Views on solo diving?

[Houseplant]

Originally Posted by RobinSpence

I hate having to keep an eye on a buddy. All my stressful dives have been with buddies who have bounced along the sea bed, spent the entire dive behind me and then done a yo-yo assent

i agree. it's perverse from a safety point of view, but i'm happier with a buddy in blue water. in the UK, too much of the dive is spent making sure they don't go astray.

Originally Posted by RobinSpence

...are getting caught in netting but that is extremely unlikely on my chosen sites

that does worry me and is the reason i don't solo dive 100% of the time. having said that, some of the people i have dived with would not do anything but panic in this situation.

Originally Posted by RobinSpence

There is a book on the subject by Robert Von Maier (I belive it is related to the SDI solo diving course) however I wouldn't waste your time - all it basically tells you is that you need to be fit, have the mindset and equipment (guess what - a twinset!!).

i've been toying with the idea of the course for a while. maybe when i've got enough money and nothing better to do.

[Houseplant]

Originally Posted by steveharriss

I like to dive with a buddy so I can share what I've seen underwater.

this is a nice aspect of a day's diving, but the solo diver gets this too. i'm usually on a dive boat with mates, if not actually diving with 'em

Originally Posted by steveharriss

That's the only reason... other than the fact a good buddy will save your life when it matters. Literally. Don't underestimate the system.

buddy diving may well save your life one day, not doubting that. we all make our choices.

[Odin]

Used to dive the Bretagne most weekends in the early 90's
We put a permanent chain shotline on it; ended at 6m with a beer barrel, then 6m of thick line!

10l cylinder, Suunto SML 'puter (upgrade from my black Aladin)... in a Threesome (Oooerr Missus).
Pasties placed in oven and the we would enter the water.
We would all bugger off from the the bottom of the shot, and meet back at the bottom of the shot after 40 mins.

All 3 of us were very experienced, 500 - 1000 dives EACH.
We planned the dive, knew the wreck, and had fun.
The wheel house and bog were still in place in those days!

Back onto the boat and the pasties were heated through perfectly!

The point is were were EXPERIENCED, GOOD MIND SET and PLANNED the dive. Were we happy with our kit configuration - "KISS"
Today I use a YBOD... and have a cold pastie - RIB diving.

I enjoy solo diving - but also enjoy diving with a buddy.
I will wander down to Babbcombe or Exmouth and have a solo dive.
Dived the SKAALA last year on my own...

But I do like to have a GOOD EXPERIENCED BUDDY I do not have to babysit throughout the dive.

Paul

[Okeanos]

Originally Posted by Aerodive

What do people think about solo diving?
I'm getting my first cylinder and mabe a pony bottle this summer, and was considering the possibilities of the odd dive if i couldn't get a buddy.
Nothing too mad, just little bimbles around previously enjoyed shore sites in cornwall or a dip off one one of the beaches we like to use, to explore while the rest of the clan do beach stuff.

I know this could be contentious!, so no bad manners or ungentlemanly language!.

I complete 100 or more solo dives a year around Cornwall, I only dive with someone else if they have asked me to or I'm teaching.

I even teach Solo Diving!

[BJ]

Like most things in life - there is no simple answer:

Solo diving could be bad. It all depends...
Buddy diving could be bad. It all depends...
Diving could be bad. It all depends...

But it's always certainly worth having someone on the surface who knows you went diving.

[ChristianG]

Originally Posted by BJ

Like most things in life - there is no simple answer:

Solo diving could be bad. It all depends...
Buddy diving could be bad. It all depends...
Diving could be bad. It all depends...

But it's always certainly worth having someone on the surface who knows you went diving.

Quite so.

from aquaCorps Issue No
solo diving
solo diving

I'm getting quite bored dredging these up.

I do think that the first one should be the one people particularly take note of. It's the first one that I know of, probably the first one ever, and makes a lot of sense - to me at least. Actually I think Bob, as intelligent as he is (despite being a Pom ) managed to gather his thoughts as well as those of his guests, together in a pretty coherent form. Of course people diving off Telita in those days were mostly photographers and didn't, therefore, want to know about buddies - unless they were petite, shapely females with maxi glass masks, lots of costume changes and who knew exactly what you wanted them to do by those pathetic hand signals we employ underwater.

Even then I find it odd that he doesn't have it on his own website.

You ARE master of your own destiny, including underwater.

[Aerodive]

As it stands, i wouldn't even consider solo without a pony rig as a redundant backup. I've done 50ish dives and trained to PADI RD standard, having had a few unexpected problems and dealt with them without panicing along the way. Practising my photography would probably be my goal, which i know from experience of buddying photographers practically makes it a solo dive!. Shore backup that knows where you are has been a must on every dive to date.

I'm looking for a cross-section of opinions and you're doing me proud! (as usual), any snippets of advise or experience are also warmly received by the aerodive clan (as always).

[Sheff diver]

Originally Posted by Juz

IMO, if you were actually in that place, you wouldn't need to ask the question.

Juz

I think this just about covers it. But then it also covers a lot of other things as well.

It's not just the number of dives, it's the type of dives as well.

Marcus

[ChristianG]

Originally Posted by Okeanos

I even teach Solo Diving!

Hmmmmm,

Does that include in-water instruction?

[David Tombs]

Its like so many things its what you do not know that often does you harm. Certainly doing the Cavern and intro cave courses with MF has made me much more aware of the kind of situations you may find on solo diving. Certainly you have to pick a safe site at first. Things still crop up that I would not expect,and we all have dives when things are not quite right. But I can see that a poor buddy may lead you into a false sence of security,and indeed raise risk.
Just be (ultra)carefull and stay safe