The Pure Pleasure Of Diving Alone. [Poll]

[chrisch]

Get a pony bottle and carry it with you on every dive Geobound. It is in many ways more reliable that most buddies you will be paired with. It is not a replacement for proper training, sound judgement and risk management but it does carry a redundant source of gas that you can use to breathe underwater while buddy has time to react. Either way I have carried one for almost 10 years now. My training and experience has progressed but the pony has stayed with me all along. Its just cheap insurance.

Get proper training then get a redundant source of gas that is correct for you. This advice is only half right. Solo diving requires a redundant source but there are plenty of good training courses now available to teach correct procedure. The days of strap on a pony and everything is OK should be well over by now.

Pony bottles can and do kill people. Please don't just offer them up as the solution in this way.

 

[Bob DBF]

That being said, the "group" dives I've been on in CA are essentially solo dives. We all get in off of the same boat and return to said boat but we're basically on our own from splash to re-boarding.

It's a function of the group and the divers that make it up, if they have a poorly formed concept of buddy diving then the dive team(s) will break down. A separated buddy team does not magicly turn anyone into a solo diver.

I've been off a number of SoCal boats and dive solo most of the time, but have not seen myself or any of the group I was with have a problem maintaining their buddy pairs.


Bob

 

[kablooey]

I don't dive solo...
but I will defend a diver's right to dive solo if he so chooses.

I used to dive solo quite a lot, until I was on site when a solo diver died.
He was found on the surface, and I've always wondered if the outcome would have been different if someone had been there to help him.
Shortly after that a good friend also died free diving solo.
Both cases were probably medical.

I took a long hard look at it, and made my decision.
No more solo.

I'm in my late 50's, and I just feel better having a buddy with me.
If I can't find someone to dive with... well, my logbook is full and there's always tomorrow.
Strictly a personal decision, with no judgement on what others choose.

I also don't mind diving with inexperienced people.
After years as a working divemaster, I'm used to it.
Good way to make new friends who eventually may become good buddies.
My call list keeps growing.

.

 

[Landlocked123]

I thought i was clear that carrying a pony bottle should not replace training and proper judgement. Given two people with equal training and judgement I would rather be the one with the redundant air supply. Not sure what this suggestion often causes confusion. Simple concept really. Extra redundant air supply. Period.

 

[Geobound]

@CT-Rich Thank you for your comment.

As a general rule I'm not a panicker (I think tats a word LOL), but your point is well taken. I can easily see things sneak up on a new person and as you say, you just don't know how you are going to react until it happens.

My wife or other family member will always be with me (on land) when I do my shore dives, so my thought being that if I make it to the surface then I can signal for help.

It may not be the best solution, but it's better than being completely alone.

My first "solo" dive I was swimming out to a point using my compass as a guide (maybe 100' horizontally) and then was going to to a 90 degree and so forth until I got back to my starting point. When I got to the 30' horizontal spot (and 15' vertical) I started to get that grassy seaweed stuff wrap around me, and thought yikes I don't like this. LOL....

It was at the point where I thought "Hmmmm.......a buddy would be nice to have right about now", but just moved a little closer to the surface and carried on.

The two things that I learned was

1) Don't expect your dive to go smoothly, you have to work at it.

2) I suck at compass navigation.

@Landlocked123 Thanks for the tip on the pony bottle, I will look into that, but as @chrisch has suggested, proper training first and foremost.

I'm at my LDS pool weekly trying out new things, and going over the skills that I've learned "just incase", so perhaps I should do a pony bottle test this winter too.

I'm not a huge fan of doing the pool because all the conditions are perfect (except the chlorine), but they drain the water out of the 12' deep pond near me every fall, so the pool is better than nothing.

 

[Bert van den Berg]

Although not likely to be held accountable ( don't have a professional cert), because I have been driving for 50 years I am almost always the more experienced diver. This makes me feel responsible and distracts from my enjoyment.

 

[hroark2112]

Even when I have a buddy, I'm more a "same ocean" buddy. I know you're here. Somewhere. I don't need you up my butt to be my buddy.

 

[aquacat8]

I swim in the ocean alone for fun and exercise, so I feel ok solo diving in the same type of situation... a shallow shore dive. I don’t have a pony because the weight of gear and the clutter is a real issue for me. I used to have a pony and it stayed broiling in the trunk of my car, eventually I sold it. I would rather just stay really shallow than drag that. My solo dives are more like assisted swims, with the surface as redundancy. I would have to swim really far offshore to get deep. In the shallows it’s pretty hard to run out of air too. I love the sunny shallows!

One thing I do kinda worry about is that lightning rod of a dive flag if a storm came up. Afternoon thunder storms can come up really fast, and if it takes 30-45 mins to swim back you are in it!

For boat diving or deeper diving I prefer buddies. They can carry that extra tank!

 

[MargaritaMike]

I checked "Other". I've only done a few (in the grand scheme) truly solo dives but that was over 25 years ago when I was setting up some underwater S&R courses and navigation courses. I recall on one dive getting entangled in a monofilament line net of some kind and being somewhat perplexed with no one to help. I kept my head and my life and am here today so the all's well that ends well saying might apply. With that being said, I now find that I dive with groups but alone, so it's not really solo, but no one is watching out for me and vice versa. In the back of my mind I know that if some fatality besets me while diving my body will probably be returned to my widow and having DAN insurance means it will probably be returned at no cost to her. I just hope she puts in a claim for lost gear (I'm pretty sure that my computer, regs, etc. MAY not accompany the body.)
Bottom line is that I dive solo with a group.

Cheers -

 

[mdax]

Enjoy diving alone but would never recommend or encourage it for anyone else.
It feels amazing,cutting off the scooter and just drifting out thousands of feet in quiet silence while enjoying the view. It's my favorite way to decompress from a weeks stress at work.

That being said, if you dive alone you have to be ok with dying alone.
There are all sorts of issues that a buddy can really help out with.
I accept the risks and have talked about them with my wife; it's key that loved ones understand what you're doing, why you take the risks and have prepared for them if something bad happens.