Strongly considering solo diving - lets talk

[captain]

Using Indigoblue's reasoning all police officers, firemen, military members, commercial fisherman(the most dangerous occupation)and anyone else who puts himself in danger either in a form of recreation or an occupation should be single.

Captain

 

[IndigoBlue]

Using Indigoblue's reasoning all police officers, firemen, military members, commercial fisherman(the most dangerous occupation)and anyone else who puts himself in danger either in a form of recreation or an occupation should be single.

Captain

Interesting viewpoint.

Policework, when done in pairs, with backup, is dangerous, but not suicidal. You need to be a good shot, a fast thinker, and a cool head.

Firefirghting, when done in teams, never alone, with the proper equipment and backup, is dangerous, but not suicidal.

Commercial fishing depends on a good boat and a great crew and help sometimes from the Coast Guard, and then it is dangerous, yes, but not suicidal. You cannot control the weather, however. So it is a crap shoot at times.

In solo diving, one strand of fishing line can ruin your entire day. With the proper training, research, gear redundancy, mental constitution, and luck, it is still dangerous, and can be fatal, although it does not need to be, if only you have a buddy with you. Diving solo meets all the criteria for being suicidal.

In the military, the really dangerous jobs, like Navy Special Warfare, Army Special Ops, Marine snipers, fighter jocks, etc, is done by single guys. Guys that get married often end up with transfers to other more sane occupational specialties with promotions that pay more. That is not to say that there are no married guys in them, but when there are, their wives live lives of quiet terror while the husbands are deployed. A lot of these guys are suicidal, and I salute them. Its a job that somebody has to do.

Nobody "has to" solo dive.

 

[Snowbear]

Interesting viewpoint.

Policework, when done in pairs, with backup, is dangerous, but not suicidal. You need to be a good shot, a fast thinker, and a cool head.

One nut with a gun during a single officer traffic stop can ruin your whole day. With the proper training, research, gear redundancy, mental constitution, and luck, it is still dangerous, and can be fatal...

Firefirghting, when done in teams, never alone, with the proper equipment and backup, is dangerous, but not suicidal.

Firefighting, when done in teams, *almost* never alone, with the proper training, research, gear redundancy, mental constitution, and luck, it is still dangerous, and can be fatal... One unforseen burning meth lab in your basic 2 bedroom apartment can ruin your whole day.

Commercial fishing depends on a good boat and a great crew and help sometimes from the Coast Guard, and then it is dangerous, yes, but not suicidal. You cannot control the weather, however. So it is a crap shoot at times.

Some commercial fisherpeople work alone. Even if not, a big wave that washes a crewmember overboard can ruin your whole day. With the proper training, research, gear redundancy, mental constitution, and luck, it is still dangerous, and can be fatal...

In solo diving, one strand of fishing line can ruin your entire day. With the proper training, research, gear redundancy, mental constitution, and luck, it is still dangerous, and can be fatal, although it does not need to be, if only you have a buddy with you. Diving solo meets all the criteria for being suicidal.

 

[pipedope]

n. 1. the act of deliberately killing oneself. 2. a person who deliberately kills himself or herself. suicidal, adj.

From "The Random House Dictionary"

I don't see anything in solo diving that indicates DELIBERATELY killing oneself.

Maybe you should look up 'hyperbole'.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

That's funny Max.

If you are DIR then you only have one Suunto in gauge mode on your arm. Better strap another Suunto next to it. You DIR guys are not the only buddy-dependent divers out there, but you are the only buddy-dependent divers out there who don't realize you are buddy dependent.

But then, the DIR philosophy mandates diving in a team, and not solo, so you're missing the boat on the whole solo issue, Max.

Of course, if you are single and not married, it does not matter, because nobody will miss you very much when you don't come back from a solo dive.

My family would miss me just as much if I didn't return from a buddy dive. BTW, I could never be confused for being DIR. I don't tell anyone else how to dive, which apparantly puts you in with the DIR crowd, I happen to enjoy diving solo (just made a solo dive this afternoon) and my computer doesn't have a gauge mode. I also dive deep air. Someone just kill me now and get it over with.

 

[4350DC]

Ever read the book solo diving?

 

[HammerNoMore]

Ever read the book solo diving?

Yep, and I don't recomend it. It's extremely out of date and doesn't really tell you anything that someone with an ounce of common sense would't know anyway.

 

[kramynot2000]

You're married, right? And this woman cares about you?

You will be hurting her when you dive alone, and you will forever hurt her if you don't come back.

Solo is for single divers. And solo is serious self abuse.

You can minimize the additional risk that you won't come back from a solo dive with the following precautions:

1) certify to a D/M level or higher
2) carry a pony bottle with enough gas to get you to the surface
3) carry 2 knives, in case you need one and you drop it
4) wear a backup electronic depth/timing device to your primary electronic depth/timing device
5) read Robert Maier's book about solo diving and do everything he says

But you cannot eliminate that additional risk.

If you are married and/or you have kids, you have no business solo underwater.

I have to agree with the others, this just does not make sense. I don't think my wife would feel better if I didn't come back from a buddy dive as opposed to a solo dive. Following your logic, how about my mother? or father? or brother? etc. Won't they be hurt if a solo diver doesn't come back?

I think what you are getting at is that for solo diving, as with everything we do in life, there is a balancing test between the risks of the activity and the benefits to be derived. For you, the risks of hurting yourself and your family from a solo diving accident are too high compared to the benefits from a solo dive. We all do that balancing test and draw the line somewhere. Many people believe the risk of any diving is too high, some draw the line at deep diving, others at overhead, and others at solo, etc. No one can categorically say this is right and this other thing is wrong because we minimize the risks in certain ways.

There's been a lot of discussion about whether there is more risk or less from going solo. I don't think there is an answer for that, but just that there are different risks. So, you prepare for those different risks and you can minimize the effects of an accident for those risks by preparation and practice.

 

[zeN||]

Save us all Kirk, from those who have allowed themselves to be brainwashed by the dive industry and its dillitantes, who have gone mad with the idea of safety and totally beuracratized and complicated the simple pleasure of diving-
Anyone who is intelligient and natural in the water will solo at times, it's a matter of basic diving skills, an attitude of self-reliance (solo diving will teach you self-reliance), good reliable equipment, redundancy, and choosing the dive site/conditions carefully, avoiding deep dives and difficult environments, giving you an added margin of safety;
diving is not really a safe sport, esp. in the ocean, though the dive industry has marketed the activity as such while combining it with travel, but perhaps that is part of the appeal, and solo diving is one extension of diving, if you have the personality for it study it well and master it (and to hell with all the naysayer!) zeN||

 

[IndigoBlue]

I have to agree with the others, this just does not make sense. I don't think my wife would feel better if I didn't come back from a buddy dive as opposed to a solo dive. .

Did I/Qs in California just suddenly nose dive again?

Your odds of coming back from a solo dive are significantly less, than coming back from a buddy dive.

In most diving fatalities, the victim was separated from his/her buddy.

I know logic is a really tough thing.