spthomas:
I may be getting ahead of things, but I'd like to see us define the skills, knowledge, equipment, etc. that are specific to Solo diving. Cave divers have such, and photographers, etc. A "Solo Specialty" type of information, even if the dive agencies don't like it.
But more likely, if a near-concensus were reached on this, and a LOT of folks came "out of the closet" as solo divers, I'll be we'd see the agencies adopting it.
=Steve=
Interesting idea. Certainly not a bad one. However, one of the things that makes solo diving an important part of my diving life is that it is my personal experience, and an inherently personal endeavor, thus assigning a set of "standards" seems a bit contradictory to the whole notion. I am not saying that caution and common sense should be cast aside - quite the contrary. I merely feel that one's personal obligation is to ones own safety. And what it takes to accomplish that realm of safety is up to the individual. Since I spent my youth in the ocean and water in general - and always as a strong swimmer and "waterman" - it's just been my task, literally as long as I can remember, to be be my own lifeguard and decision maker in the water. Whether it be swimming and body surfing as a kid or board surfing and diving as an adult, it's always been my realm to decide what I am comfortable doing and how. I know my limits and I know what I am comfortable with (I certainly wouldn't still be around if I didn't) - it's always been something that was emphasized to me since my folks first plopped me in some water and helped me to be a confident and safe kid in the water. You can't always count on someone to save you and you can't always be sure that "following the rules" is going to keep you out of peril. The one persoanl guideline/rule that has ever been of true significance in my approach to the water is to know what I am doing, under the conditions I am doing and to understand that given the nature of the liquid realm, be prepared that will change on you quickly.
I long ago become aware that the journey of becoming a diver in California is one with different expectations and parameters than many of the places I have visited around the world. There's no doubt a different attitude here than in the other places I have traveled to. At virtually every destination I have dived in the world - and there are more than a few - the attitude is that while you may be a certified, experienced and safe diver, you aren't trusted to be mature enough and skilled enough to dive solo and that doing so is a wantonly capricious endeavor for the irresponsible. Perhaps it is because in most every place outside of California that I have been to, the "tourist diver" is the typical client, or at least it is perceived that way. You know, the occasional diver who is reliant on diving in a group or rigidly guided fashion. Seems like most places expect divers to follow simple directions like, "enter the water here, on command, stick with your buddy and follow the guide or end up here" without any self reliance the emphasis is on following guidelines and directions and not on being a self reliant diver. Funny thing is, the vast majority of divers I have seen in my travels are capable of far more self reliance and guidance than resorts or boats are willing to give them in many instances. Sure, liability and a mindset of "safety" are the general impetus for that attitude on the operators' part. But let's face it, there aren't any places more litigious and thus more inclined to limiting liability than California, yet when I dive here the expectation (beyond the obvious learning and training situations) is that you are a contientious and self reliant diver and you can and will get yourself safely back to the boat whether you dive with a buddy, a guide, a group . . . or solo.
Anyway, as I see it, the goal and procedures for being a successfully safe and long lasting solo diver aren't going to be defined by a general set of guidelines, knowledge and equipment. The success as a self-reliant solo diver is going to come from what an individual has determined works best for them in a specific set of circumstances. Safety is going to come from confidence, comfort and caution - not a set of standards.
That's not to say I don't think that outside input and suggestions are a bad thing. I just think that setting a standard of expectations in regards to approach and equipment can lead to the same false sense of security that comes from drumming into people's head the flawed notion that diving with buddies is inherently safer and wiser than diving by yourself. When somoeone is trained to believe that they are "safer" simply because there is "buddy" with them and becomes dependent on that, I feel they are at risk because the notion allows them to harbor a fantasy that they are safe because someone is there to help them if there is trouble. The fact is, under that illusion, you are only as safe as your buddy's skills at saving you if something goes wrong. I feel the same thing applies if one sets a set of standards to solo diving in general. It basically leads to a sense, for some anyway, that if one does this, this and this as a solo diver one will be ok engaging in that activity. Wrong. The safety factor may increase with certain parameters, but nothing is safer than knowing one's capabilities and limits and following those - and setting one's OWN guidelines is the only way to accomplish that.
