Solo Diving

[twinset trev]

I know several divers who regularly dive solo, and have always questioned their sanity, then one day on a boat, the skipper comes up to me and says that some dive gear has been dropped overboard when the divers were dekitting and as I was the only one with air left (I was diving a twinset)
would I go down solo and look for said kit. he knew what he was asking me to do,(he dives too)and understood if I had refused
After several minutes thinking, I said that I'd do it, after clipping on a spare pony as a sidemount, I went down.
my breathing rate was higher that usual I noted. Although I have been separated at a deeper depth than this dive, this time I knew that there was no-one else downthere should anything go wrong. I had full redundancy on air supplies and was very aware of my surroundings.I was constantly thinking that there was a boatload  of people 20 mtrs  above me, but If anything went wrong, only one me down there
and I had no intention of my daughter losing her dad.
After the dive (gear successfully recovered), It got me thinking about the difference between solo diving and buddy diving. If something goes wrong should you rely on a buddy to get you out of trouble, or should you be self sufficient.
If you get separated underwater and have to surface alone, you are effectivly diving solo. what happens if a o ring blows, or a reg freeflows. both of these have happened to me, but as I've always carried redundant air supplies I have sorted it out myself. A buddy adds a further safety backup, but should not be regarded as your main reserve of air, as sods law states that when you need your buddy, he's looking away, or thats the moment that he swims out of reach.I think that buddy pairs can learn from solo divers in being self sufficient, so that if something goes wrong then they can sort it out themselves, the buddy is just a further resource in case of emergency, but should not be regarded as the only way to resolve a problem

[Davey Willo]

Well said that man..... my sentiments exactly

[Driftwood]

Davey,

Coupla points.....

1) It's held in the T&C - highly appropriate for the UK

2) SAA lets you to 50m?? With SSAC you need to be qualified (To master diver I believe), have the BDO's permission and TWO suitably qualified DL's with you, all with redundant gear.... I think - could be wrong on the finer

3) You not gonna buddy me no more?

[Lou]

Interesting thread...

My concern is that it is getting slightly hooked up on the buddy as only an AAS.

There are other things that you can't do yourself that a buddy could save your a*** - entanglement, narcosis, sickness, unconsciousness...
These shouldn't be forgotten just because you have a redundant supply of air, and some spare kit.

Your buddy is also an extra pair of eyes to help you avoid these problems.

If the additional risks such as the above have been considered, weighed up and accepted then it should be an option, but to stop us all suffering when it goes wrong maybe there needs to be some guidelines?

It shouldn't be "accepted", or the norm, to avoid the lesser experienced taking the plunge without the proper consideration.  It should be an option for those with the skils and the wisdom to make a reasoned call.

Quite frankly, it doesn't appeal to me at all....I'd miss my buddy and our mad hand signal conversations!

[Tim Ingmire]

All,  a quick question.

From what I've read about technical diving esp Trimix etc, there is a very high emphasis on self-sufficiency ie. the ability to extracate yourself from the sh1t when it hits the fan.

Given all that emphasis and training what is the position on solo / buddy diving during that training and from those agencies?

[Driftwood]

SDI (who are offering the solo diver course) are the recreational arm of TDI who do all the technical courses, including trimix

see here

Does that answer your question? ;)

[Tim Ingmire]

Thanks Drift.

Is the position then that even if you are a highly qualified / experienced Trimix diver that you still shouldn't dive solo? - until you've done the appropriate course that is.

As some-one who can put down a set of keys and instantly forget where they are, solo dive isn't for me (and that's why I can now say that CCR def. won't be something that Ingers does!). I'd like at least some re-assurance that a buddy can provide if only to remind me that I've forgotten to connect my dry-bag inflation hose during a buddy check (which I did yesterday. Doh!)  I do however don't want to become a burden on a buddy if a problem does arise U/W, and I want to be able to sort that prob without first having to surface - given my level of experience thats not always possible but I am working towards that.

I can see tho that solo diving def. has it's attractions.

As has been said before, diving with a buddy is also great for the crack - I found the foursome that Ben, Gav, Paul and I did at St. Abbs was great fun.

Sorry, bit of a ramble that.

[Dominic]

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Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]solo dive isn't for me (and that's why I can now say that CCR def. won't be something that Ingers does!)

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Won't solo dive, so can't CCR...

I seem to be missing a link somewhere there.

[Tim Ingmire]

Did say it was a bit of a ramble..

What I meant was that CCR is a complete non-starter for me given my woeful absent-mindedness - even more so than going solo.

I am more rigourous in my diving activities than in most other areas of my life but doing all the necessaries for a CCR dive is beyond me.

[Gavin Yates]

I've stayed pretty quiet on this so far but here's my three-pence.

I don't solo dive. I don't mind other people doing it.

When you're diving with someone who's very inexperienced you're effectively diving solo. I still prefer this to being on my own.

A buddy is much more than a AAS and I love diving with my darling wife. We can discuss all the cool things we've seen and it avoids us talking about our lack of cash and broken household appliances.

As Tim said me, Paul C, Tim and Ben did a dive together in Abbs with buddy checks with one buddy but basically stuck together for the dive. That's four sets of eyes to spot the hidden lobbies, dabs, octopus etc and more air than you can shake a messy thing at.

It does make the aftermatch beer more expensive tho'

I carry a pony everywhere except in the pool and always plan to have plenty of gas for the dive I want to do plus a plan b and plan c.

Things can go wrong and do but with planning and training you should get back alive.

So, I'm kitted to be able to dive solo (albeit not v deep), I've got the skills/training to get out of every scenario I've thought of BUT I'll always prefer being with someone else underwater.