Solo Diving

I would like to further discuss solo diving and see what the community of divers has to say about it.

Personally I think from day one of open water training a diver should be taught to be self reliant first. Technical divers are the only ones in the world doing this! When you are on a technical diver you rely on yourself for all emergencies just as your buddy is expected to. Now I'm not saying in any way that the buddy system shouldn't be taught, but I'm implying that being self reliant is invaluable. Most technical dives are done on a solo basis, and if anything goes wrong the equipment SHOULD be there to fall back on. If they're not prepared well then they're just stupid and don't deserve the privelage of diving. Now take into account that a lot of technical diving is done beyond the recreational limits of 140fsw and you can drop tons of gear right there because it doesn't take much to be self reliant diving at 140fsw. Any advanced scuba diver should be able to either ditch his gear or come to the surface with his gear at a controlled rate, or at an uncontrolled rate, alive and uninjured (not taking into account DCS, that is a givin if descent is too fast). If not he's not much of an advanced diver, agree? So the training of being self reliant for the open water or advanced scuba diver comes from several things. First just for comfort a redundant air source could be added (i.e. pony bottle). Second, better and more intense training. True you won't have as many divers that can pass, but do you really want a diver with you that can't pass a test that could happen just as easily by himself as it could with a buddy? Third, doesn't it make you feel better to know you have the training to survive anything that could occur and that you're not relying on anyone but yourself? Take for example a diver trained the traditional buddy way, but he can't find his buddy so he loses it and drowns. What I am saying is that I feel the buddy system should be taught as a secondary approach to an emergency. With recreational limits you're allowed to go directly to the surface anytime your little heart desires (with a controlled ascent rate of course.), therefore what do you need a buddy for? I'll bet I can guess most people's responses to this one....something along the lines of comfort, security, dependance. The bottom line is learn to be self dependant first. It's taught first thing in the technical world, now it needs to be brought down to the recreational world where it all begins. I'll be interested to hear what everyone has to say about this.

"Personally I think from day one of open water training a diver should be taught to be self reliant first."

I agree, and so do many other instructors, we structure our courses to accomplish this.

"Technical divers are the only ones in the world doing this!"

How did you ever evaluate every class in the world? "Technical diving" is a meaningless term, it has too many definitions and encompasses different types of diving. By all definitions I've seen those claiming that distinction are not at "day one of open water training." Since they are not at that level, how can they be "doing this?"

"the recreational limits of 140fsw"

The agencies I'm familiar with use either 130 ft or 100 ft as the recommended limits.

"If they're not prepared well then they're just stupid and don't deserve the privelage of diving."

A diver might not be well prepared for more reasons than just stupidity. A diver trusts his instructor to teach him what he needs to know. Sometimes that simply doesn't happen. Many divers are not prepared because they simply don't know any better. There is a great deal of misinformation in this field.

"Any advanced scuba diver should be able to either ditch his gear or come to the surface with his gear at a controlled rate, or at an uncontrolled rate, alive and uninjured (not taking into account DCS, that is a givin if descent is too fast). If not he's not much of an advanced diver, agree?"

IMHO, most divers would be narced out of their minds at 140 ft. I cannot agree with your conclusion. There is much more to being an advanced diver than diving to 140 ft. I would not recommend such a depth for an advanced diver.

"So the training of being self reliant for the open water or advanced scuba diver comes from several things. First just for comfort a redundant air source could be added (i.e. pony bottle)."

The extra air source is not for comfort. It is necessary as a back up for some dives, for others it is dead weight.

"Second, better and more intense training."

I agree most training could be improved.

"True you won't have as many divers that can pass"

Not true. More comprehensive training requires better technique and more patience on the part of the instructor. Most folks now diving can pass a comprehensive course if it is presented properly.

"doesn't it make you feel better to know you have the training to survive anything that could occur and that you're not relying on anyone but yourself?"

A nice thought, but it doesn't apply to any human being. You can train to survive more types of mishaps and to increase your chances of survival, but you can never reach 100%. Things can go wrong that could kill ANYONE. When you start to think you can handle anything, Mother Ocean will set you straight.

"I feel the buddy system should be taught as a secondary approach to an emergency."

The buddy system should be PART of your safety net.

One problem you've ignored is many divers are heavily equipment dependent.

WWW™

Well you do have many points there. But I didn't evaluate every class in the world. Technical divers such as ourselves? are taught to be independant. It is done this way because you are taught to make a dive with the correct amount of gas to depth and hit the boat with 1/3 left in reserve.
And the recreational limits I'm used to are 140fsw. NAUI is a little more conservative and they use 130fsw. PADI used 140 for emergencies only but suggests 130fsw. However I use Navy tables. Though less conservative, they allow for longer bottom times and as long as you realize the stesses involved in diving (i.e. deep, cold) and keep a very high level of physcial fitness I see nothing wrong with every diver using them. If not the Navy tables I highly suggest the NAUI tables since they are virtually identical giving deco stops and everything a diver could need if he screws up.
Also you do have a point about the diver trusting the instructor. I have always made it a point to further myself in diving always, especially with many instructors. Some are better than others, but books and magazines help a great deal too. I think the magazine Dive Training has the best slogan for this. But sometimes it's not the instructors fault....I have met some really great divers as far as the diving goes, but some of them have no common sense what-so-ever! Now I know it's not something everyone is born with, but I prefer to keep these people far away from me!
Yes there is much more to being an advanced diver than diving to depth. Now I don't know how other divers react at depth, but I know that narcosis has a very minimal effect on me. Yes, thinking is slowed a bit but I am still completely aware of everything at depth. I have heard stories about people getting narced though. It definitely sounds interesting. But it never happened to me at that level.
Why is a pony bottle necessary from some divers and dead weight for others? If it's dead weight then you don't need it! And it's not required for deep diving, although it's suggested. Any diver within recreational limits should be able to abort a dive and make it to the surface at a controlled ascent just as they were taught. If they were taught. I prefer the NAUI system of instructing because it is the hardest most in depth courses I've found. Although a world class military instructor I know prefers SSI. He does agree NAUI is the hardest though. At least in the recreational world that is.
I would like to comment about some divers not passing course though. True, if it is presented correctly many would pass. However, I don't see much stress testing being done at the open water level. Now it depends on the course, but some teach more rescue than others. I find PADI to be poor in this but NAUI to be very comprehensive. Again, this is an instructors job and he teaches as much rescue as he see's fit.
Ok and what I mean by training to survive anything wasn't saying that you will survive no matter what. I was saying that if you have the training you're perfectly capable of surviving. But you're right, everyone screws up. Unfortunately you can't screw up much in the diving industry or you're dead. But personally I feel a lot better about myself when trained, stressed, and tested. Tested to the point to when something happens it's natural the way you react. Of coure not too natural, it's dangerous to be completely calm. You must have a high level of awareness, but you must know how to completely control that level and use it to your advantage.
And I do agree with you that the buddy system should be part of your safetly net, but not relied on.
What's your suggestions on the equipment dependancy? I highly agree with that. Most divers have way too much crap on the BC/Backplate. That's why I prefer the DIR method. What's your thought on DIR? I find it a little more costly, but superiour. Besides, a diver only has to ever buy one BCD! It also sets him or her up if they want to go to doubles or become a "techie" or "caver." I guess I've seen a lot of setups for the back plate and DIR method, but I think Dive Rite and OMS are still the best....although Halcyon does have some inovative ideas. I just don't like the little plastic snaps they use, they're cheap and they fall apart. If they fix that they will have a supreme system. Well thanks for taking the time and giving me some input! See you around fellow diver!

Walter, maybe you've been to hard on him (as well as he might have been a little extremist in his oppinion).

I would not like to transform recreational diving into something it was not ment to be. We are speaking about people who want to enjoy, people who do not find an equivalence between biggest depth and greatest pleasure. Recreational diving, as far as I see it, it's about exploring the underworld within certain limits that can provinde you with a certain safety level. This is why there is a depth limit, the buddy system etc.
The divers learn to be self reliant from the first day, this is way they have to check air presure, depth indicator, safety stop time, all by themself. The buddy is ment, in my opinion, to ensure a greater safety level, to make sure that if something goes wong there is somebody to help you out.
I went through some crazy situation, for me at least, and nobody (not only my buddy) reacted - I was 40mt deep and my BCD started to inflate without stoping and I started to ascend like a rocket. I was lucky to pull the safety ring in time, fix my problem and continue. They hardly noticed, they were looking somewhere else. I just pray that when I will not be able to help myself my buddy will be there for me.
Teaching divers the buddy system as an additional aproach looks to me as very dangerous because many people shall think about themselfs as being capable of going underwater alone. Even with a lot of experience that is one of the most dangerous things for a diver to do.

Sardvr,

You say that you prefer the DIR method, but don't believe in the buddy system. This is a complete condradiction. The DIR method does not offer alternatives to this. You are either DIR, or you're not. Equipment alone just doesn't cut it. It's the mindset.

wow! a cat fight!

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FIRSTLY WHO CARES ABOUT ASSOCIATION!!!!!! TECH DIVING IS ABOUT SELF CONFIDENCE IN YOUR OWN PERSONAL LIMITS AND REDUNDANCY IN YOUR EQUIPMENT, I LIVE IN ENGLAND WHERE THE VIZZ IS LESS THAN A METRE AT THE MOMENT AND YET I PERSONALLY WILL DIVE TO WELL OVER 40M SOLO, WE ALL SHOULD BE WELL AWARE THAT DIVING IS A MIND OVER MATTER GAME!!! TRUE???!!! ONCE UNDERWATER WE PRONE OURSELVES TO STRESSES NOT KNOWN ON LAND AND THE NATURAL REACTION IS TO BAIL FOR THE SURFACE, BUT IN TECH DIVING THATS NOT AN OPTION, SO WE TRAIN OUR MINDS TOO OVERCOME THE BODYS NATURAL REACTION AND IN DOING SO BECOME BETTER DIVERS WHO ARE MORE SELF RELIANT AND THEREFORE DONT NEED A BUDDY, HOWEVER LETS BE SERIOUS NO ASSOCIATION ARE EVER GOING TO OPEN THEMSELVES UP BY ADMITTING THAT ITS SAFE TO DIVE SOLO!! ESPECIALLY IN THE GOOD OLD U S OF A!!!.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS IF YOU HAVE FAITH IN YOUR OWN ABILLITY AND CONFIDENCE IN YOUR GEAR AND ARE GEARED UP CORRECTLY WELL WHERE IS THE PROBLEM?? REDUNDANCY IS A KEY FACTOR AND SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN LIGHTLY !!!
WE ALL KNOW THAT ANY MUPPET WITH A %AGE OF BRAIN CAN LEARN TO DIVE, BUT ITS WHAT THEY DO WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT COUNTS, IF THEY ONLY DIVE 20 TIMES A YEAR PERSONALLY I WOULD CLASS THEM AS A LIABILITY, BUT WERE NOT ALL BUDDING SEALS ARE WE!!
TRUE THERE ARE SOME POOR TRAINING ESTABLISHMENTS IN THE UK AS I WOULD IMAGINE THERE ARE IN THE STATES, EXPOSE THEM GUYS TELL THE WORLD BUT OBVIOUSLY DONT OPEN YOURSELF TO A LIBEL CASE, THE WEB IS A POWERFULL ADVERTISING TOOL AS IS WORD OF MOUTH, THE UK DIVING INDUSTRY CAN BE VERY *****Y (PEOPLE SLASHING RIVALS BOATS )ETC BUT BAD TRAINING RONUNDS THE COUNTRY ON THE GRAPEVINE OR ON THE WEB FASTER THAN BILL WAS FOR MONICA( SORRY ONLY JOKING).
MY RULE IS !! STAY WITHIN YOUR LIMITS BUT DONT LET OTHER PEOPLE DEFINE THEM THE OCEAN IS EVERYBODYS SO DO AS YOU WILL BUT BE PREPARED AND BE CAREFULL!!!
REGARDS NITROX

Great input Nitrox. I like your view on things. Diving around here is like it is in Britain. We've got close to 0 viz right now. I love it, but most of my dive buddies aren't as hard core as me so I end up going solo. Which isn't a problem, I've got the training and mindset for it. I was just curious about what other people thought. Interesting comments.
So you say you're from the UK huh? My instructor is from the UK too. Wales to be specific. He was with one of your well known military groups and personal favorite of mine....the SAS. E-mail me sometime, I'll get you his e-mail address. He does a lot of work out of the UK yet. He's a world class diver and has done everything possible in the diving industry. From recreational, to technical, to commercial, to military. He's a professional videographer out of Michigan, and he does some filming with one of Britain's famous comedians too. Do you know who David Jason is? He's bloody hilarious I think! Well, TTFN!