Solo diving

[rstofer]

No, sorry it does not. Sad that it happened, but without any information, it is just a tragedy. Divers also die with buddies... in shallow water, in deep water...it happens.

Every year, the two most dangerous rooms in a house are the kitchen, followed closely by the bathroom.... every day, more than one person dies in each of those locations...so if we posted kitchen death stories, would you never go in a kitchen?

Well, there is also the diver near Carmel that died last weekend. Apparently he was diving alone although all I know is what I read in the paper and that is that he surfaced alone. The story mentioned "popped up" but I'm not sure what to make of that.

I don't care is very veteran divers decide to dive solo. What I do care about is the thread over in the "New to diving" forum "Diving without a buddy?" where a 0-24 dive beginner is thinking it's a good idea. See http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...ering-diving/297138-diving-without-buddy.html

Given a certain amount of training and some amount of redundancy, it should be entirely reasonable for a seasoned diver to dive solo. But I certainly wouldn't recommend it to the beginner.

Still, a person is safer in the kitchen/bathroom because, although we may lose 1 person per day to those locations, there are a lot more opportunities. The fact that we lose about 1 diver every 3 days is a much, much higher death rate.

But, you're right. It's all very sad. But people die all the time and diving is just one of the alternatives. And solo diving is just a subset of diving.

Richard

 

[scuba_drum]

I have close to 200 dives. even though these are all recreational and scattered over years, I still enjoy a solo dive every once in a while. For example, last spring at Bonaire my GF didn't want another dive, she was tired and hungry. I wanted a night dive, so I went on a fairly shallow night dive by myself. I actually think it made me more aware of the risks, etc. because I was paying very close attention to my equipment, time, depth, everything. I took it very easy, actually a big fish came out of the dark and was taking advantage of my light to feed - I'm not sure who was following who at that point but he fed very well and i had my dive buddy of sorts.
My point is that I enjoy a solo dive every once in a while. New divers should probably steer clear of this for obvious reasons.
My 2psi

 

[slackercruster]

Buddies are for wimps and the insecure....

That reminded me of a guy on a mountain bike forum. When the discussion turned to brakes his comment was:

BRAKES!...brakes are for pussies.

I generally like having a buddy if they are the DM or someone that can be depended on. Trouble is who knows what you get on some of these matchups.

Myself?

I can go either way solo or buddy. If solo, I dive with a pony and stay to 75 feet or less. And if with a buddy, I still like the pony if I have one handy.

If your going to dive solo, here is an outline of some basics for a SDI Solo Diver Specialty certification card. Or study with cave divers. they are pretty safety conscious and routinely dive solo.

Solo Scuba

INTRODUCTION
The objective of this course is to train divers in the benefits, hazards and proper procedures for diving solo. Upon successful completion of this course, graduates may engage in solo diving activities.
STUDENT PREREQUISITES
A. Minimum age: 21 years.
B. Minimum certification of Advanced Diver or equivalent.
C. Minimum of 100 logged dives.
D. Review and complete Medical History form and Liability Release form.
E. Review and complete Solo Diver Release form.
EXECUTION AND STRUCTURE
A. Open water execution:
1. Two open water dives are required with complete briefs and debriefs;
2. All dives must include surface interval, max. no-deco time, etc., to be figured out and logged during the debriefing.
B. Course structure: SDI allows instructors to structure courses according to the number of students participating and
their skill level.
REQUIRED EQUIPMENT
A. Basic SDI open water scuba equipment (exception: "safe second" or "octopus" is not allowed as redundant air
source).
B. One of the following must be used as a redundant air source: pony bottle, twin cylinders with isolation valve,
independent doubles, Spare Air(TM).
REQUIRED SKILL PERFORMANCE
Skills are to be performed in the open water. In order to complete this course, the student must demonstrate
understanding of the techniques to properly execute a solo dive.
A. Swimming skills: Perform a surface swim of 200 meters in full scuba gear (gear configuration appropriate to local
diving conditions). Must be nonstop and performed in an open water environment.
B. Scuba skills:
1. Demonstrate adequate predive planning;
2. Determine limits based on personal gas consumption;
3. Perform exact dive and/or decompression profile.
C. Properly execute the planned dive within all predetermined limits:
1. Equipment configuration appropriate for solo diving:
a. streamlining equipment;
b. use and carry of redundant air supply.
2. Proper descent/ascent rates.
3. Proper safety stop procedures: monitoring of decompression status equipment (tables, computers, equipment).
D. Navigation skills:
1. Demonstrate proficiency of navigation with compass;
2. Demonstrate emergency change-over to a backup regulator or bailout scuba at a depth not exceeding 100 fsw /
30 msw;
3. Deploy surface marker and use of surface audible signaling device.
GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
In order to complete this course, students must:
A. Satisfactorily complete the Solo Course written examination.
B. Complete all open water requirements safely and efficiently.
C. Demonstrate mature, sound judgement concerning dive planning and execution.
GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
Upon successful completion of this course, graduates will be issued the SDI Solo Diver Specialty certification card.

 

[MichiganScott]

Probably not, kinda scares me, but in my younger days I used to do a lot of solo snorkeling, wearing weights to hang around 15 to 20 feet to check things out. That was one of the reasons I wanted to get into scuba. Got a bit scary once when I was in the Philippines about 15 feet down observing what I thought was a stone fish on a vertical coral wall and started to get light headed (probably shoulda dropped my weight but didn't) Anyway, I made it back up obviously but not before finding some stinging cells from a jelly, (don't know how deep it was there cause couldn’t see that far down, water gradually got deeper to around 10 or 12 feet then dropped off with a sheer face. Funny I had never thought much about the safety of it prior to that, but I admit it was way eerie on the side of this face, alone with light above and the unknown out of seeing into the dark below. Now that I am actually certified I realize I might just be lucky to still be around.
Ah well I guess most of us we’re pretty stupid in our youth.

 

[scuba dew]

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. The safety record of scuba diving has improved dramatically over the past few decades, while the number of certified divers has increased. During this time, buddy system training techniques have been an integral component of this training. While there is no way to quantify the accidents that were prevented or did not happen because of one buddy looking after another, empirical outcomes support the relevancy and integrity of this training.

 

[scuba dew]

Can Solo Diving be done responsibly?

Yes, but let's be clear about what responsible solo diving is and what it is not. It requires experienced scuba divers willing to make the necessary commitment to train and equip themselves to accept the added risks involved. That is to say, a person with the required attitude and aptitude to pursue responsible solo diving. This is true in other adventure sport activities such as solo rock climbing.

It is important to clarify what responsible solo scuba diving is. PADI views it as a form of technical diving and not for everybody. To responsibly engage in solo scuba diving, a diver must first be highly experienced, have a hundred or so buddy accompanied scuba dives, be absolutely self-reliant and apply the specialized procedures and equipment needed to engage in the activity. This includes, but is not limited to redundant air sources, specialized equipment configurations, specific dive planning, and management of solo diving problems and emergencies. When solo diving is performed within this description, we see a place for it. Responsible solo diving is not diving alone without the mental discipline, attitude or equipment. That said, no amount of redundant equipment can effectively back up a diver's brain better than another individual

 

[DennisW]

I almost agree with Walter. Hard to believe that I would disagree, but here is why. Unless you are proficient you should have a buddy. There is a difference between being certified and being proficient. It's similar to being "current" and being proficient when flying. In order to carry passengers in my plane, I must have made three take off and landings within the past 90 days. Now, if I have only flown once and made 3 take off and landings in 90 days, I may very well be current in the eyes of the FAA, but I surely am not proficient and IMHO should not be carrying passengers.

If I have been diving a lot and in the same location several times, I would say, that yes, I would be proficient and would be capable of diving solo. Have I dived solo? Yes. Several years ago, I went on a trip on the Ultimate Getaway out of Ft. Myers Beach. On one of the last dives of the trip, I made a solo dive and when I told my wife, she got upset. I was pretty proud of myself that I felt confident enough in my abilities to actually make a solo dive, but she was not a happy camper. So, I promised her that I would never again intentionally make a solo dive. And I have never made a solo dive since, intentionally. I have been given an inta-buddy that made me a solo diver, but I didn't do it intentionally. I like diving solo, especially when I am taking pictures. However, Donna is a very patient and excellent buddy for a photographer. And she finds cool stuff.

 

[lamont]

I've done two honest-to-god solo dives many years back. At this point, I've got enough people I can dive with and diving with buddies is more interesting.

Support diving entails solo diving since you drop and wait for the team on the bottom to reach their deco switch and then shuttle solo between the surface and the team as required.

Also, I've done dives on kauai where the SOP was to just bail solo when your gas got low.

And everyone needs to be prepared to dive solo if there's buddy separation. No matter how hard you train, **** can happen, and if you're at 240 feet in heavy current and get separated you need to be able to blow a bag and deco yourself back to the surface.

 

[shoredivr]

And everyone needs to be prepared to dive solo if there's buddy separation. No matter how hard you train, **** can happen, and if you're at 240 feet in heavy current and get separated you need to be able to blow a bag and deco yourself back to the surface.

Exactly.

 

[Rhone Man]

Interestingly enough, I just finished reading Jablowski's Introduction to DIR (he didn't call it that, but anyhow...) and to me it is interesting how DIR is still firmly committed to the buddy system (although they prefer to refer to teams) whereas other tec training organisations put much more emphasis on total self reliance. I know, I know, DIR preaches self reliance as well, but you know what I mean.