The solo diving movement, a good idea?

[drbill]

I've done thousands of solo dives starting with my very first one in the winter of 1961-62 (we only had one set of gear). One thing I do NOT do is recommend solo diving to anyone else. Why? Because I very rarely know what I consider to be the most important fact in determining whether a person should dive solo... their response to unexpected emergencies. If one panics in such situations, no way should they be solo diving IMHO.

Even for those who would never consider diving solo, I think training in self reliant diving is a good idea.

 

[TMHeimer]

Has there been a recent upswing in solo diver numbers? Not sure what the "movement" is--my brother solo dived in the '60s.

 

[DBailey]

Has there been a recent upswing in solo diver numbers? Not sure what the "movement" is--my brother solo dived in the '60s.

My guess is that the "movement" is more along the lines of nearly (if not) all of the training agencies have some sort of solo diving certification now. I think it went from available as a niche certification to mainstream availability.

 

[cocoajoe]

Is this anything like the Alice's Restaurant anyi-massacree movement? All you gotta do to join is sing it the next time it comes around on the gitar.

For a 'dive professional' I find your comments condescending and NOT helpful. FYI, I was the one who was asking about the pony not long ago. Let me refresh your memory...I asked about maybe getting a pony and 'accidental deco'...remember me? You condemned me for lack/bad dive plan. Several dives ago, I had new Shearwater Petrel set on 30/70 GF, diving air because 'buddy' wasn't nitrox. Diving wreck Danny and was in deco at 21 min by the time I had alerted buddy.....buddy probably had less conservative setting.. Since then, reset for 30/85 GF which I would NOT have been in deco. Point? Try to help and not be so quick to condemn people who are looking for answers. After All, aren't you supposed to be a 'dive professional'???

 

[drrich2]

Has there been a recent upswing in solo diver numbers?

I suspect so, in a limited way. Certification courses legitimize solo diving in the minds of some, offer the training to give some the confidence and willingness to engage in it, and the cert.s serve as a basis for some quarry owners, charter boat op.s & such to allow it.

So, more people are aware of it, more are trained and interested in doing it, and there are more opportunities for it. So yes, there's bound to be at least a mild upswing, which will continue to gain some momentum over time, though I think buddy diving will remain in the majority by a hefty margin.

Which leads to more people interested in solo diving at the 'grey edges' - what if I've got 50 dives not over 100, what if my main motivation is the lack of readily available buddies or frustration with the ones I've got, what if I want to solo but not bother with some of the recommended extra gear for added redundancy, what if I want to do some solo diving outside the agency recommended limits (e.g.: deco., wreck penetration, depths over 130 feet)?

And, because it's come out of the closet from being a private choice to one made 'out in the open' amidst forum discussion invited by those interested, it's going to bring lively debate.

So yes, I think solo is growing. But not real fast.

Richard.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

For a 'dive professional' I find your comments condescending and NOT helpful. FYI, I was the one who was asking about the pony not long ago. Let me refresh your memory...I asked about maybe getting a pony and 'accidental deco'...remember me? You condemned me for lack/bad dive plan. Several dives ago, I had new Shearwater Petrel set on 30/70 GF, diving air because 'buddy' wasn't nitrox. Diving wreck Danny and was in deco at 21 min by the time I had alerted buddy.....buddy probably had less conservative setting.. Since then, reset for 30/85 GF which I would NOT have been in deco. Point? Try to help and not be so quick to condemn people who are looking for answers. After All, aren't you supposed to be a 'dive professional'???

You can be educated or you can be coddled, but you're unlikely to be both. Given your attitude, I'm fine with you being coddled and nature taking its course, but you might want to think about how many benefits to your future well-being taking criticism better could have.

 

[Nemrod]

I suspect the "upsurge" is simply the result of solo divers coming out of the closet. I was never in the closet. I told PadI and the snorkel police to give me a big wet kiss right on my rear a long time ago.

Watch out for those stomach cramps if you dive or swim alone, I hear they are bad news.

What exactly is a stomach cramps anyways, do not answer, I do not care.

Now that student starts are down, I imagine the pay for play certification alphabet agencies are scrambling for income and thus suddenly "self reliant" diving is cool.

N

 

[Mike]

Here is my theory - all the divers who beat the drum of solo as their alternative because they were driven to it by all the bad buddies they had, I cry bs, and point the finger back at yourself.

One truth that all are in denial of is that it takes two to tango. When your insta-buddy hit the bottom at took off, why did you not follow? When your insta-buddy never asked you about your air on a dive, how long was your discussion on the boat with your insta-buddy before the dive began?

I cry BS. Unless your buddy just plain out swims you, there is no such thing as an insta-buddy taking off on you. Many people who wear the solo badge on their chest and do so blamed on being forced to because of bad buddies, need to admit 50% of the guilt.

Two to tango, no matter how much you want to rationalize it.

 

[TMHeimer]

Mike, You make some good points. The #1 responsibility when buddy diving is to stay with your buddy. I'm no expert in recent years as most of my diving is solo due to distances and (car) gas prices. On one of my first boat dives years ago, my "experienced" (husband of an instructor on board) buddy took off on me. Being a newbie I was acutely aware that he was right there. I must've looked away for seconds and he took off to hunt lobsters. Perhaps behind part of the wreck--can't exactly remember.
While I think I agree that a certain amount of solo divers' buddy bashing is BS, I would guess that 50% of the blame being on those complaining is too high. Occasionally I have been the "following" buddy (off to the side, as usual) and found that the buddy did not check my location enough for my taste--and a slow pace with constant visual contact is always discussed beforehand. Perhaps he was going a bit fast. When the lead diver, I am almost constantly checking my buddy's location.
In contrast, a guy I met via SB came in from Alberta last year to buddy with me 2 shore dives of 60-100 fsw. Worked like clockwork. Sort of blew my mind. One of the best if not the best buddy I've had. Basic dive plan--I lead, we do this, we keep together & usual depths, times, etc. If everyone approached buddy diving like this guy we wouldn't be having this conversation.


So as I say, I agree with a lot you say, but probably not the 50% part.

 

[Bob DBF]

Nemrod, I love it when you sugarcoat the truth.

I never saw any anti-solo when I started diving. When I finally got certified I was on the NorCal coast and although trained with a buddy, no one had a bad word to say about solo divers, still don't. The anti solo, I think, started as the OW training declined in the '80's and the increased dependence on DMs and instructors began. The big change now is that the alphabet agencies have it in their marketing plan.

Here is my theory - all the divers who beat the drum of solo as their alternative because they were driven to it by all the bad buddies they had, I cry bs, and point the finger back at yourself.

One truth that all are in denial of is that it takes two to tango. When your insta-buddy hit the bottom at took off, why did you not follow? When your insta-buddy never asked you about your air on a dive, how long was your discussion on the boat with your insta-buddy before the dive began?

I cry BS. Unless your buddy just plain out swims you, there is no such thing as an insta-buddy taking off on you. Many people who wear the solo badge on their chest and do so blamed on being forced to because of bad buddies, need to admit 50% of the guilt.

Two to tango, no matter how much you want to rationalize it.

I have never blamed my solo diving on anything besides my enjoyment of the dive. In addition on many occasions, on this board, that divers should solo because they want to, rather than let anyone force them into solo. Also, that if one cannot dive with anyone, then perhaps they may not have the skills to solo.

Personally I have dove with some knuckleheads, but if I pay for a dive and want to enjoy it I will solo before diving with said knucklehead.

Other than on this board in these discussions few people know, or care, that I solo, even if we are on the same boat.


Bob
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The most important thing in solo diving is to make sure you are not diving with an idiot. Dsix36