Dive Dangers; The Differentiation between "SOLO" and "BUDDY"

[NAM001]

Bob you are correct that not all courses are the same. At that level you have to impose the one rule fits all concept. I would not even suggest teaching anything but the buddy concept at the beginner/AOW levels. The idea that no level of training can become a substitute for a buddy is not practical though. To have a Tech cert alone says that the holder has the skills to solve problems with out the NEED of a buddy. At that level the buddy is not a necessity as much as an assesory or some one to share the dive with.

That is not a universally true statement ... it depends on the instructor, the student, and what the agency will allow.

We should not, however, under any circumstances be teaching the principles of solo diving at the BOW level ... for reasons which shouldn't even require elaboration.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Solo diving has the same hazards as buddy diving. No more, no less. You just don't have the 'insurance policy' of a buddy being present; which means you need to have the capability to handle every eventuality without any support. .

That is really a ridiculous statement! Solo diving has near zero danger that another diver is going to kill you, steal your air or distract you... Solo diving may or may not be less safe than buddy diving, but the dangers most certainly ARE different!

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Solo diving has near zero danger that another diver is going to kill you, steal your air or distract you...

Buddy diving has a near zero chance of those same dangers ... unless she's really hot-looking in a wetsuit, in which case the danger of distraction goes up somewhat ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[ermaclob]

I must have missed all those epic arguments ... I don't recall seeing them occurring in this forum. Pretty much everyone who comes here is a solo diver, and the "argument" about whether to dive alone or not has already been resolved in their mind before they came here.


I would say you missed the two most important categories ... ignorance and hubris. The dangers of diving may always be constant, but the degree of mitigation to those risks is what gets you in trouble ... and those vary tremendously from diver to diver. Risks are usually manageable if you have a clue what you're getting yourself into and you're prepared to deal with it. By far the most significant danger of diving is finding yourself faced with a problem you don't know how to manage ... the body's natural reaction to such a situation is panic, and that's the worst potential danger most divers are ever likely to be faced with. Sadly, it's a self-inflicted one ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

i might have gone overboard phrasing that. What i meant by that statement is that as i read the threads i see allot of different opinions from both sides and it makes so difficult to really get a mind set about whether to solo or not as well as safety and other things. Even the people on the same side of the '"argument" may have a drastic differences in opinion.
i think the threads i was thinking about may have also been in other sections of the forum. i generally rummage around thread for information whether there new or ancient, or in unrelated forms.

I feel theres so many opinions that it makes it harder for people looking for info. that can be helpful.

I was trying in my analysis to make a statement that more or less was a general in terms of diving that included everything you should be wary about (simplistically). a person can than have the freedom to elaborate more depending on what they think. Henceforth making there own opinions about solo diving founded on important things that should be noted, and not off random inconsistent things 4 or 5 people have told you. Thats how i felt when i first started out looking for stuff about solo, it felt like there is no right answer and it almost leads you to just say F$@% it, ill just do it (ignorantly).

Im not to sure if what im writing right now makes scene. Im having trouble describing my thoughts. sorry if it sounds bizarre.

* the "ignorance and hubris" part you mentioned i generally put it into the category of negligence in my original post.

 

[ermaclob]

That is really a ridiculous statement! Solo diving has near zero danger that another diver is going to kill you, steal your air or distract you... Solo diving may or may not be less safe than buddy diving, but the dangers most certainly ARE different!

Form what you stated. Your saying that my biggest threat while diving with a buddy is that he's going to kill me? :confused4: That sound like the complete opposite of what most people would say, a proper buddy would not do any of those things, do you just dive with newly certified divers or something? Also if your getting distracted that's something you need to work one.


the dangers most certainly AREN'T different!

 

[DevonDiver]

That is really a ridiculous statement! Solo diving has near zero danger that another diver is going to kill you, steal your air or distract you... Solo diving may or may not be less safe than buddy diving, but the dangers most certainly ARE different!

1. Killing. How exactly will a buddy kill you, short of pre-meditated murder? If such a thing were to be planned, I'm pretty sure it'd be easier to kill a solo diver, than a buddied diver.

2. Air Theft. My air is my responsibility - whether solo or buddy diving. I plan my air for contingencies. I make sure I have enough air to assist another diver, if that is a contingency needed for the dive. If I run out of air, whether sharing or not, then it's my failure. Gas management is an issue that effects solo and buddy diving equally.

3. Distractions. Situational Awareness vs Distraction. That's not specific to having a buddy; there are hundreds of things that can distract you when diving. Cameras being one of the worst things, followed by marine life. The danger of losing situational awareness is equal, regardless of whether buddied or not... and, thus, is a factor determined by the individual diver, not his buddy.

DD... going to clutch at any more straws? ;-)

 

[waterpirate]

To the OP. Reading and finging info to get your personal thoughts together is a wonderfull thing, however. Education in the form of instructuion is now available to save you a lot of figureing out and near misses. That being said it should be by a qualified solo instructor, I only know one Steve Lewis. If you do not have access to another good solo instructor, I would recomend a tech1 class. If you can pass that course you are prolly good to go for solo rec diving.

In the days before quality instruction and the world wide web we figured all this stuff out slowly over many dives all the while avoiding Darwin the best we could. You have the benefit of not having to repeat that exercise. Hope this helps
Eric

 

[ermaclob]

the tech class would be a great option i now, but currently its going to be a 2-3 years before i can do that. my best substitute is what im doing now till i can get proper instruction. i have read the SDI solo book, i don't think its a class worth spending money on though.

 

[knowone]

See when the stupid person insists the agitated one calm down
and then proceeds to enquire of the calm person, what's wrong


As the buddies, that cannot even copulate, in unison
should before they venture forth and open their mind
copulate off

 

[dumpsterDiver]

1. Killing. How exactly will a buddy kill you, short of pre-meditated murder? If such a thing were to be planned, I'm pretty sure it'd be easier to kill a solo diver, than a buddied diver.

2. Air Theft. My air is my responsibility - whether solo or buddy diving. I plan my air for contingencies. I make sure I have enough air to assist another diver, if that is a contingency needed for the dive. If I run out of air, whether sharing or not, then it's my failure. Gas management is an issue that effects solo and buddy diving equally.

3. Distractions. Situational Awareness vs Distraction. That's not specific to having a buddy; there are hundreds of things that can distract you when diving. Cameras being one of the worst things, followed by marine life. The danger of losing situational awareness is equal, regardless of whether buddied or not... and, thus, is a factor determined by the individual diver, not his buddy.

DD... going to clutch at any more straws? ;-)

What? My instructor, a very good one (back in 1973) explained that the most dangerous thing you can run into underwater is a bad buddy. It may have been an exageration, but it has a lot of truth to it.

In many situations, a good buddy is an asset and will improve safety on a dive. However, you indicated that the dangers are the same with and without a buddy.. clearly not true!

The solo diver will forgo some safety provided by a good buddy, but he also will get many benefits (some of which are improvements in certain aspects of safety).


It is not grasping at straws, I will never be shot with my buddy's speargun, if he stays on the boat. I can make a quick, snap decision to shoot a fish in low visibility and not have to second guess where my buddy is. I never have to look around for a buddy when solo, or waste time looking at their air, or waste time and perceptual awareness by trying to communicate a change in direction, change in plans or some other "issue". I do not have to look out for them. In very low visibility, trying to maintain buddy contact can be a huge issue and DOES reduce your situational awareness and this does reduce your efficiency and can reduce your ability to move rapidly and efficiently.

I have never had a buddy kick up the bottom or destroy visibility, when he is on the boat. I have had a buddy run completely out of air on two occasions, in 90 and 100 feet. Ever have a buddy kick you in the mouth? A danger that will NOT happen when solo. Ever have a buddy wander off and you have to go looking for them? Ever have a buddy who is not your physical equal? This too is a potential hinderance and diving with a weaker partner may add some dangers (or limitations at least) when doing a very challenging dive, say in strong currents. I had a buddy who had a regulator failure at 80-90 feet and swam up to me and was near panic and started sucking an incredible amount of air from my octopus. He had no redundancy and my tank was empty when we hit the surface... When diving solo, you only have to worry about you running out of gas, not TWO people or a paniced one that you may not be able to control.

When there are a lot of dangerous sharks around, I prefer to have a buddy when spearfishing on scuba, because it improves safety. In most other situations, a buddy does bring some additional dangers, hinderances and complexities that I am happy to avoid.

I would strongly argue that two good attentive buddies diving in clear water with an objective of staying together is probably safer than a solo diver, but the dangers of solo versus buddy diving are NOT identical.

I started solo diving at 13-14 yrs old almost immediately after being certified, and most of it was in safe diving conditions, but before I was old enough to get a drivers liscense I was diving solo to the rec. limits in cold water with doubles and a drysuit, in the ocean (and no redundancy.. that still kinda freaks me out).