solo diving poll

[lobbolt]

Here's a article on solo diving. I am a newly certified diver and would like to solo dive eventually. What do you think about solo diving after reading this article?
http://www.cisatlantic.com/trimix/other/solo2.htm

 

[Xanthro]

Here's a article on solo diving. I am a newly certified diver and would like to solo dive eventually. What do you think about solo diving after reading this article?
http://www.cisatlantic.com/trimix/other/solo2.htm

One problem with the poll is that your buddy's skill greatly determines the safety in buddy diving. I'd say buddy diving with a good buddy is safer than diving solo, and diving with a poor buddy is more dangerous than diving solo.

Xanthro

 

[nwdiver2]

You will get more info and opinions in the solo divers section of the forum. You might also find the answer to your questions there.

 

[MikeFerrara]

The article is the typical mindless slop that we generally see in dive magazines.

The things the author points to as flaws in the buddy system are really flaws in the divers understanding of how to apply the buddy system and the way ther were trained in it.

Case in point, he states that buddy seperations are common...I say that they are only common for buddies who aren't yet any good at buddy diving.

I think, the author just needs to get with a different group of divers and any one who takes articles like that seriously needs some good training or mentorship.

 

[DPJ]

I have dove with buddies (those assigned at random on dive boats) that I feel are more of risk than a potential help in case of emergency. In these cases your really do need to be self reliant. That said, I don't think you can argue that with a "good" buddy and practicing good buddy skills, would make for safer diving.

 

[Scuba]

The issue of whether a diver is safer with a buddy or solo can only be answered by considering specific divers and situations. At the very least a narrow focus of conditions is necessary in order to derive useful suggestions.

Regarding new, learning, and unprepared divers:

Having a buddy who is cautious, prudent, with good common sense is a positive. Such a buddy can help catch simple beginner mistakes, provide a level of gas redundancy, and offer some assistance. Eliminating such a buddy shifts some of the risks no longer addressed and mitigated by the buddy to the individual diver who has not yet mastered basic fundamentals. Knowledge of what it truly means to be self reliant while solo, the steps that need to be implemented to maximize safety, along with the risks one is exposed to, are largely unknown to the beginning diver.

If we move across the spectrum to the negative buddy, we find one who is reckless with little apparent common sense. Following and relying on such increases the risk and complexity of the dive for a prudent diver, also. Somewhere in the middle range probably fall the majority, with its unknown quality, which could go either way, positive or negative. Caution should be exercised.

Safer with a buddy, good or bad, or solo? The result of the equation is not the most important aspect for the beginning, inexperienced, and unprepared diver. The most important aspect is to maximize safety by minimizing risk and complexity while learning to be a competent diver. This is done by diving with a competent professional, experienced and competent buddy, good sensible new buddy. All of which will usually result in a positive for beginner divers while they learn skills, knowledge, and gain the experience and competence that will allow them to safely expand their diving into the advanced diving disciplines in the future.

 

[fishnchips]

Most diving fatalities involved buddy diving.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Most diving fatalities involved buddy diving.

Most diving fatalities involve fins too. So?
Most divers who die diving are alone when they do. Very rarely is there a eye witness.

In most diving situations, the only rational way to justify diving alone is just because you want to. Trying to justify it based on "flaws in the buddy system" which are really just examples of divers who don't know how to dive in a team make one sound like an idiot. Willingly diving with a poor buddy because some DM tells you to doesn't make you look to slick either.
If you just want to be alone underwater and understand the risks then have at it but argueing that you do it because there's something inherantly wrong with the buddy system is obsurd.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I agree that diving with a fully competent buddy with whom you are familiar and have developed the level of teamwork and communication needed for an effective buddy relationahip is potentially safer than diving solo.

On the other hand, an inexperienced buddy in a crisis situation will often panic and this has been known to lead to double fatality accidents. In other cases, buddy separation occurs. This normally should not be that big a deal, but often is if the conditions are demanding and if each buddy has not maintained an adequate degree of situational awareness which is what kills them - it is the lack of preparation for the possibility of separation that kills them, not the spearation itself.

In a similar vein, buddies occassionally die while trying to rescue a buddy who got him or herself into a really bad situation. Two grieving familes instead of one, I don't see the point. However the reality is divers will feel obligated to try to affect a rescue in situations where they should not and will often do so in situations where a public saftey diver would opt not to attempt a rescue without a lot more support. When they die, we call it "heroism" when we should in fact be analyzing and questioning their judgement and decision making process. However when a buddy does not attmept a rescue we brand them a coward and their dead and usually incompetent buddy's family sues the pants off them. Being the heroic type and not wanting to deal with ethical and moral dilemmas on my day off, one of the things I like about solo diving is the reduced potential to have to place my family's welfare and happiness at risk saving a buddy I may not even know.

Most technical training agencies agree with and promote the buddy diving approach. But most also encourage a very high level of independence in terms of bioth skills and configuration and state the diver should plan and configure on the assumption that they will be solo and will need to function independently.

Personally, I hedge my bets while buddy diving by configuring the same way as I do when solo. And when I am with an unfamiliar buddy or wth a buddy with known limitations, I get very proactive in terms of making sure the buddy does not do something stupid or does not get into situations that exceed their ability. Given the concerns and caoutioins involved, it's obvious I don't feel safer than I do when solo.

 

[Walter]

Your poll is meaningless. There are too many factors to take into consideration. Very few divers are experienced or skilled enough to safely dive solo. Those divers who are ready for solo diving are usually safer diving solo. Even those divers are safer when paired with a skilled buddy. In almost all other cases buddy diving is safer. The lone exception is when a diver is paired with a diver with such poor skills they are not able to dive safely at all.