Diving Alone

[rmptr]

Landman,

Thanks for posting the article regarding buddy system.
Very good information.

I shall always be a solo diver.
Not a stitch of training other than reading a padi book.

I've never entered the water without confidence, and a plan.
Options were always considered in advance.

To date, all my chosen tasks have been shallow.
I would make further provisions if considering deeper dives.

It wasn't so long ago, offshore from a nearby port, a whale breached and landed upon a fishing vessel, killing the skipper.
Some things, you cannot prepare for.

 

[James Edison]

Underwater hunting is my favourite!! I have diving instructor license too...HAha...

Hey, I found this blog about underwater hunting...i think u guys might be interested...articles i have read there is not bad...
Go and check it out...http://treasure-hunting-research.com/blog/

God Bless
- James -

 

[bsmg]

i dive alone in water temps that never get above 40F. most of my friends do it too, all but one.

i dive norton sound off nome alaska for gold. been doing it regularly since 1998. year before last an 'experienced diver' joined our numbers. he bought a new gold dredge and dry suit. since he had never opperated a dredge he had half a dozen guys standing by as he was learning to use his dredge in about four feet of water. all seemed to be going well as sand kept rolling off the end of the dredge. what the guys standing by didn't know was that the fellows arm had been sucked up the dredge and pulled his arm in to the point that his mask was in the sand. when we want a dredger to surface we give a tug on his air line. not enough to do anything but get his attention. well, they tugged. then tugged some more. then they pulled. nothing! then they pulled hard. they were trying to pull him and the suction nozzle and hose out by his air line. the air line held, and they got him out. he was unconcious and about the same color as my levis. mouth to mouth...cpr... he laid hooked to machines for two days until it had been determined he was brain dead. not from drowning, but from suffocation. sand had packed his regulator.

if you plan to dive alone do as i do. think about what you are about to do, then think about it again. then think about it still another time for the help you don't have. some survive diving alone, some don't. i am one of the few who has walked the bottom of the bering sea and lived to retirement. don't be brain dead when you dive.

 

[HowieYtown]

I've been diving since 1977 usually not alone but I have several times and usually only for working types of dives, boat repair, relic hunting, quick recoveries, searches or to tie off something. Having a buddy to share seeing something neat is great but also is not necessary all of the time in my opinion.

Diving alone should not be done, True!

But it can be done safely and if you know your limits and limit yourself to avoiding dangerous situations,.i.e. Deep dives, cave and wreck penetrations, strong currents, etc. Bad visibility its easy to get tangled in something, good vis makes it easy to go too deep.
I also think that you MUST have someone with you, diving or not, on the boat, shore or water! In case something does happen you might not be able to help yourself back into the boat, back to shore or call for help. And if the something goes wrong topsides like the weather turning bad quickly its great to have someone to signal you back to the surface. We have a bell that gets lowered into the water and rang if we need to signal a diver (usually me)

 

[scubadetector]

I also dive alone but I usually go no deeper than around 25' now. I used to go down a lot deeper but in the inland Michigan lakes I see no need. I feel that at that depth I can handle myself. So far so good!! I have been certified since 1980.

 

[Golden]

[quote nugget]On the subject of diving alone, for me it is a matter of necessity, as there are no buddies to dive with! I have done 4 solo dives since my open water cert through SDI. In all dives it would have been impossible for me to keep an eye on, and out for, someone else while I do my job. I have a lovely wife and 2 beautiful kids ages 6 and 4 so I plan my dives thoroughly and stict to the plan, for their sake as well as mine! I have been self reliant in a lot of different dangerous, and difficult situations in my life, this is no different. I use Personal dive computers, compass, ocky, SPG etc and carry a sharp knife in case of entanglements. The truth is I would rather dive alone with my detector, anything else is a distraction.

Hello Nugget, well, I just completed and passed my Open Water Diving Course through PADI and absolutely enjoyed it. Except for one boat dive where it was very rough and the first jump into the water took our group too far from the bouy. We had to get back onto the boat and get ready for another jump, this time sucessfully. We immediately descended to 18mt, and just enjoyed ourselves. There was a strong surge, but nothing to really worry about. I'd been hookah diving with my hubby for over 12 months in shallow water, no more than about 6mt depth, and it helped with my confidence, and I wanted to be certifed also. That's why I did the course. My hubby is an experienced diver since 1974 so I'm lucky to have him for a diving buddy. He's so level headed and cool, and nothing fazes him. We own all our own gear, and I'm hoping to go back for a dive very soon, ubnder a particular favorite pier of mine, detecting.
On reading this thread, and going by how I feel, I would scuba dive on my own, detecting, but for now I'd like to restrict myself to solo diving just on jettys and piers, until my skills are honed and I'm totally comfortable in my environment. But yes, I would dive alone, even now, if the opportunity arose. I;m interested in doing a night dive at some stage also, for the experience.
Golden

 

[kaptainkosmic]

Was given the nickname 35 yrs ago by a fellow I worked with and it just kind of stuck thru the cb craze and all.

HH Steve

 

[TenedorDelDiablo]

[size=large]I dive alone here in South Florida all the time! I don't go crazy deep....but one CAN do it safely! You'll want a Pony Spare air bottle in case you have a failure of your main system and nobody else around to help you out! Its all about self-reliance. The "creepy factor" goes up exponentially if you're alone in a dark lake though![/size]

 

[les666]

Wow you brought up a subject so close to my heart that felt I had to reply..

Ok so what's my history and qualifications, Royal Navy and commercial diver in the UK back in the 80s, now a Technical & Scuba Instructor trainer with about 10,000 + dives. (TDI SDI PADI CMAS SAA etc etc)

So firstly what is diving 'alone' or as we call it SOLO diving? its not just simply where you dive on your own, it can also apply to a situation where there isn't someone there all the time watching out for your safety. If you think about it scuba Instructors diving with students could be classed as solo diving with someone.. most training dives for the instructor are solo dives as the students have trouble looking after themselves, let alone someone else,

In the scuba world, diving alone or solo diving has for many years been the subject of controversy, yes it may have problems if approached in the wrong way, but these are normally always offset by the many benefits.. Consider getting that award winning photo whilst solo, offset against the problems with a buddy scaring the fish away.

Who is at greater risk, a solo diver taking pictures at 30 feet or a trimix diver with a buddy at 300 feet ?? ... everything has risks and you simply have to weigh up the benefits and dangers with each dive so there cannot be 'one rule fits all' for this subject.

Scuba diving international & technical diving international are the first and possibly the only dive agency who run SOLO diver courses; I run about 30 a year mainly to help out photographers but also for anyone who has a special need, or in many cases they simply cannot rely on a buddy being in the right place at the right time and in some cases its just to give them more confidence.

The way I teach this course is simply by a rule of redundancy or back up.. there is a 'nice' to have and a 'need' to have.

here are some examples... your diving at 20 feet on one cylinder, is this enough? if you are stupid enough to run out of gas or have a major malfunction you should easily make it to the surface, but yes it would be 'nice' , however your now diving at 150 feet and have a malfunction, would you 'need' a second gas supply with a second set of regulators?

Consider you are doing a no stop (safety stop) dive using a dive computer and it malfunctions during the dive, you abort the dive but do you need a back up computer to ascend? yes it would be nice.. however if you were at 180 feet with 90 mins of deco to do you need to have a back up..

Over many years of diving the incidents that I have been witness to mainly come in the early stages of diving, ie first 100 dives rapid ascents, out of gas etc etc divers then go on to learn a new skill, like rebreathers and think they can carry on at the depth they were at, no, it should be back to 60 feet max then each dive venture a few feet deeper......the same should be said for solo diving, start shallow till your happy maybe 20 dives then slowly each dive go slightly deeper, adding more kit as required..Too much too soon is task loading and is a sure fire way to cause a problem.

The points raised about an individual divers ability are very valid, but frankly if they have a problem with their state of mind, confidence or competence I would question if I would even dive with them as a buddy!! So how do I dive? I treat every dive as a solo dive, but often I take someone along (think they are called a buddy or something), must admit they are great to dive with..they always go where I want, hold the camera lenses and sit still for the rest of the time. My wife has grown wise to this over the years and is now refusing to dive with me if I get a metal detector...cant understand why, I only asked if she could choose the digging tools she liked best??

Well if this has helped just one person rethink what they are doing and dive in a safer way then it was worth the time it took to write, just remember there are far too many 'know it all' critics who are what we call, 'armchair divers', in other words they never get wet.

If you have any questions please feel free to email me les.maddams@hotmail.com

now all I have to do is find a reliable underwater metal detector which is what I came here for in the first place!!

Regards
Les

 

[Golden]

Wow you brought up a subject so close to my heart that felt I had to reply..
If you have any questions please feel free to email me les.maddams@hotmail.com

now all I have to do is find a reliable underwater metal detector which is what I came here for in the first place!!

Regards
Les

Gidday Les. I've been using the Excalibur 1000 when scuba or hookah diving and it's great! So easy to use. I just hate the old blue head phones as sometimes the earpart comes off, dangling on it's wire. I'm thinking about sending it in and getting it replaced with the yellow pair on the Excal 2.
Golden

 

[FatBoy]

Never ever dive alone....anywhere at any depth. If you really can not figure that out, go back and get re certified.

 

[king-ghidorah]

http://www.cisatlantic.com/trimix/other/solo2.htm

I am not even a diver and I thought the author of this article made some fine points.

 

[Golden]

http://www.cisatlantic.com/trimix/other/solo2.htm

Very interesting and informative article.

 

[Arkie John]

I mean, if you ever DRIVE alone, you might have a heart attack and run over a bunch of folks. Okay, okay. I admit this is fundamentally flawed thinking--but so is yours!

This subject has been beat to death like the Ford vs Chevy wars since I was 12, for cryin' out loud. But diving with a "buddy" is just rediculous in certain situations; like in little-to-no vis.

New divers, yeah maybe. But it is impractical for me and I've been diving a long, long time.

Never say "Never." If you do, say it sweetly because you may have to eat your words.

There are times and places for diving tandum, I guess. But if you are trained and stay within your limits, then solo diving is not out of the question. There is a place for solo diving and perhaps you need to realize that. It can be done safely. In black or dark water, you need a tender topside. Never say "never." You'll get tired of your diet quickly.

aj

If you must post to this message, how 'bout a PM? That way we don't bore the rest of the forum with a dead horse.

 

[JungleReaver]

I thought this article was great. Some very valid arguments.

I have to say i agree with the article and this topic, I am a pretty new diver (only instructional dives under my belt) but after i get the hang of things, I think i would feel very comfortable diving alone, especially if im treasure diving. I dont really want anybody else knowing about my find, or interfering with my working.

I dont really trust a buddy to look after me since most people go down there to enjoy themselves (key word). it is so easy to get seperated from a buddy even in considerably clear water.

Like the article says, you can only truly trust yourself 100% and ive always lived by that rule. i prefer to do it myself with whatever it is.

I think its strange how a lot of people do seem to frown upon diving alone, and it should be a rule of thumb not a law to live by when it comes to diving.

thats my 2 cents anyways

 

[grumpyolman]

I see another twist. It's liability!! Diving instructors pay a hefty premium for liability insurance. I betcha half your class fee goes for that insurance. Now think if that instructor and his/her sponsoring certification group indicated diving alone was OK. Somebody gets in trouble, while alone, and watch the attorneys come out of the woodwork to file suit. Instructors can't even hint that diving alone is OK. It's like your driving instructor telling you it's really OK to drive over the speed limit. Nobody here ever speeds.. right? Again it's somewhat of a safety issue. But don't be fooled. It's liability.. Jim

 

[feltonmichael]

To those of you who think diving with a buddy is safer think about this. By diving with a buddy your increasing the chances of having to rescue someone by 100% and in doing so your are increasing the risk that you put on yourself.

 

[Flyguy]

When I was a new diver I was asked if I could retrieve a sailboat center board that had gone in the water of a river. I dove to about 20 feet. Visibility was zero. I took some light nylon string with me to tie to the centerboard when found and that string was nearly the end me. I had strapped on a knife at the last minute, more for the macho effect on on-lookers than the thought I might need one. That knife saved my life. Lesson learned, take 2 knives. I got throughly tangled up in the nylon string, it's very strong, and for some reason that I can't figure out to this day I could not get off the bottom. I got totally wrapped up in that string and couldn't see a thing. I realized I would have to cut my way out of this situation. I very carefully removed the knife from it's holster feeling that if I dropped this thing it might all be over. I did get the knife, and began cutting the string. Bit by bit I began to free myself up from yards of string and after a few minutes I was able to make my way to the top. Meanwhile, right above me, a guy in an outboard boat had pulled up to the boat I had launched from. Even though I had a dive flag clearly mounted on the dive boat he kept his engine running... more fun and games. I think many people have no idea what that flag means. I got ot the top safely by moving away from the motor sound. I never told anyone what a close call I had - especially my wife. I told the guy I was doing the "retrieval" for that I just couldn't find it and he let it go at that. I really don't think diving with a buddy would have helped although maybe he could have come looking for me when I didn't surface after awhile. Take every precaution, be prepared for anything.
That's my story,
Flyguy