Solo Diving during Photography

Well, here it comes.......

What is your oppinion on solo diving ( for experienced divers ?). PADI tells you it is safer...... well, not so sure.......

Case 1

Went down on the Hardeep for a fun dive inbetween a training dive, and in our group an instructor tooka tourist down for his first wreck dive. Well, it was not well timed, and we all know just how bad 'extreme' currents can get on the Hardeep. On the bottom, instrutor signals he has an issue, and asks me to stay with the tourist to at least give him his moneys worth on the wreck. I look at the tourist, and his eyes are as large as golf balls from panic. Never the less ( yes , bad decision, we all make them ) I decided to accept, mainly because this was his last dive before returning. Now here is my point. a) I spent all my dive trying to get him hold on to the line as he was being constantly blown away by the current. B) The guy was breathing like a steam train and basically on the edge of loosing it c) if I did get in trouble, would he have the capacity to help me ?

Another case, a guy who was in my group ( again, just met on the boat ) paniced, spat the dummy ( regulator ) started gulping water . Ended up having to resolve the issue as the incompetent dive master could only meakly say ' calm down '.

Point is, for me there has been very little benefits / upside, and on the contrary, I am placing myself at risk by being around these people as sooner or later they will complicate my dive, and potentially bring me down in thier panic.

I know it is a selfish view, but survival is not something to be treated lightly, and minimising risks is the best road to staying alive in this sport.

Another point is I enjoy photography. Having dived with friends, we always seem to loose each other in 5 mins due to visability problems / being focused on a certain subject. ( try to think of your buddy when you ahve a whale shark / manta in front of you )

Would be interested to see what your views are on how having a buddy will help. ( ok, point taken, with a good buddy, and maybe being stung by a stone fish, there might be some up sides )

FYI, I dive with fully redundant second tank ( 20 cft) with seperate regulator, so blowing an O-ring is not an issue

I think you list some classic examples of how the "other" diver and the agency benefit from the buddy system but you don't. Clearly the buddy system isn't enhancing your safety as you would like it to.

There is a class of situations that may occur that a solo diver can't protect himself from. These types of problems are rare since they don't include equipment failures, bad planning, etc. Still, a case against solo diving can be made and you have to decide how great or small that argument is. The fact is that buddy diving isn't about protecting us against those rare problems. but protecting us when we screw up.

If you can't reach your buddy and deal with an emergency in the time allowed by one breathe (under stress) you aren't really buddy diving. For OW divers, you can do this safely if you are willing to accept the risks. I think most UW photographers will admit that they don't strictly follow buddy guidelines and many will claim they are primarily solo divers.

My core group is dominated by photographers. Individuals pair up, but each of us is accustomed to singles roaming among buddy pairs, and each is prepared to finish a dive alone. If there is a problem with that on a given dive, we discuss it beforehand.

For an extreme view on buddy diving, check out "Doing It Right". Ask how your buddy techniques compare to theirs.

My opinion is that serious photographers are always diving alone. Even if they go in the water with a buddy. The only time they are not is when the buddy basically is following them around. I see a lot of married teams that do this. Yes I know some people make the buddy system work but I observed lots of buddy teams and if one has a camera and is a serious photographer they don't know what their buddy is doing over half the time unless that buddy is just following them around.

The times I go with buddies I have to keep an eye on I seldom take many photos. I spend most of my time keeping an eye on them and either don't concentrate to find the good photos or have the camera settings screwed up in some way without realizing it. If I was by myself I will have figured out the problem within minutes of starting the dive.

Acknowledging this fact I make sure I have the proper equipment. I always have a backup independent air source. All the necessary safety gear. Most important I always try to give myself a safety margin.

The Truth Aquatics boats here in Santa Barbara are good for letting competent divers dive alone without hasseling them.

All said though I do think its best to have people in the water with you that you are comfortable with. My point is that as a photographer you probably are not watching them as carefully as the buddy system requires to work properly.

I think being paired with someone on a boat you don't know or being put with a 2 man buddy team where they know each other but not you is worse than diving alone. They are much more likely to get you in trouble than they are to help you if you get in trouble.

What's the first thing they teach you as a rescue diver? Self rescue. I think buddy teams are a waste of time unless there is an emotional attachment or if you are tech diving. Otherwise, either they or you are a liability that could see the other person in court or cause their demise.

I can see both sides of the argument and at the end of the day, it is your descision what you end up doing.

If your a new diver, then diving with a buddy, in my opinion is extremely important, it builds confidence and teaches you quicker, you learn as a team.

I do solo dive, with or without a camera, sometimes I just don't want the hassle of looking after new divers or cowboy divers when I'm paying for a dive.

If you have the ability and correct setup then go for it, but sometimes having a buddy around to verify what you claim to have seen is very helpful!

Brett

Full agreed. For new divers, ahving an experienced buddy is important, but when you get a little more dives under teh belt, the benefits drop off, and the draw backs increase.

Carl

Hmmm. Although it should'nt be this is a difficult one. As a PADI & BSAC Instructor (albeit non- teaching status) I ought to sit on the fence as both organisations do not condone solo diving.

Point 1. Professionally, I would say that regardless of the UW activity and your potential buddy it should be possible to plan and stay with you buddy on a dive. Yes I know conditions may dictate otherwise but unless they are unforseen these can and should be planned ahead of the dive, even taking into consideration the extraordinary circumstances surrounding UW photography.

Point 2. Personally, I would say that it can be safer & more practical at times to solo dive with UW photography (and other specialities). By solo I mean starting off the dive as two, with an aim of returning as two, but no problem if you separate.

Point 3. In reality, it depends who I dive with. Most of the time I dive with my wife, Deb ( who is also an Instructor) and I know she gets very uncomfortable with separation on a dive. So we tend to keep pretty close. Although, having said that we currently have only got one camera between us which tends to allow for easy following. When the situation changes & we both have a camera I am sure this will be tested. If I dive with another buddy who is OK with solo diving, we plan to start and end the dive together and if we remain through the dive all well & good, but if not, no problem.

It may seem that I contradict myself in my thoughts but as said these are different trains of thought, and I believe there is no black & white on this. Even if there was I am sure it would not change the diverse opinions that are posted already.

Mark

What's the first thing they teach you as a rescue diver? Self rescue

A similar concept applies in tech diving as well, at least IANTD. If you're not prepared to do the dive by yourself, you shouldn't be doing the dive. Buddy teams are a great concept that can often fall dramatically short of the intended goal. Case in point is when you're by yourself on a boat full of divers you don't know and get thrown in as a third on an established team, or worse, paired up with someone you don't know.

I think there are situations as mentioned that do require a buddy, and there are some where that requirement should be relaxed. I'd personally really like to see a "solo" certification. That would most likely lighten up some of the dive operations, as the burden of experience and qualification would be shifted more towards the diver.

If I ever had other buddies apart from the Nik twins they could explode or be taken by sharks - I would never know unless I was lucky enough to capture it on film.

SO you are saying Deb suffers from separation anxiety? I had a dog that had that too. LOL

As a PADI Divemaster I will abstain from commenting as I am unable to comment contradictory to the PADI philosophy of training with out being jailed.

I just knew someone would pick up on the separation comment. I also knew it would be you Todd.

Wity regards the PADI philosophy...just add a disclaimer and say what you feel!!!

My last three trips I always had a buddy (SOD). I am researching getting a 13 cu ft as a back-up now. I feel competent, it is just the possibility of equipment failure. So I have always dove with a buddy...someone was in the same ocean.

ps SOD= same ocean dive

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Nice one. Not TTP are we by any chance?

TTP = taking the p***

Mark

As a lot of you are Instructors or Divemasters:

What a Instructor or a DM does with a student or a group of inexperienced divers isn't anything else than solo diving with additional responibilities and nobody questions this pratice and requests Instructors working in pairs.

IMHO the Buddy system works only if the buddys stay together very close all the time and give every second or third look to each other. This is virtualy impossible while photgraphing. When you do it in another way it is only fake security that is more dangerous than helpful (->DIR).

I think the best way for Photographers is "diving solo in a pair or group". This means (like Mark has written) dive together but don't "count" on the others. This can be helpful because there is someone who looks after you, that the ship don't leave w/o you and can maybe assist you if there is an issue uw, but you dive in a mindset that you have to solve your problems alone. If someone helps: nice - if not: ok.

Simon

Oh, yeah, forgot to mention that part. I'd ammend my statement on solo diving to add "assuming that the individual is properly trained and equipped".

In cold water, wreck penetration, and low vis, I always have redundant air source (among other things). That means either a 30 ft3 pony bottle with regulator and SPG, or a set of double 120 ft3 tanks connected by an isolation manifold with redundant regs, SPGs, and bouyancy devices (backplate / wings plus dry suit). In tropical water, I am a little less consistent about the redundant air source, although it largely depends on the destination (Cozumel for example) and the diving I expect to be doing.

Glad to hear there is a world out there. It is amazing how the offical documentation is buddy orientated ( yes, I have seen there are even publications coming out from PADI thinking about Solo... they are probably scared of loosing some business opportunity for a new certification ( imagine what it opens up Cert 1 : - Near Solo Diving Cert2:- Moderate Solo Diver Cert 3: - Advanced Solo Diver, deep solo diver and so on.....a real money spinner for PADI. )

Sorry for knocking PADI, there are good instructors out there, but I have seen alot of divers certified in Thailand which should go no deeper than a bath tub .( buy western operators ! - the Thai's from what I have seen generally train more thoroughly !)

I share the same views

1. If you dont know your buddy well, then better to be solo.

2. Hard to stay with your photography buddy when both you and they are 'hunting; different fish in different directions ( try it in bad viz ! )

3. The only times I have been in any bad situation has been around other new divers, and they screw ups I have made ( yes , we all have made them) , a buddy would of been no help ( my Polaris immitation.......)

4. My only concerns:- equipment failure ( got a redundant system now) , bad animals ( i.e. Stone fish) and the "washing machine" ( in Similans Islands - very bad down currents with your bubbles going down instead of up ).

SOD sounds good to me !

In cold water, wreck penetration, and low vis,

Tom,

Don't start on this other taboo subject. It'll need another thread

PS BTW this sounds just like UK diving

Mark

The only time I follow some one, is when I feel we can help each other looking for critters ( four eyes are better than two !.... ) ... as the other guys said, great to start the dive together, great to come out together if possible, but at the end of the day, dont rely on your 'buddy' to be there for you, especially when taking pics.

nuf said.

Hey, where are the Buddy System pro-people ? Pretty quiet from that side. For me, I think it is critical for new divers (as much as they think they are capable after getting a PADI rescue in 3 weeks). It will benefit them for sure to stick to an expereinced person. How about 2 new PADI certified divers diving with each other !

I never penetrate with out protection - or backups!

Bob, don't you think that's a personal issue?