solo diving

[Crush]

Do you solo dive yourself?

The accident analyses often do not distinguish between solo divers, or buddy separation. That is something to keep in mind when reading the accident reports.

I think that Saspotato is right here. I should look it up (too late now), but my un-authoritative opinion is that most fatalities occur when a buddy pair becomes separated. Granted, most divers dive in pairs. The point is, I don't believe that solo divers are over-represented (relative to the number of practitioners) in the fatality stats.

 

[knowone]

I would absolutly take extreme caution when solo Diving. I am sure lots of people dive solo and are safe but the more I read about accidents happen and people die'n it seems it always happens when there solo diving and these people had a lot of diving experince.

Sheck Exley, Steve Berman etc were not solo divers in this context and who knows why divers sometimes fail to return

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I would absolutly take extreme caution when solo Diving. I am sure lots of people dive solo and are safe but the more I read about accidents happen and people die'n it seems it always happens when there solo diving and these people had a lot of diving experince.

Correction ... the majority of those accidents happened to people who got separated from their dive buddy.

The difference between solo diving and buddy separation is that in the former case, you planned and prepared to dive alone ... while in the latter case, you did not. The difference can sometimes prove fatal ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[carrielsal]

Unfortunately, solo diving can be a taboo subject. I have been solo diving for years. At home I do a lot of solo dives when I am working on skills as I advance through my training. If I take a trip by myself, I solo dive to avoid insta-buddies who do not have the same dive philosophy that I have.
There are no scuba police to prevent you from diving solo in most instances, unless you are diving a charter. I have heard that there are some dive parks that do not allow solo diving.
I took the SDI solo class last year, so I could dive solo on a liveaboard that goes to the Flower Gardens in the gulf.

 

[knowone]

Great catch cry, "I'll see you down there," then after having listened to the plans of others on the boat you head to the opposite end of the reef or wreck from the mob. It's fun to play with air mirrors on ceilings. Safer than mercury.

 

[Buoyant1]

I've done my share of solo diving while diving with an insta-buddy, so the bottom line is to make sure you are prepared for a solo dive even if you aren't diving by yourself! I carry a 40cf pony on most dives, so if I get bailed on, I have a back up!

I did a solo dive on the Adolphus Busch last year. I was paired up with a guy who wanted to take pictures (Italian guy who spoke broken English, but enough to get by) Since there was a little current, we were told to jump in, and pair up at the mooring ball before descending. I jumped in, went to the ball, he jumped in, and reached up for his camera (nice rig with serious flashes and a huge dome port etc.) and started fiddling with it, not holding on to the rope. He started floating away around the side of the boat. The DM looked down at me and said "are there still bubbles on the line?" I looked, and saw some so I said "yeah" He said "go follow someone, I'm pulling this one out!" So I went down the line (past a lady who had the FEAR OF GOD in her eyes, and a very pi$$ed off looking husband) and paired up with a threesome of divers, who had no idea I was really following them. After the dive was over, I waited for them to take their first safety stop, then joined them on the line on the way back up. While we were waiting to climb the ladder, the one guy looked at me and said "where's your buddy" I said he never made it down, so I sort of followed you guys! He laughed and said "you were better off without him, he didn't look to swift to begin with!" So I dove with him, his wife and daughter the next two dives!

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Great catch cry, "I'll see you down there," then after having listened to the plans of others on the boat you head to the opposite end of the reef or wreck from the mob. It's fun to play with air mirrors on ceilings. Safer than mercury.

... and if you really want to have fun, grab the tank that was supposed to go to the dentist's office ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I've done my share of solo diving while diving with an insta-buddy, so the bottom line is to make sure you are prepared for a solo dive even if you aren't diving by yourself! I carry a 40cf pony on most dives, so if I get bailed on, I have a back up!

Depends on the dive buddy ... but sometimes I'm better off just diving with my little rubber chicken ... :shocked2:

... or ... as a friend on another board put in her sig line ... "Insta-buddies are why God created dive knives" ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[knowone]

Maybe that's what it really is. I'll take a bucket and shovel next time.

 

[TMHeimer]

Many threads on this. I started solo diving at about 70-80 dives and had Rescue and MSD. MY rules then and now are: Know the dive site and that it's "benign". Or (less preferable) get a thorough briefing on the site. Don't go much below 30 feet, as a CESA is easily doable (and practise that). I have bent these rules maybe twice. But these are only my rules. Everyone is different.