How many of you think solo is OK to do and why?

[Bob DBF]

It's OK for me, 'cause that's how I learned to dive and that's how I've been diving for over 50 years. Whether it's OK for you is a judgement call for you to make, and there may be severe consequences for making the wrong decision.

You have to decide whether the training you received and the experience you have prepares you to dive alone, and to what depth and conditions, because you will have no help. You need to be on the top of your game with water skills and decision making.



Bob
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The most important thing to plan when solo diving is to make sure that you are not diving with an idiot. Dsix36

 

[Z Gear]

Agreed, but that is a question one asks to oneself or a mentor.

The truth is the training for divers should be modified to inform new divers on how to correctly approach solo diving when reaching a certain number of dives if they desire to do so. This was not mentioned in my OW class.

It is very hypocritical for some instructors to dive solo and tell their students never to think about solo diving in the future. This do as I say, not as I do example, can leave students or new divers to question other safety measures taught and thus bring confusion as to what is really important.

The big picture hear is you might be comfortable diving solo and can't understand why any one would want to even present a question about this DOUBLE STANDARD, but the truth is their is a double standard and bringing it out in the open is a good thing.

No one except myself can determine if I am ready to solo dive it is my decision and mine alone.

Of course everyone has to ask ones self if they are ready, but asking others who are experienced in this, is like asking mentors
in my opinion.

---------- Post added January 25th, 2015 at 06:17 PM ----------

It's OK for me, 'cause that's how I learned to dive and that's how I've been diving for over 50 years. Whether it's OK for you is a judgement call for you to make, and there may be severe consequences for making the wrong decision.

You have to decide whether the training you received and the experience you have prepares you to dive alone, and to what depth and conditions, because you will have no help. You need to be on the top of your game with water skills and decision making.



Bob
-------------------------------------------
The most important thing to plan when solo diving is to make sure that you are not diving with an idiot. Dsix36

Reasonable advise.

 

[David_57]

I love solo diving been doing it for years

 

[Laurie S.]

I love diving solo. Just did my 281st dive today, and 98th solo dive. I do both photography and spearfishing solo, but not at the same time.

 

[videofly]

I think that having TV role models like Mike Nelson on Sea Hunt and Porter Ricks and his two sons Sandy and Bud on Flipper helped to set the expectation that scuba diving was often a solo activity.

 

[tomfcrist]

I do both photography and spearfishing solo, but not at the same time.

Underachiever...lol

 

[AfterDark]

I think that having TV role models like Mike Nelson on Sea Hunt and Porter Ricks and his two sons Sandy and Bud on Flipper helped to set the expectation that scuba diving was often a solo activity.

I think if they had been diving with buddies they wouldn't have gotten into trouble in the 1st place and there wouldn't have been a plot for that week's episode. JYC always dove in teams.

 

[TSandM]

After sitting in OW class where buddy diving was stressed, I saw my first solo diver on the first day of OW dives. Soon after we arrived at the lake, the instructor sent a DM out to put in the dive flag. That is when I realized it was a "Do as I say, not as I do" thing.

This worries me a LOT. When we teach classes, I do the only solo diving I do or have ever done; I put out the float. Sometimes I make a specific point of telling the students that I am going to do this because it's extremely short, extremely shallow, in a site I know extremely well, that I do not ever otherwise dive alone. Other times I forget or get time-limited, and I worry about what they think when they see me do this.

I don't think it's inherently unacceptably unsafe to dive alone. I dive in caves, and you can make a much stronger argument that that's crazy. But think about the reason why people DO dive alone. They have no buddy to dive with -- that is clearly a problem for people in a lot of places, but not where I am. They have no reliable source of GOOD buddies -- well, the niche of the diving world where I live has no dearth of those, either. They prefer to be alone because they don't want to be involved with anyone else during the dive -- well, that's a hard one to argue against, and if someone is willing to accept the unique risks involved in not having a buddy to help with the situations where a buddy CAN help, then more power to them.

I have a ready supply of extremely good and fun people to dive with. I have no need to dive alone or assume the additional risk involved in doing so, and I'm old enough that it's probably a darned good idea for me to have someone in the water with me.

 

[NAM001]

The comment about bringing out the double standardas a good thing is misleading. Those who are so easily led into things will take this as no matter what is said it is really ok to do it. The truth is anything but that. Its lame to say the instructor has a double standard because he sets a line or on a boat a deck hand dives to 70 ft to tie onto an anchor point. Being newbes. newbes do not have a clue about diving, but will use observationslike mentioned to say its ok because a well experienced diver did it. They ignore the 3 min in the water and equate it to an hour dive ad calling it OK. Its no diffrent than accepting a cigar to celebrate a new born and your kids equating it to a multipack per day habit. That thought process no matter whether from a newbe or other is what makes so many divers not safe to dive with. To prematurely expose/condone any new diver to solo is not a responsible path to take. No more responsible than if you have 3 or more beers dont drive. The majority of newbes wont even hear the stressed issues of experience (lots of it),, training,, setting limits for your self and being able to stick to them. We alreeady have new OW's that think 4 30 ft dives makes it ok to do 100 ft. You have to outgrow the opinion that you are invicable befrore even thinking about solo. And that takes time, for some...... years and years. Solo though challenging should never be looked as a challenge.

 

[Akimbo]

This worries me a LOT. When we teach classes, I do the only solo diving I do or have ever done; I put out the float. ...

Many define training OW divers as solo diving plus a significant risk burden. That’s how buddy diving starts with many people. They realize one day that they have been diving with buddies that are more of a liability than potential help.

Just tell students that it takes time to develop the skills and get the training to safely dive sole. Give them a quick verbal outline of a Solo course. You do them a disservice just telling them it is so dangerous that NOBODY dives sole. They will soon see that it isn’t true and it hurts the instructor’s credibility. If you were wrong about that maybe holding their breath (while ascending on Scuba) isn’t so bad either?