Thinking back, what caused you to go solo?

[NothingClever]

In answer to the original question, nobody wanted to train like I do.

I had two choices - pause my development rather indefinitely or dive solo.

I chose to dive solo.

 

[Nemrod]

I like diving with buddies, especially with my wife as my buddy, but others as well. But, sometimes, even from the beginning, I prefer being alone, like this guy:



N

 

[Marie13]

Funny story from about a month ago at the local quarry.

I was about 70 minutes into my dive when an instructor (could tell from the slates hanging from his BC) suddenly appeared and asked if I was OK. I responded I was. Figured he probably wanted to use the platform for a class and went up. When I got to the surface, he was hanging out at the buoy with about 6-8 students. Said he was concerned I was by myself. Told him I’m solo certified. Much pearl clutching from the OW students. They didn’t know such a thing existed. He started clucking about solo diving. Told him I was working on cave class skills and had a lot of gas left (1800/2100). That changed his attitude big time. He told the students “this is a drysuit and sidemount.”

 

[BlueTrin]

I rarely solo dive (if I don’t count the lake training dives), but this started for me when my buddy didn’t show up the second day. I already had the SDI solo cert but that was my first solo dive from a boat.

My buddy had a bit of anxiety the previous day and I think she just decided to cut short the weekend of diving but she didn’t tell me until the boat was about to leave …

I am always diving with redundancy even with a buddy so decided to do the dives solo since I had been on these two sites before.

I actually found it so liberating to dive alone and really enjoyed these dives.

 

[scubadada]

Almost all my diving in Florida is solo. I like diving with my family and a few friends. Other than that, I prefer to be by myself, Much more relaxing and nobody cares about my route. I'm an easy buddy, slow and steady, not difficult to stay with. I always carry the flag.

 

[lowviz]

I always carry the flag.

Me too. He/She who has the flag can never be lost.

Flags totally suck in solo diving, but they do present an advantage when buddy diving.

 

[Bigbella]

All of the above . . .

Friends spread to the four winds, in and out of country; pursuit of photography; spearfishing; disparate schedules, especially during the height of the covidiocy, with everyone hiding under a f**king rock; a fear of night diving for some; the option of diving more on the spur of the moment; lastly, a conscious avoidance of those who rarely ensure that their gear is operable, when the opportunity arrives, and who manage to bollocks everyone else up, as a result . . .

 

[Gandalf-the-Diver]

I started diving last year, and like most new divers, I went through gas like Darth Vader. I found that my gas consumption being higher than my buddies, I was causing them to shorten their dives to come up with me. As I was doing a lot of drop in dives with my local LDS, they want ppl to dive within their certification, which means, I could not come up by myself, even through I was packing redundant air. Getting my solo cert, allowed me to dive with my friends in group, and yet, allow me to come up solo, when my air usage dictates, leaving my buddies to their longer dives. By diving within my certification, I am allowed to Solo on the group dives without having to worry about the shop having liability issues. My DM friends do not have to worry about me.

Edit: Since my Solo cert, I have now done 16 completely solo dives, including 2 night dives, these are not part of the group dives.

 

[happy-diver]

You know, I got solo certified I think 3 years ago to lessen the stress on the dive operator
Before that I had successfully lost every buddy ever assigned to me over an entire lifetime

 

[Gandalf-the-Diver]

I always carry the flag.

I always see people talking about carrying the flag. Started diving last year and not once have I seen anyone use a flag at any of my local shore sites. Now if there is boat traffic when I am ascending, a DSMB launch is always a good thing; but I have never seen or used a flag while shore diving, and they are not required by law to be used while shore diving, where I live. What are the laws in your area regarding flags?