Solo Diving: It's time to set the record straight

I dive alone.
I sail alone.
I go swimming alone.
I sit on the beach alone.
I use my elliptical trainer alone.
I walk the dog alone.
I cook dinner alone.
I drive alone.
I even used to mow the lawn alone - when I had one!

If the world tried to stop me doing all these dangerous things alone, then I'd have to do them with other people, and that would be just horrible.

 

I'm very fortunate in that I don't receive much flack from the other divers who visit the island and see me diving solo. Most from our region (SoCal) know I've been diving solo since 1961 and so far haven't killed myself. I really don't care what others think about it, or what some might say. When you get to my age, things like that don't matter as much. What I am glad to hear is SoCal instructors telling their students that if they see me going solo, they should not think about doing it themselves as they don't have the decades of experience I do.

I would never advocate solo diving for anyone else. It just isn't my call. Because I dive solo, I don't know how another diver responds to emergencies. To me, that is one of the most important criteria in making a choice to go solo.

 

... same reason so many non-DIR divers hang out in the DIR forum ... because some people just like to whine about things they don't understand ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

If you are solo diving then you are breaking the first rule of SCUBA <snicker>. As with everything in life, you need to either learn to enjoy pushing back on those people or use the ignore feature.

While I disagree with the term POV Warrior, certain topics seem to breed people that are preprogrammed to hate it. BP/Jacket, Spare Air, Split Fins, Solo are a couple good examples. In most instances, each person has valid arguments but they are applying them incorrectly. Some people will go blindly into a thread and say that someone died because they went solo and that Buddy diving is the #1 rule, and then in another breath, say that they themselves solo dive. As Bob said, some people just need something to whine about.

 

Hey I was told #1 rule was not to hold your breth, I just the other day got to try some split fins and WOW I was able to kick like a rockstar (I just did go very far for all that kicking)
I think some folk's just need to be the Line-leader and can't stand that everyone don't get into line. LOL

 

That's good, but I thought the #1 rule was come back alive.

 

Jim, I always dive with an instructor.

Even when solo diving.

Where I dive, the difference between diving with the crowd and diving alone is shocking. Everything hides or runs from the mass.

This last weekend I took a long time instructor out, away from the normal divers, and he could not believe how different it was. Amberjack were so close we could touch them...He told me he had seen, in his entire dive experience, two octopus... he stopped counting at 9...we had a huge frogfish swim with us for about 30 yards.

I only take someone out to see the difference if they are soft, quiet divers and I know of no one that would dive with a group after seeing how different it is.

 

it's my travel insurance, it's not specifically designed for diving so it includes the numptys who only dive on holiday & think they are experts because they have done all of 10 dives.

i have considered doing the instructor skills development course just to cover that aspect, but then i would be expected to teach & that just doesn't interest me.

over the last 3 years we have had access to some pretty sophisticated seabed surveys and picking our spots off that & going to look what they are like has been fantastic, well away from the madding crowd.