Solo deco

[East West]

I have been a avid solo diver for more than twenty years . The responsibility to launch my boat , navigate and anchor up on a wreck fifteen miles off shore is to myself . The responsibility is for me alone to make a couple of deco dives on that wreck . Looking back at the time with three young children and a wife was there a lack of responsibility to my family . Those were the days and that may be my only regret is regards of responsibility to my family . regards Charles

 

[Dive-aholic]

Not sure I really understand your question. Was your family on the boat? If so, could they have pulled anchor and gotten back to shore if something happened to you?

I do solo deco dives on a regular basis, almost weekly. But my wife has done solo deco dives, too. I don't believe solo in itself introduces more risk. Some dives are safer when done solo.

 

[sylpha]

i don't understand either.

is it the solo diving or the 2 deco dives a day which are in question?

i would question taking a boat out to dive from on your own, but that's because i'm lazy & really wouldn't want to swim on the surface to get back into a boat on my own, but then my thoughts are that the boat comes to me

 

[Jax]

I have been a avid solo diver for more than twenty years. The responsibility to launch my boat, navigate and anchor up on a wreck fifteen miles off shore is to myself. The responsibility is for me alone to make a couple of deco dives on that wreck.

Looking back at the time with three young children and a wife, was there a lack of responsibility to my family? .

Those were the days and that may be my only regret is regards of responsibility to my family. regards Charles

I think the OP is asking the bolded part . . . ? I added some punctuation.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I think there's a perception that solo diving ... in this case, with a deco obligation ... involves more risk than doing the same dive with a buddy.

That may or may not be the case, depending on the circumstances and the dive buddy.

So given the available information, I would answer the question by saying "it depends".

If you planned your dive properly, used reasonable criteria for determining whether conditions made the risks acceptable, and conducted yourself in a reasonably safe manner, then I don't think such dives are any less risky solo than they would be with a responsible dive buddy.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[DennisS]

I have been a avid solo diver for more than twenty years . The responsibility to launch my boat , navigate and anchor up on a wreck fifteen miles off shore is to myself . The responsibility is for me alone to make a couple of deco dives on that wreck . Looking back at the time with three young children and a wife was there a lack of responsibility to my family . Those were the days and that may be my only regret is regards of responsibility to my family . regards Charles

If you had a high dollar insurance policy there was no lack of responsibility. Rich widows have no problem replacing husbands. The kids would miss you for awhile but they would get used to their new dad.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Where do you dive? I need a new boat.

I can't comment on deco as mine is pretty minimal. The idea if leaving my boat unattended 15 miles offshore while I dive a deep wreck scares me. Too much potential for mayhem, by man and mother nature.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

The major risk is not the deco portion of the dive. Most technical divers configure and do the gas planning to allow for the loss of any single deco gas and have contingency plans to do the longer deco off a single remaining deco gas or on back gas. They also do contingency plans for longer deco in the event they are delayed in leaving the bottom. In other words they plan and configure to be fully independent anyway and the support available from a team is just icing on the cake.

The major risk diving 15 miles off shore (deco or not) is the risk imposed by the unattended boat. If the anchor comes loose or the anchor line separates, you are now 15 miles off shore with no boat. In some areas the risks may also include the unattended boat getting stolen, getting run down by a freighter, getting swamped during a sudden squall, etc, etc, etc.

In my opinion diving offshore with an unattended boat any farther off shore than you can easily swim back to shore is really, really stupid. The availability of diver friendly EPRBs would help but makes this practice only slightly less stupid.

 

[Rhone Man]

I understand the broad sentiment - I don't like doing solo deco dives myself. I will do them if everything is just right, but otherwise I am generally adverse. Like Charles, when I am solo, I am really solo - no one else on the boat. If something dive or boat related goes wrong, I have really limited options. Being in deco can potentially hamper your ability to fix many problems.