I wondered if PADI's seeming ambivalence about solo diving would come back to bite some people like this. It's my understanding from past thread discussions that PADI was historically seen by some as opposed to solo diving. My personal theory is when SDI came out with the Solo Diver course and certification, it drew enough interest to draw people who'd historically taken PADI courses 'off the PADI reservation' to take the SDI course. This created the risk they might have a positive experience and be more open to take other courses from other agencies, and it raised brand awareness for a competitor.
Uh-oh! But PADI had been seen as anti-solo diving. What to do? Well, they came out with a
very similar course, but didn't call it 'solo,' but the non-controversial 'self-reliant,' and proceeded to, as they say, 'talk out both sides of their mouth,' continuing to push buddy diving and rather minimize solo diving
even when their self-reliant course is under discussion!
To back up my viewpoint, I'll cherry pick quote some content from currently available online sources, and as you read over them, I ask...does this sound like PADI is confident that their course brings solo divers to the level where solo diving is a fine, acceptable and conquerably safe activity compared to buddy diving. Then ask how a liability insurance professional providing policies to dive operators would interpret this.
From PADI's webpage
Scuba Diving Solo: What You Need To Know:
"Scuba diving with a buddy is safer and more fun than scuba diving solo."
"Imagine you’re out there alone and a family of whales passes by. It’s an amazing moment but also a bummer because:
#1 There’s no one to share the experience with
#2 You don’t have a witness to confirm this unbelievable story
So why would anyone scuba dive solo? Is it even legal to scuba dive alone?"
"Unless you have an insanely reckless buddy, it’s always safer to dive with someone else. At the very least, they’re an ambulatory
second air source who can come to your aid."
PADI has a pro.'s blog page
Should You Solo Dive? From it:
"Qualified and properly equipped divers can choose to dive without a partner although given the choice, diving in a buddy team would be the best-case scenario."
In this 2011 SB thread,
PADI Lacking Solo Diver Course, check out Post #10 by DevonDiver. He showed a PADI Worldwide position article on Solo Diving by Drew Richardson that immediately launched into why PADI advocates use of the buddy system. From the article:
"The buddy system provides divers in training with a safety redundancy to this skill base that diving alone simply cannot provide. PADI has, and will continue to, train divers using the buddy system based on its proven benefit to diving, divers and diving safety."
"The buddy system has provided tangible contributions to millions of dives. Buddies provide an extra set of eyes and hands for each other. Providing assistance in putting on equipment, adjusting straps, assisting with weights and tanks, entering the water, helping to load and unload gear are but a few practical arguments that support the buddy system."
"The roots of the buddy system arise from diving and water safety.
Early days of diver training heralded the buddy system as an important safety procedure because only through the buddy system could a diver reasonably expect to escape from entanglement, entrapment, out of air situations, disorientation, a head injury, chest pains, cramping and dozens more. Diver training and diving equipment have improved, yet these same values apply today. Like all safety-based systems, the buddy system is not perfect. However, the simple fact is that without a buddy in the water, the distressed diver has little or no chance of assistance.
The buddy system is the most basic form of scuba diving fail-safe. Buddies have helped each other in subtle and profound ways for decades. Often the smallest buddy intervention averts a string of error chains occurred and negative outcomes or tragedy."
"Fundamentally, the buddy system is about dive companionship, something that won't appeal to misanthropic personality types."
"It is important to clarify what responsible solo scuba diving is. PADI views it as a form of technical diving and not for everybody."
"That said, no amount of redundant equipment can effectively back up a diver's brain better than another individual."
"When a problem occurs on a solo dive, or when the diver is alone in the water, there is little or no chance of assistance for the distressed diver. This decreases the chances of a diver surviving the problem or having a favorable outcome. Diving alone reduces the chance of survival regardless of the problem."
