Ever find yourself diving solo unintentially?

I usually buddy with the dive guide. The last time we see each other is on the dive deck...

Talk with the guide. They want you to enjoy yourself and are always having to juggle people's requirements and abilities. If you know you will have the same guide for a few days then maybe behave on the first dive so they know you can dive!!! Then be sensible about it. If you have a wing and backplate then use that. You can get brackets for independant twins to save cost on renting manifolded twins. The bonus is that you don't have to change tanks between the dives!!!! As long as you have redundancy and know what you are doing then happy days. Guides are effectively diving solo every day!!!! When you are teaching open water is your student a buddy........NO!!

I agree with duncan. Every time i'm diving with open water diver students, i consider myself solo diving. When i'm on a new diving destination, i'll try the first dive to keep up with a guide (if he's good) to learn a few things about the local marine life. Especially the local guides can be amazing in finding stuff. from the second dive or so, i try to solo dive, or at least keep some distance from the group. Like already told, marine life reacts a lot different when you are alone.

I have a spare air system built in into my buddy wing (tekwing), wich not only allows me to breath, but also gives me the possibility to inflate my wing. Until now i've never needed it, but i like it it's there.

Hi guys,

I'm lucky in that my wonderful wife and dive buddy is really cool-she hangs out with me, points things out that I haven't seen, and warns me if situations change. She does get bored of me sitting in one place for a long time-tells me so (!) and we move on.

The issue is one of awareness and communication-whilst your buddy should stay with you, similarly you should stay with your buddy. If your buddy wants to move on, then they should communicate this with you, and you should take heed of their wishes.

There is often a conflict of goals on guided dives-the majority of divers (and guides) want to cover miles of reef real estate-us photographers want to concentrate on the few meters! I guess all you can hope for is a sympathetic guide.

As regards instructors and dive guides effectively diving solo-sorry but this is a myth. By definition, as both an instructor or guide you are diving with at least one other person. Even if their skill level is limited, it is up to you as the experienced and skilled diver to take control of any situation. Whilst buddies are more than just air supplies (spare eyes, arms legs and sometimes brains!), as a guide or instructor in an OOG situation, it is up to you to take control and make a safe ascent. This is very different to there being nobody around-which is solo diving.

In many ways the issue comes from a greater problem-in the old (!) days, divers tended to group together and go diving etc in groups that knew each other, and were often already in compatible buddy teams. To expect to arrive at a destination and expect to find a buddy who is compatible with you is frankly unrealistic. Similarly, to expect a dive center or guide to match you with someone who will share your diving habits exactly is unfair on them.

Adam

First off, thanks for all the feedback and for staying on topic. Plenty of options for chasing rabbits with this topic.

So, to summarize what I think I have learned by this thread:

Photographers either have a dive buddy that travels with them or they are diving alone. A few of those diving alone use a back up air supply, some use Spare Air, some use a Pony. Many would like to see a setup Pony available for rent at the destination.

All seem to recognize the main issues with diving alone but see no reasonable alternative that is cost effective.

Glad to learn I am not alone in this thought. Many times, as I am searching for the distant trail of bubbles from others, I have wondered, is this they way of other photographers?

Dave

I think it's pretty clear from the # of responses so far that you are NOT alone!! This has been a big concern for me and a sticking point with my husband (non-photographer) who insists that I am diving solo most of the time when he's not there. I can rely on my husband to stick around, and I have one other friend (also a photog) who I know will stay close, as well. With these two people ONLY, I am OK diving without redudancy, as long as the plan is to stay above about 75 feet.

I am very, very reluctant to buddy with people I don't know or haven't seen underwater - I have had a few harrowing experiences. When I am "buddied" with someone or or am booked solo on a charter, I'll either dive doubles (v, v rare) or more often, I sling a 19 cu ft pony (clipped at my left hip and chest) - it counteracts the weight of my camera, which is clipped to my right.

On vacation, I am generally diving with my husband - when I'm traveling solo, I arrange a backup air source and just bring a separate reg setup.

Safety needs to be your first priority - if you cannot get your butt back to the surface, what's the point of taking the pictures? If you have a major issue, you may not be able to get 100 feet.

Dive safe!

Allison

My hubby is also a photog, and we have pretty much the same approach to diving/photography, so I'm really lucky in terms of my buddy.

That said, I wouldn't mind having a spare air or pony bottle with me on a dive. With all the regulations and requirements for luggage these days, any one try to bring a spare air or pony bottle with them on vacation recently?

It used to be if the tank was empty and the valve was open it was ok. Does anyone know if this has changed?

It used to be if the tank was empty and the valve was open it was ok. Does anyone know if this has changed?

I have traveled with Spare Air quite a bit. As long as the valve is removed, no problems. Last time with it was 2 weeks ago. One time I forgot to remove the valve and got summoned over the intercom, had to 'meet' my luggage and remove the valve. All still got on the flight OK but I had the time.

Glad to see its not uncommon. I probably dive 75% of my time alone. I have thought about a pony bottle but instead went with the best 1st and 2nd stages money can buy. I always check my hoses for damage and change any I'm not sure about. DIN for the tank even though it does add an extra O ring to the system it is a far superior connection and gives good protection against knocks.

Cressi, free diving fins just incase a bolt for the surface is required.

Now I know thinking like that probably isn't very clever and many people mention to me about the hazards and they are correct but barring a castastrophic failure of a HP hose I really don't think its that risky (apart from the DCS issues a bolt to the surface would induce)........famous last words he thinks!!

Hi,

this might be a question like pissing on a wetsuit: "there are two kind of divers, the ones who piss and the ones that say they don't do it"

Just another question: do the Dive Center allows you folks to solo dive? Will them allow you to do the second solo dive?

my bad

Sorry if this comes up twice I pressed the mouse at the wrong time.......

To answer your question Carlos, if they are certified as a Solo Diver, they sign the TDI Solo Dive waiver, they need to have a redundant air supply and we stock 30 cuft tanks for people who are qualified. We also chat to see how well they know procedures and to make sure they have recent experience in solo diving and will keep an eye out for the first couple of dives, without bugging them. (Great visibility allows this to be done from a distance, but in lower visibility you would want to be closer)

If they are just a photographer that is wanting to go slow and take their time, then one of our guides will be around them (normally me and my camera) in which case there is someone there in case of emergency. This guide can also point out cool stuff to them and will go at the photographers place.

Last time we did this here I found an orange Hairy Ghostpipefish as I was just drifting around waiting and carrying the photographers back up camera..... something they would not of found on their own.

I know how frustrating it is to be buddied with non - camera or people you do not know and so this is our way of dealing with a difficult situation, which has always seemed to work well.

It's too bad it can't always be the way it is when diving at Lembeh Resort, where I was diving last fall. If it happened that we lost our group and found ourselves alone, we were specifically instructed NOT to move around and look for the Dive Guide, but instead to stay in the same place and wait for the Dive Guide to come to you. I can recall one time when I got engrossed in photographing an unusual critter. I lost the rest of the group and was alone, but did as I was told, and waited for the Dive Guide. I honestly could not figure out how in the world he knew where I was, as the viz was quite murky that day. But, alas, in a few minutes, sure enough, the Dive Guide showed up to get me. I was relieved, especially since the viz was so poor, that I was not alone any more.

Ellen

Hi all,

I'm a marine biology student, and as such most of the times find myself lacking divers to help when I do my work (who can afford to stay away from their office for 2 weeks or more?). So, I had to make do with whatever I have. Nevertheless, there were a number of times where I had close-calls (entanglement with ghost nets, stoopid boat drivers who went about their way literally next to my smb, being stuck in between boulders due to heavy near-surface swells etc, panicking [experiencing narcosis I think] and wanting to bolt to the surface when suddenly stung on my lips by invisible planktons. Many of those times, I think I survived just because of pure dumb luck or because I had good instructors teaching me the values of thinking clearly underwater, overcoming obstacles etc, being prepared with gears to help you survive in harrowing encounters and also diving according to your planned dives only (this includes the planned contingencies for accidents etc). Salute to forum members who came up with the manuals/guidelines!

But I digress. The question of this thread was "ever find yourself diving solo unintentionally?" Yes (during my leisure dives), and what I did was follow what was recommended in my open water course manual - search no more than 2 minutes, then surface and regroup or abort the dive. Have had to do that in reefs thousand of miles away from my home reefs and will still do that (God-forbid). Not willing to risk my life and my buddy's over leisure dives. My principal is "money can find, life can't find". I'm not a dive pro (DM, Instructor etc), so my responsibility is to get myself and my buddy out of sticky situations in leisure dives' emergencies. Thankfully, my girlfriend has been a great dive buddy where we always keep a look out for each other even with our cameras with us. So does my other dive buddies. We all stick to the same teaching in the same manual. And I've been diving for 10 years with more than 500hrs of leisure dives (yeah? so what?)....so, I'm not some spring chicken in diving though I still believe there are many more things I have to learn.

Wish I could have Spare air or pony bottles (what's the difference anyway? somebody care to explain?)

Cheers from sunny (oh no, it's bloody cloudy now) Malaysia,

Barttrigger

I travel with a spare air all the time.

No problems.

I also have the H2O2 Odessy system. Which is essentially a spar air that you can screw into any pony bottle. I think they sell it with a standard 12 CF pony.

I have found it almost impossible to get pony bottles at most of the destinations I fly to.