Ok I did what you said, I still belive (as I did before) that solo diving is not nessesarily a BAD thing, but IS more dangerous than diving w/ a bud. What I do have a problem w/ is Rodales advertising for SDI made to look as an informative article (hence the name, "Rodales is garbage") Like I said before, these "articles" are aimed at (for the most part) begginers. I understand the argument that instructors dive solo or whatever, but I dont think anyone should be telling new divers that are still in the "absorbtion" stage, that solo diving is "your ticket to freedom".
Rodales rants
- Thread starter joens
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Maybe that is because most diver are diving solo, but they don't know it. When the buddy relationship fails, as it so often seems to; wouldn't diver be better off if they were better prepared (equipment, training, and attitude) to go it solo?
It is unfortunate that parts of the dive industry seem to believe that restricting access to information and equipment is the best way to control diver's behavior.
I think you missed the point. If you look you will find proof that supports solo diving beigh dangerous but as I stated there
I guess I was just poking at the idea that somone put out a challenge to 'find examples'. It is a pretty cheap way to try to prove your point. If you look hard enough you will be able to find examples of anything you want. I agree I did not post the greatest examples but they are examples of people that died while solo diving. And it took me like 1 min to find them.
As I said there are far more people dieing while buddy diving so what does it all say? I am not sure since there are a lot more people that dive with buddies.
Does anyone have any statistics of incidents per 1,000 dives for solo vs buddy. That would be the only way to really see which is better or worse. Anything other then this type of hard statistic is pure speculation on the part of everyone
Pete
Soggy
Contributor
None of them were icediving. There was a dude in Jamestown just a few weeks ago...went out alone...ended up dead and OOA. There was a guy on the Chester Poling in February...had a freeflow at depth...no buddy...tried to get air from a student also on the wreck (not his buddy)...student panicked...dude died. Both solo divers....both dead...both would have lived if someone else was there. A pony bottle/doubles don't have an redundant brain to help you out when something bad happens.
"Analyzed with an open mind", my butt. You just don't want to hear that what you are doing is more dangerous. I don't give a hoot if you solo dive...you are clearly deceiving yourself if you don't think it is more dangerous. Next time you get tangled up in monofiliment and there is no one around to help you get out, we'll see how you feel about solo diving.
Dryglove
Contributor
You dont know for sure if they would have lived had they had a buddy. In the worst case you could have had two drowned divers as the panicked ooa diver fights his buddy for a reg.Maybe it would have had a happy ending but who knows what there buddy skills were like as far as sharing air and trying to remain calm.
Im not advocating solo diving.If it works for you then do it.Just be aware of the risks.Also be aware of the risks of having a bad buddy which can result in the same ending.
Thats one of the great things about GUE as they teach and instill "PROPER" buddy awareness and not a same ocean buddy.
Soggy
Contributor
Ok...but the odds would have been 50% higher. When my buddy has a freeflowing regulator, I'm there to help him sort the problem out and to also provide a calming influence. If there is a need, we can share air while we shut down his tank and allow the regulator to thaw.
I'm also not condemning solo diving...or at least not ALL solo diving...one just has to understand that your odds of surviving are greatly increased with another trained individual with you.
Dryglove
Contributor
My feelings are that a good buddy team that regulary practise skills and are very proficient at them can defeat about anything thrown at them. A poorly trained buddy team to me is is worse than an experienced solo diver.
There have been a few incidents of death and near death experiences with buddy teams around the monterey and carmel area.Some of the incidences the buddy made a difference and some cases a "proper" buddy could have made the difference and in one that i know of, a buddy wouldnt have made much of a difference.
Soggy once bubbled...
None of them were icediving. There was a dude in Jamestown just a few weeks ago...went out alone...ended up dead and OOA. There was a guy on the Chester Poling in February...had a freeflow at depth...no buddy...tried to get air from a student also on the wreck (not his buddy)...student panicked...dude died. Both solo divers....both dead...both would have lived if someone else was there. A pony bottle/doubles don't have an redundant brain to help you out when something bad happens.
Both inexperienced OW divers?
Get me a link to the board, I'll do your research for you.
"Analyzed with an open mind", my butt. You just don't want to hear that what you are doing is more dangerous. I don't give a hoot if you solo dive...you are clearly deceiving yourself if you don't think it is more dangerous.
I remember saying all these things:
"But blowing solo diving, and it's level of increased danger wildly out of proportion isn't doing anyone any good."
"People solo dive, it's a fact."
"Not everyone dives with a regular buddy, it's a fact."
"Not even your regular buddy may be able to help you, it's a fact."
"Be prepared"
"Since diving really isn't very dangerous to begin with, how much -more- dangerous is solo diving?"
"Examples of people who died WHILE solo diving are not necessarily examples of people who died FROM solo diving."
But I don't remember saying solo diving wasn't dangerous, or more dangerous.
Next time you get tangled up in monofiliment and there is no one around to help you get out, we'll see how you feel about solo diving.
Didn't bother me the last couple times.
But then, I practice for that, don't you?
None of them were icediving. There was a dude in Jamestown just a few weeks ago...went out alone...ended up dead and OOA. There was a guy on the Chester Poling in February...had a freeflow at depth...no buddy...tried to get air from a student also on the wreck (not his buddy)...student panicked...dude died. Both solo divers....both dead...both would have lived if someone else was there. A pony bottle/doubles don't have an redundant brain to help you out when something bad happens.
Both inexperienced OW divers?
Get me a link to the board, I'll do your research for you.
"Analyzed with an open mind", my butt. You just don't want to hear that what you are doing is more dangerous. I don't give a hoot if you solo dive...you are clearly deceiving yourself if you don't think it is more dangerous.
I remember saying all these things:
"But blowing solo diving, and it's level of increased danger wildly out of proportion isn't doing anyone any good."
"People solo dive, it's a fact."
"Not everyone dives with a regular buddy, it's a fact."
"Not even your regular buddy may be able to help you, it's a fact."
"Be prepared"
"Since diving really isn't very dangerous to begin with, how much -more- dangerous is solo diving?"
"Examples of people who died WHILE solo diving are not necessarily examples of people who died FROM solo diving."
But I don't remember saying solo diving wasn't dangerous, or more dangerous.
Next time you get tangled up in monofiliment and there is no one around to help you get out, we'll see how you feel about solo diving.
Didn't bother me the last couple times.
But then, I practice for that, don't you?
Thats exactly what I was about to post. Its really not about having or not havoing a buddy or diving solo. Its about your skill set and your ability to analyze situations and make the correct decision. I was recently diving off the coast of california (mendocino) and was spear fishing for the first time. Visibility was about 10'. (average for the area) As we were looking around I saw a nice capazoni that I wanted to take a shot at. I looked at my buddy and he was looking another direction. I followed the cap, shot at it (missed) and looked around. guess what? no buddy. At that moment, I thought of the posts ive read on here that state over and over again that when spearfishing, your diving solo most of the time. I have to agree. I found my buddy after a few minutes of looking, but what if something would have happened within those 2 minutes? In the future, I think a pony bottle would be a great idea. The fact is, in 10' vis, spearfishing or not, you arent always going to be next to your buddy, no matter how good a buddy he is. You can argue this forever, but when It comes down to it, a buddy is only so much of a help. Sometimes your going to be on your own. Everyone assesses risk differently, and while I dont solo (yet) , I think there is nothing wrong with solo diving, provided you make a informed decision about the dive. I wouldnt dive solo where I was last week (heavy surf with a rock outcropping for our entry/exit,) but maybe in different conditions it would be fine. I am more than comfortable with my skills and ability to reason problems, but others may not be. Maybe solo isnt for them. Maybe them being my buddy isnt for them. Maybe someone thinks im not the buddy for them. We all have our own comfort limits and when diving with someone its nice to know how much you can depend on them if a problem arises.
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