solo divers' vicious circle?

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duckbill

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I know a lot of vintage divers have difficulty finding dive buddies because of most divers' attitude of looking-down-their-noses at that "old, unsafe equipment", so I thought I'd pose this question. Have any of you solo divers had this happen to you while looking for a dive buddy, "Oh. You dive solo? You're an unsafe diver. I would never dive with anyone who would go solo!"
Kind of like the old saying, "I would never marry anyone who would have me for a husband."
How many of you have been caught in that vicious circle (the first one, I mean), or sensed that attitude from fellow divers?
 
Why would you tell someone you dive solo if you're looking for a buddy? I've never had a potential buddy ask me if I dive solo.

I've also never had a problem with someone not wanting to dive with me because I was diving vintage. I wouldn't just show up on a dive boat with my double hose, I'd have it planned in advance.
 
Duckbill, I'll dive with you! Of course, if you fill out your profile and tell us where you're from, I'll let you know who's driving to who. :D

Welcome to ScubaBoard!
 
Yes and no. First, if your diving solo why are you looking for a buddy? If you want a buddy and are diving solo because no one will dive with you with vintage gear then you need to keep looking. I can dive "vintage" with "modern" divers transparently. They often don't notice except for my double hose regulator and the one I use in that circumstance has provisions for an octapus and LP inflator so why would it matter. I find it funny anyway that I rarely---rarely---have equipment problems whereas many buddies I have been paired with have had nothing but problems with all their fancy plastic stuff. Modern trained divers are much to gear oriented and dependent rather than relying on skill, training and at least some fitness base. I dive solo because I like to and when I want a buddy or must have a buddy then I certainly try to make their dive fun and safe as well.
Virtually no commerccial dive boat is going to allow you to dive vintage sans BC and inflator and solo on top of it all. They have insurance problems to deal with and most of them have been trained by the evil PadI. To dive vintage in such circumstances requires a functioning BC and ocatapus. This is easily accomplished. There are probably places that will refuse you to use a double hose just as there have been one boat that the divemaster went nuts on when I pulled out a Tekna (which is not vintage). Most of the time I bet if you have the minimum equipment they require they will work with you. Of course, if your shore diving or diving from your own boat or kayak etc then you can certainly dive any way you want. I definitly recommend a BC in the ocean whn further from shore than you can swim. I have had to wait on the surface when drift diving some length of time before being retrieved and despite being a very good swimmer by any measuremnt I found it tireing and comforting to layback on my wing and rest. Good luck. N
 
First off, I just joined SCUBA Board, but have spent the last few months reading and re-reading through all the wonderful "Sea Hunt Era" threads. I have decided that this is where I belong for reasons which will become apparent to anyone making it through the rest of this post. So, with that said, thankyou for the replies thus far.
Thanks for the offer, Rick. I live in California's Central Valley north of Sacramento, so I guess we'd better save the gas money for shorter trips.
Actually, therein lies part of the reason I posted this thread to begin with. I'll get back to that in a bit.
I guess I confused my scenario by saying "solo diver", which would imply a diver who is characterized by....diving solo. What I meant was a diver who dives solo by default, but who would rather have the additional security of a buddy. I posted this thread out of curiosity because I feel that scenario potentially happening to me. Here's why...
Until this afternoon, I had never dived solo. Since day-one of SCUBA training, it has always been drilled into our heads,"Never swim alone...Never dive alone!", second only to "Never hold your breath while breathing compressed air at depth." O.K. up until recently- No problem. Now I live in the Sacramento Valley of California- several hours and many gas bucks from salt water and a multitude of dive buddies. So, here lay all of my nice, old gear itching to get baptized again. Well, as any diver would do, I started frequenting the only LDS. After a few visits I started to hear the dogmas of the owner..."Anyone who dives using a J-valve is STUPID" among others.(He wanted to disable all of my J-valves!) So, pretty soon I decided to pop the big question..."So, do you teach DIR in your classes?". Well, I was momentarily relieved when they didn't understand the question, until I had to define DIR and they said (paraphrased)"Oh, yes. We definitely teach that the SPG has to go here, and we insist that they use a pony bottle (strapped on in this particular configuration) as a safe second, etc." I guess we're all cave divers now!
O.K. Here's my thing with DIR. I was certified in 1985. Yes, we were taught a uniform gear configuration. It really is a good idea. However, whenever I was diving with someone with a configuration different than mine, I never had trouble plugging that mental note into my brain for a whole whopping hour while we were diving together. I would never have told the guy,"You are not Doing It Right!". So, now I get sideways glances from techie newbies when they see my twin-38s and analog gauges, or that my BC (when I use my jacket BC) actually has some color to it!
I considered joining the local dive club to help me find local buddies, but I inferred from my conversation with the store owners that they will not allow any other gear configurations in their pool at their special events. If this is so, then I know they have also brainwashed all of their students (therefore, most of the local divers) into thinking that there is something grossly wrong and unsafe about any diver who does things differently. I'm not about to follow the current fad and buy new gear each time ideas change, although I'm sure the LDS would love it if I would (read "could").
What is "Right"?! With regulators, first the alternate air was in your buddies mouth. It was something I vaguely remember being called "buddy breathing". And the SCUBA gods said, "It is good". Then came the mighty octopus being dragged along in tow on a longer hose, and that was your and your buddy's alternate air source. And the SCUBA gods said, "It is good". Now, with DIR, you are sinning if you don't have three miles of hose to your primary/buddy's secondary coiled around your body, and your personal secondary stapled to your neck. Seems like "right" changes with the wind; And, now, those taught the "right" way somehow think all the others are Doing It Wrong. Forget the theory of relativity. Something may be relatively better for some reasons, but that doesn't make the older methods wrong! And tomorrow, some poor DIR guy may die because of some flaw in the configuration. Then some new "right" way will be dreamed up and the next batch of new divers can sneer at the DIR guys for a change (Oh, I'm sure someone will come up with another clever term for the newer and safer way). As I see it, DIR is ruining SCUBA as a sport. There is nothing wrong with good ideas- just don't become pretentious, dogmatic and elitist about them.
Anyhow, with the locals brainwashed and the ocean a distance to be reckoned with, I've contemplated the alternative of solo diving for the time being. Boy did I feel guilty just thinking about it! But, actually, my first solo dive this afternoon was very nice. I didn't spend a third of my time keeping track of a buddy.
I dove a J-valved 72 and backpack over my wet suit top in the Feather River. My "buddy" was the surface, a mere 15 feet up, and my primary a USD Aquarius. No problems. Found a set of dog tags, retrieved an anchor from a sunken boat, caught some crawdads just for fun, and just watched the fish do their thing. Just nice.
Next time, I may dive my DA or DW. One thing's for sure, though...when I do find a local dive buddy or two, I'll break them in using my BC and full Oceanic spaghetti rig before I pull out the trusty, shiny USD radiator caps. Then later I'll bring out the DA with an octopus and "lose" my BC (if river diving, anyway) if they are still with me!
Speaking of being with me...
As I said, I'm new to the board. I had some built-up frustration to vent related somewhat to vintage type diving (IMO). "Thanks" if you are following this first thread of mine. I promise I won't bore anyone with my SCUBA-life's story and ranting and raving again!
I was just wondering if I was alone in my frustration, since I apparently "Do It Rong" (DIR)!
 
Nemrod:
...there have been one boat that the divemaster went nuts on when I pulled out a Tekna (which is not vintage).


Hi Nemrod. When you say "Tekna", are you talking about a knife? If so, what was the big problem with that?! I'm being surprized at every turn by how much has changed recently. I guess I'd better not walk to the dive shop in Monterey for an air fill wearing my 6-inch bladed Wenoka any more! Not that I get many chances to do Monterey these days.
 
Hmmm... although 80% of my diving is solo, I've never had a potential buddy refuse to dive with me. Quite the contrary, I turn down requests to buddy up quite frequently (I always prefer solo diving vs new buddies because they often don't know how to dive with a photographer and get in the way of my filming or scare things off).
 
First thing I'd do Duckbill is find a new LDS. IMO scuba is about being safe and comfortable. As long as your gear meets both criteria, you decide how to set it up. I was lucky and was taught that way.
I get asked on occasion why I have my console on my right side, as most people have them coming around from the left. For me, I like holding my console in my right hand and monitoring it while I ascend and hold my BC inflator/deflator in my left. That way I can make a nice slow controlled ascent. When I explain it, most agree it is a good idea and wonder why everyone doesn't do it ( yet very few have changed due to their fear of "doing it wrong")
Do your thing Duckbill, just be safe doing it,
Just my 2 cents,
Chris
 
I think the problem is not whether his console is left or right but that he does not have a console, spg, BC, octapus or anything else. We vintage/SeaHunt era divers generally don't use all that stuff, especially consoles, pink consoles just somehow don't look right with a double hose regulator--lol.

"Tekna", no, not a knife, it is a very tiny pilot boosted regulator with high performance and a reputation for being a bit odd. The company offered inovative products that were anything but ordinary but several things conspired to deep six them. In any case many people are ignorant of them and assume since it does not have the hub cap in the mouth look it must be dangerous. You know, on other boards on this forum they talk about getting new regs every few years, my Teknas are about 25 years old. Course compared to my Royal AquaMasters and Mistral (47yo) they are youguns and being post 1975 they are not vintage either.
As to a knife I usually have a large knife, scissors are not exactly vintage, but these days you never know when HS might attack me, afterall, the CG is telling boaters to snitch on any odd activities "like scuba divers dressed in black". N
 

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