If you dive alone, you die alone ...

[AfterDark]

Just out of curiosity, where was that? I am in RI too. Though I normally dive with a buddy, I am starting to gear up for solo diving since I have such a hard time finding buddies in the colder weather.

That was at Fort Wetherill Jamestown. There are a lot of clubs and newbie divers there so once in a great while someone feels the need to give advice. Sometimes when I exit without a flag, alone, I get icy stares from some. If where you I wouldn't give'em the time of day, or just thank them for their concern.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I haven't read all, but I do solodiving and I like it. It is not for everybody, but I hate people telling that it is dangerous or so.
Yes I do cavedives solo too sometimes. No problem.
Data about dive accidents don't show t hat diving with a buddy is safer.
Here a nice talk about solodiving:

Got quite a kick out of Mark Powell's presentation. I'm certainly not at his level as a diver and never will be. Regardless, my personal experience over the years brought me to that exact conclusion long ago. Consequently, I've resisted buddy diving, especially being assigned a buddy. Happily, more and more places I go have no problem with that.

 

[sealark]

Going out this AM Pensacola 2 to 3 ft seas ALONE been doing it for 63 years. Do what you feel qualified to do. New divers should dive with someone that has the same experience as they have for a couple years or until you understand the gear and different water conditions. In all my years I have never seen a boat operator or Dive shop held liable for a diving accident caused by a diver in the water. The Diver is responsible for himself once he leaves the shop or boat. Now Equipment and boat operation are another subject of responsibility.

 

[Compressor]

I suggest that most of the time we are diving alone anyway UNLESS one are diving with someone who pays attention to you and is attentive to the situation around him/herself. Personally I prefer to dive with someone with the above characteristics not only for the classical reasons often cited but also because you can share the experience post dive.

 

[Subcooled]

There are various kinds of legislation and many kinds of insurance policies than complicate life. You must understand that duty of care and civil cases in court are the relevant factors here for the dive operator. Insurance policy terms could be relevant to you too, would something happen (or, you could just be rich). Of course, you could just promise one thing, and do the other (seems to be common), and possibly the operator would not be responsible. I suggest that you get a solo diving buddy, so that you can enjoy your solo dive together.

On the other hand, as a comment to the "if you dive alone, you die alone", saying "I do not want to dive solo. I want to die with you." is a memorable way of finding new dive buddies

 

[Kharon]

Even if it were true, it's still better than having some inept muppet kill you and themself.

 

[kafkaland]

I have been approached by scuba police for solo diving, too. I went to our local mud puddle to make some adjustments to my kit before a weekend of Great Lakes wreck diving. So I was in full gear for that, sidemount, dry suit, the works. And I didn't want to bother a buddy with me adjusting D-rings and switching out hoses, so I went alone. The site is as begnin as it gets, bottom at 30ft, two platforms for instruction. When I was done, I was approached by an instructor yelling at me that I'm totally irresponsible and set a terrible example for his students by diving solo. I had to conclude that he isn't worth his salt as an instructor, or he could have made the point to his OW students that this (my technical kit) is what's it takes to dive solo, a small that they aren't teaching that in this course. He would probably had gotten the message across to his students better that way then just telling them to never dive solo.

 

[markmud]

This is a refrain I heard more than once on a recent trip, while getting castigated for diving to 75 feet alone in crystal clear, benign conditions using independent doubles. Never mind that there were people zipping around on scooters on single tanks, 100 feet from their "buddy" (because what the heck, they could still see each other), or there were guys on rebreathers diving inside wrecks below 200 feet and losing sight of their "buddy", as each went their own way while exploring the holds ... that was OK with the dive op, because they went into the water together, and therefore they were somehow "safe".

It's horse manure ... people don't die from diving alone. They die from poor planning, bad decisions, inadequate preparation, or simply not having the chops they think they have when something unexpected happens and they suddenly find out they're not equipped to deal with it.

It'd be different if the agencies that promote this sort of nonsense would actually train people how to dive with a buddy, rather than simply telling them that they're supposed to. I see too many examples, regularly, of people who know the slogans, but have completely missed the concept ... even, lately, among some who have trained with the so-called "team" diving agencies.

Diving with a buddy won't remediate bad decision making, insufficient technique, or a deficiency in awareness skills. It won't prevent people from doing stupid things, or pushing their limits beyond a point where they can deal with what should be a routine problem. Buddies can often be the source of stress during a dive ... and underwater, stress is not your friend.

I really wish, sometimes, that the dive ops with the "no solo" policies would come to their senses and understand that a properly skilled and equipped solo diver is, in many instances, safer than the guy who's out there with a clueless dive buddy ... or one who's so distracted by their camera that they neglect to look around every once in a while ... and nowadays, pretty much every vacation diver carries a camera, which makes both them and their dive buddies, in many cases, unsuspecting and ill-prepared solo divers.

Slogans like the one in the title serve a purpose for new divers ... they help them remember important concepts, assuming that the concept was learned at the same time the slogan was. But after a while I think they sometimes do more harm than good. Enforcing policies out of a blind adherence to a slogan often result in less safe conditions than the ones the people enforcing those policies think they're trying to prevent.

I had a great time on the trip ... but if there's one thing that would prevent me from using that dive op again, it's their no-solo diving policy. That, and having to listen to some dive guide spouting silly slogans he really doesn't understand ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Hi Bob,

I have been hit with the "dive alone, die alone" meme and/or any one of its variations. I was hit with the "oh, you're an air hog" statement because I dared to dive with my solo rig at Cozumel last week. I actually was diving solo because I did not have a dedicated buddy with whom I had dived and practiced protocols with before. Thankfully, the DM did not insta-buddy me.

I made the DM my insta-buddy (with out him knowing it) because he knows where the good stuff is. I was as close to him as any wing man should be. Oh yeah, the people making air hog statements were schooled as I ran the DM out of NDL or gas on every dive (I was breathing Nitox; therefore, my NDL was never an issue, but we never surfaced because of my lack of gas).

The worst put-down came from an instructor. He said: "I see you have replaced your buddy with death-in-a-can" as we both were looking at my pony bottle rig.

Being self-reliant either solo, or in a group, or in a dedicated buddy team is comforting. And, now I enjoy the snide remarks, because it gives me the opportunity to watch people eat crow when my good diving skills (good for a recreational diver, anyways) are noticed by others and commented on at the dinner table (usually by newbs or others who want to increase their skill level and they ask for advice).

The dive-ops who prefer to be scuba police are a real pain the buttocks. Their liability would decrease if they focused on allowing people to dive to their certification and experience level. I understand that the only way a dive-op will know if I am a safe diver is to see me dive--a check-out dive is OK. After that, let me dive and don't saddle me with a liability.

The buddy scheme allows certification agencies to run more divers through their mill, because the nervous and not truly committed diver can feel comforted knowing that their buddy will save them. It really is a psychological ploy. Too bad the dependent diver has a false sense of security.

Great thread,
Thanks Bob,
markm

 

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

That was at Fort Wetherill Jamestown. There are a lot of clubs and newbie divers there so once in a great while someone feels the need to give advice. Sometimes when I exit without a flag, alone, I get icy stares from some. If where you I wouldn't give'em the time of day, or just thank them for their concern.

I dive solo at Fort Wetherill all the time too... And yes, because there are always so many new divers and instructors there I too get the evil eye often. But I love solo diving and most of the time I don't carry a dive flag with me because I mostly dive with my DPV. If I die I don't want to be found anyway... I want to be buried at sea, my family knows that. So I save the family lots of money, plus I'll be in full dive gear and attached to my DPV for eternity.. Pretty cool actually! LOL

 

[JamesBon92007]

Cliches are the intellectual refuge of idiots.

Apparently I have been reported also, for a lot more than solo diving (for which I am certified).

N

I'm confused. Is "solo" diving the same as diving alone? I do both. There's actually a certification for this?