always trying to keep an eye so that we don't get separated and I find hard to relax at times depending with what kind of dive buddy I am going out with.

I will say this I do feel that on certain dives it actually feels better when I do go out with a dive buddy. Especially if I am kicking out 200 to 300 hundred yards out to the kelp beds on a night dive!

Frank G
Z GEAR - Z Gear

 

[redacted]

Its more normal than strange, and if done correctly its just fine.

After sitting in OW class where buddy diving was stressed, I saw my first solo diver on the first day of OW dives. Soon after we arrived at the lake, the instructor sent a DM out to put in the dive flag. That is when I realized it was a "Do as I say, not as I do" thing.

 

[Z Gear]

some experience, Pony Bottle and go, I do 3m to 5m dives but I don't count them as dives when I'm metal detecting, I do them Solo, deeper than that and I will go with my buddy, eventually I will go Solo after more experience and school.

I am at 62 dives so far. 3 to 5 m is typically what I was thinking about if I was to solo. Equipping myself with a pony bottle would be wise move before going this route. Very good to point that out.

---------- Post added January 25th, 2015 at 07:42 AM ----------

As with everything else in diving, the answer is "it depends"

Depends on the diver
Depends on the dive
Depends on the day

I started solo diving very early on... less than 20 dives or so. Here in New Jersey your "buddy" is the guy you drove with to the marina. On several hundred wreck dives here I've had a buddy on fewer than 10... if it was even that many.

My buddy and I got our solo certs on a live aboard a few years ago. At that time we each had already logged more solo dives than our instructor had TOTAL dives. He readily admitted that he learned more from us during the course than we did from him.

In short, if someone is asking "do I have enough dives to dive solo" the answer is probably "no."

"IT DEPENDS"

Nice, I or any one can use this as an evaluation before they set out on a solo dive.

Here is how I would use this as an example:


Depends on the diver: I am very confident and proficient in all my safety drills but do not have a pony bottle/or spare air for solo dive yet. So I would have to say I am not yet equipped properly.

Depends on the dive: It would be only day dives for me primarily shallow 15 to 30 max for now.

Depends on the day: I would think if it was a bit rough it would be wiser not to go solo.

---------- Post added January 25th, 2015 at 07:58 AM ----------

Z Gear. There is a whole lot of good threads in the solo diving forum. If you are truly interested in some detailed discussions, look there. By posting this in the basic forum, I assume perhaps you are interested in the opinions of newish divers?

I think drrich2 put the risk assessment very well.

As to prerequisites, most any thread will mention experience, gear and mindset. There is no magic number of dives but like other endeavors, some defining line has to be made and 100 dives seems to be the mark. I think experience with dives in a variety of environments is important. And a deep understanding and familiarity with your gear.

But truly, probably the most important piece of safety gear is the diver themselves. The ability to stay calm and rationale. I have read that one prerequisite to solo is that the diver has dealt with some type of critical situation before and knows how he will react. And I agree that this skill is critical to a safe solo diver.

Some divers admit that it is the "poor buddy/instabuddy" experience that pushing them to gear for solo. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Ideally, all divers should be equipped and able to handle most emergencies independently. But to truly "solo" a diver needs the desire to dive alone, to enjoy the calm and "Zen" experience that many divers get going solo. This isn't for everyone. I think most divers enjoy the social aspect. But some of us also enjoy the solitude of solo and seek it for this reason.

And then too there are the diving activities that almost require solo. Such as hunting and for some, photography.

"The most important safety gear is the diver himself". I definitely want to start to dive alone at least on my shallow dives, I want to be able to go slow and relax a bit. It would be nice not to feel rushed or distracted, from having to look to see where my dive buddy disappeared to.