Posted by MHK on September 06, 2000 at 12:43:05:
In Reply to: Risks of solo diving posted by Ken Kurtis on September 06, 2000 at 10:51:35:
Posted by Ken Kurtis on September 06, 2000 at 10:51:35:
(was it KSDA?); Korean Scuba Diving Association..
Ken also wrote:
It's the second half of that statement I take issue with. It almost makes it sound like (and I think I know you well enough to know this wasn't your intent) that buddy diving is a panacea that will provide a solution for all life-threatening diving problems
I don't know if it is because of Bill Clinton or what, that now what used to be commonally understood get's parced and picked apart.
No one is saying that a buddy is a bullet proof way to save your life. But when comparing the chances of survival with a buddy versus without a buddy your chances increase dramatically. That's the whole point.
Too many people are parsing words and playing verbal gymnastics.
We hear and see all the time experienced divers defending the solo diving practice, and we also hear and see diver's claiming that they solved the OOA situation due to an alternative aire source ( ie; pony ), but that isn't the only potential problem that could come up. Entanglement, disorientation, lift source failure, to name a few.
Is it someone's right to solo ??? Sure. But what we are highlighting is that given all the deaths that we have had this year from experienced solo divers everyone should re- think it.
That's my position on this issue. But what I'm struck by is the menatlity, or lack thereof, from the advocates of solo diving practices.
There position comes from the menatlity that * we know the risks, etc. etc. etc....* then when someone dies, and it's obvious that a buddy could have saved them, they attempt to distort the facts and take the position that it may not have mattered, or better yet that a buddy may in fact be more dangerous. These people are living in denial.
You can't have it both ways. You can't say we know the risks and then when the price to be paid is called you can distort the facts to placate your desired conclusion.
7 deaths solo this year alone. If you don't want to wake up and change your own diving practices that's your own decision and you are free to choose that. But to get on an open forum and speak out in favor of such, you can be sure that those in opposition ( and I count myself in that crowd ) will speak out.
As the death toll mounts, as more diver's are getting watered down training, as more diver's are getting information from scuba forums, it's irresponsible to blanketly suggest that solo diving is an acceptable medium. I have been personally soloing for years, I have looked at all these deaths and have concluded that I don't want to be a statistic. I have changed my practices and encourage others to look at their diving habits. No dive is worth diving for and the more newer divers read these NG's and believe how *easy* it is to solo the more *unqualified* divers will keep doing it.
7 solo deaths in our area alone, what will it take for diver's to wake up???
If anyone is arguing that these diver's would not have made it if they had a buddy you need to have a good, long reality check because you are living in denial....
Later