KWS, my point is quite simple.
If you are going to solo dive, then plan and execute a solo dive. Don't pretend to be somebody else's buddy then cop this attitude that if they have a problem it's THEIR problem.
If you agree to be a dive buddy, then BE a dive buddy ... with all the responsibilities that implies. If you are unwilling to do that, then be honest about it and state up-front that you'd prefer to dive solo.
Entering the water with somebody with the attitude you've expressed above is an invitation to an accident ... maybe not on your part, but by accepting someone as your buddy you have set an expectation of responsibility ... and a duty of care in the event of a need for assistance. Failing to follow through on that duty once you've accepted it is irresponsible, however you rationalize it.
honest with yourself ... and with anybody else involved, be it a potential buddy, the charter crew, or the owner of a quarry or other dive site that you may be wanting to dive at. If a buddy is required and you don't want a buddy, then my advice is simply don't dive there. Choose sites and situations where you can set your rules and dive your plan in a way that's comfortable to you.
You are expressing one of the MAJOR reasons why buddy separation happens ... because divers are led to believe that they HAVE to dive with a buddy, but are unwilling to accept what that means. That's the very mentality that led to the examples you provided in your post above. And whatever else it may be, it's NOT solo diving.
A solo dive begins with the decision to dive without a buddy and the setting of expectations on the part of anyone else involved in the dive that you will be doing the dive without a buddy ... not that you'll take somebody else in the water with you and abandon them as soon as it's convenient. That approach is just setting somebody else up for a really bad day ... and sooner or later diving like that will eventually bite someone in the ass, whether it's you or the person who thought you were their dive buddy.
You really shouldn't straddle that bridge. Get on one side or the other, before somebody ends up really surprised ... because those kind of surprises can be fatal.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
i think you are the one that is stradling the fince.
i go in as a solo diver others i go in with is going solo. just because we are in the same body of water does not make us buddies.
extrapulate any way you want my point is if we are not diving as a buddy pair i am solo. when he brain farts and takes off i am now solo. in regards of expectation of help if i need it. he is solo for the same reason.
i do not suggest as you are trying to imply that i have promised support through out the dive and then abanden them. you keep wanting to do that to my posts.
your position is you can not dive solo with another person. it is more realistic to say you can dive buddies if you are separated. when separated you have lost your support. and there for no longer in a buddy sitiation. untill you restore the buddy situation you remain a diver who is diving solo.
your contention is i am responsible for the bonehead actions of the other guy. i prefer to dive with others who DO NOT EXPECT THIS AS THIER MEANS OF SURVIVAL. a new ow is not trained in stress and rescue how can he be of assistance when he is not trained to handle the situation? they will only compound the problem or becaome an aditional statistic.
do you refuse to dive with newby's or those who have less than x# of dives in a given period. i did not think so. you take what you get. if you say you are bringing your own buddy with you . then you are rejecting all others as your buddy.
stop combining the responsibility from practical aplication. when you are without your buddy insight you are alone. period. if i am diving buddy i will exicute lost buddy proceedures if i am diving solo i may or may not.
the fact you entered the water with someone else does not guarentee you have a spare air source. some times assumptions are not valid. in that time you are alone and solo. till remedied. as such you are responsible for saving your but. your buddy may be accountable for the separation leagaly but that does not fix the imediate problem. your position is its ok to die just so you can blame it on someone else. my position is if i die it is my fault for trusting some one else when i shouldnt have.
and by putting all backup safety in the hands of one other person is the greatest disservice you can do to your self.
your view of diving appears to be the verison method .... you dive and all support hovers around you where ever you go to fix your problems that should have been cared for before entering the water. in that regard if you are in the same pond as the verison crew you can not be solo.
you continue to suggest that my views of solo is based on my inability as a buddy and not the other buddy's failure. i solo because of others failure rate. you cant save some one from themselves.
now we are full circle because you cant be solo if you are in the same water, right.
at some point you have to tell someone the are not safe and they need to find another crutch to dive with.
if my spare tiere has no air is it a spare tire???? it may be a tire but it is not a spare as it does not function. no matter what you say i have no spare tire if i get a flat. i am stuck on the roadside.
perhaps this example is better. you are driving and on the phone with someone. are you driving alone or not. better yet if you are driving and have a phone in the car are you alone. i would love to see the video of a phone giving you cpr.
the other assumption you make is i change the terms of the dive with the person i went in the water with, mid dive. that is not true. we both go in solo and come out solo. even if it is the same time. we may have agreed to surface at the same time to coult heads but my surface was not predicate on his surface. we are independant. we may then choose to be buddies and transit to another location and dive solo again or in a buddy arrangement. i have many times left the (BUDDY) on the surface while going below to look in on an ow class and just hover for a while. while around that group below none of them are my buddy. i am on my own. i am solo
your argument is great for beginners who are so prone to problems that they need a buddy to remain calm or to bail them out. it also serves to prevent doing something stupid like diving solo unprepared and holding the agincy accountable. i suspect that with your experience and skill levels there is not much that can over task you to the point you get in trouble and have to have a ow buddy to get you out. i realize that most, probably do not have the expertise you have in the water. i dont know i havent looked at you profile. nor am i interested as it prpbably reflects you cards not your skills. i am sure that there are many who may out skill you and are undocumented so to speek. if you are a dive con or dm i am probably talking to a oblicgated voice of the company and not diver of the experience of 95% of the divers around without a contractual agreement to voice policy.
round x coming up shortoly i am sure
