Do you dive solo?

[TSandM]

I'm a divemaster, and I work OW classes. I go out and set the float by myself, and often bring it in as well. In addition, I would certainly not count on my students to solve any problem for me that I can't solve myself, and I am often positioned during a teaching dive so that nobody would notice if I had a problem, anyway.

Outside of teaching, I don't dive alone. It's not that I don't think I can do it safely, although at my age, it's probably not a bad idea to have somebody to notice if you just stop swimming. It's that I really do think diving with buddies is both safer and more fun -- but then again, I am lucky enough to live in a corner of the diving world where I have more buddies than I can find time to dive with, and all of them rock. The people I see on here who have decided to dive solo because of bad buddies deplore people whose skills are bad, who are unreliable, who won't follow a plan, who silt out dive sites, who don't respond to signals . . . well, none of my buddies is like that at all. When you have rock solid people with great skills, great situational awareness, great communication, and great joy in diving to dive with, well, why dive alone?

 

[Storker]

Also there is the issue of enjoyment. I greatly prefer to enjoy the dive rather than babysit underwater. I spend way to much money for the privilege of diving to throw it away having to devote a ton of awareness to where my buddy is (or wandered off to), how much air he/she has left, etc. etc. etc. Sorry if that sounds selfish - but it is what it is.

The only time I buddy dive is on local club dives. Then I've started picking the least experienced diver and patiently watching over them, giving them the best example I can, offering advice if I can, and encouragement with some skill practice thrown in.

I can't avoid thinking that either you've been a lot less lucky with your buddies than I've been, or that you've got a rather selective memory about your buddy experiences.

I've had good buddies, and I've had poor buddies. And the suckiness of the buddy has had very little to do with the buddy's experience level. If anything, there's a bigger chance that an exerienced buddy will suck.

For me, diving isn't just about getting wet and going below the surface. For me, it's the whole thing, from planning the outing to swapping stories on the way to the site to diving to sharing the experience ("hey, did you see that [insert relevant underwater critter]?", "man, today was cold, my fingers are absolutely freezing!") to perhaps even grabbing a beer or three in the evening and embellishing on the stories. I think I'd get tired of diving if I only were to share those experiences with my wife - who doesn't dive and isn't too interested in what I'm seeing or doing underwater - or a bunch of random strangers on an Internet discussion forum.




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[GrumpyOldGuy]

I solo most of the time, I answered any time any place. In hindsight though its not entirely accurate. Most places, most of the time I am fine to solo. Recognizing the times and places its not such a good idea is on of the more difficult things to learn. Much more difficult than self-rescue which all divers should be ready for. A new dive site at night is a classic example for me that signals no-solo. I will either buddy up or dive it first in daylight, then come back for the night dive once I know the site.

 

[drbill]

People occasionally ask me if they should solo dive. Unless I know them and their diving pretty well, I tell them I have no basis to give an opinion. To me one of the most important questions to answer is whether or not a diver panics when experiencing the unexpected. A diver who faes such things calmly and rationally is a better candidate for solo diving than one who panics while diving with a buddy. But that is just question #1.

 

[Soloist]

If you are actually solo who is going to ask you to show a card?

I guess you mean, diving without a buddy from a commercial boat that has other divers on it but you are just going to not have a buddy. See, I am not sure I can call that solo. You do not have an assigned buddy but you are nonetheless in the water with other divers. It has been my experience that these commercial ops rarely allow diving without an assigned buddy, with or without a solo card.

N

This really depends on the location and circumstances. Many dive operators expect you to be be a baby duck and mindlessly follow the DM. This is why we search out the independent operators with a seasoned captain. The boat we dive off of in West Palm routinely drops several groups and occasionally individuals. There is a spearfishing group, some with scooters, that are dropped at the east side of the reef and immediately scatter upon hitting the water. Solo divers are also welcome to dive with this group. When requested or practical, a solo diver or divers may be sent off in yet another location. Then the bulk of divers with the DM or DM's will hit the water last west of the reef. On busy weekends the main group will even be split up in to two groups. However even if sent out with the main group it is very easy and preferable to split off, especially when bug hunting. I typically never see another diver after the first five minutes, but this is Florida drift diving after all. Divers are popping up all over the surface throughout the dive, so the captain is accustomed to making "local" pickups.

 

[Tigerman]

What do you mean show a solo card? I have this one, it solve any problem you have

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[raftingtigger]

I dive solo in areas I am comfortable with. I do like to have other people around, at least on the surface. They won't help in any underwater emergency, but if I do have a serious problem and make it to the surface I might get some help (or the body will get recovered ;-) ). I am trained, but not certified for solo diving and find it some of the most relaxing diving I have ever done. I follow the guidelines in the SDI Solo manual, carry (and routinely practice with) the redundant equipment. The only exception is a spare mask, I do not yet have a good place to store it and am super comfortable without one.

 

[Kharon]

I can't avoid thinking that either you've been a lot less lucky with your buddies than I've been, or that you've got a rather selective memory about your buddy experiences.

Not selective memory, but probably less lucky than you. Also, I'm not a social person. I enjoy solitude. Some things I prefer experiencing alone.

I just thought of something else - I have significantly longer bottom times without a buddy. I don't have to plan "rock bottom" for two divers, only myself.

 

[Soloist]

I solo most of the time, I answered any time any place. In hindsight though its not entirely accurate. Most places, most of the time I am fine to solo. Recognizing the times and places its not such a good idea is on of the more difficult things to learn. Much more difficult than self-rescue which all divers should be ready for. A new dive site at night is a classic example for me that signals no-solo. I will either buddy up or dive it first in daylight, then come back for the night dive once I know the site.

I agree. The poll is very misleading and leaves the impression solo divers are arrogant, caviler, dangerous adrenaline junkies. This couldn't be further from the truth. I dive within my limits, skill set and comfort level. Am I comfortable doing an unfamiliar (non-deco) deep drift dive off the coast of Florida? Absolutely. Would I go cave diving or penetrate a wreck on a solo dive (or with a buddy for that matter)? No, because I am not certified, qualified, nor have visions of grandeur that I am prepared to do so. The poll is flawed.

 

[Laurie S.]

I've been diving solo for about four years now, with most of the solo diving in the last two years after I became a Divemaster. When I started, my instructor (now fiance) said to go no deeper than 60 feet because I could CESA to the surface easily. I held that limit for several dives then proceeded to 80 feet. My deepest solo dive to date was to 102 feet. That day, I was on a dive boat and told the instructor who was on board that I was going to drop to the bottom and then would come back up, so she would know where I was. I didn't run into them until I was back up to 60 feet.

I dive off my own boat, so my captain is up watching for me and I am careful. Being a photographer, I enjoy solo diving and will not dive with an instabuddy anymore. I also spearfish solo. Occasionally, I'll go on the San Carlos dive boats and they all let me go solo. I dived solo yesterday, for the second half of the first dive after my fiance went back to the boat, and on the second dive. It really was a "scary" dive as maximum depth was 26 feet. I could have been freediving it. LOL

Just checked my numbers, I have 224 dives, 59 of which were solo dives. Number 60 is happening tomorrow.