Posted by Green_Manelishi on January 08, 2001 at 11:46:34:
In Reply to: DIR: two unanswered questions posted by AADIVER on January 08, 2001 at 10:53:36:
MY opinion with some historical (and hysterical?) info
1. Why is solo accepted, even encouraged, in other risky sport activities, including flying, but not in scuba?
diving was long-ago taught by a lot of swimming
type guys and the first rule of swimming was
'no alone'. it would ruin mom and dad's day
to find you face down in the old swimming hole
because you swam too soon after lunch.
way-back-when equipment was not as reliable
as now so a buddy (good one) was helpful for
WHEN it went south.
if you are flying, you are likely in the same
aircraft so if it fubars ... tough luck. you
both die ;-) better to take only one for a
high-impact landing. on the other hand if YOU
fubar, a buddy, assuming he/she knows how to
fly would be handy. additionally, if something
fubars that you need to address but cannot
chance 'letting go of the steering wheel' a
buddy would be handy.
perhaps we should re-think SOLO flying and
issue parachutes?
as for other dangerous stuff: i would not
encourage ANYONE to free-solo on rock climbs
but i know that it is done. hell, i've wit-
nessed it. hell, i've done it but i was only
10 feet or so from the ground and i think it is
more technically referred to as "bouldering".
PERSONALLY speaking: i would RATHER dive with
a buddy. It is more enjoyable and i like
having the extra set of eyes and hands. But
sometimes my "buddy" is my top-side wife or
the boat skipper who then waits for me to
surface. having a buddy (a good one) can also
be a calming influence and that extra set of
eyes/hands can be VERY helpful in a non-
stressful situation. it could be LIFE saving
in others.
2. How do we find DIR buddies that have our same gear configurations and are willing to dive our prefered profiles, i.e., artifact recovery, photography, game, etc., and go as often as we want to go?
damn. that is the bugger. around here there
are darned few year-round-divers and many of
the ones i know:
1) i don't enjoy diving with as their idea
of buddy diving is "same ocean"
2) are not DIR but i DO enjoy diving with them
and we agree upon a mutually enjoyable
dive plan. i hope that seeing my equipment
encourages them to adopt the same config.
3) are progressing to DIR but are unable to
dive as often as I (my wife keeps reminding
me of how good i have it)
so, for me i dive with 2 and 3 as often as
possible and if they cannot i dive solo (NOT
"DIR").
personally speaking i cannot think of anything
LESS enjoyable that scratching in the mud/silt
looking for 'treasure' but that is what my
wife wants to pursue. I will therefore dive
with her as i trust very few others were she
is concerned. She is going to be learning "back
plate" diving this coming summer. I guess i
am kind-of 'growing my own' as it were ;-)
as for you. try posting on boards etc. i'll
bet you are not the only one asking those
questions.
And a third: how far down the road will helium be widely available for trimix fills?
that i cannot tell you but i expect that as the
benefits of it become more well known it will
become more popular but i don't know if it will
become less EXPENSIVE. i suspect that he will
not supplant EAN as it is of 'questionable'
benefit for those who are not in the
narcosis zone.
with that said, it introduces its own set of
idio-synracies though so you need to account
for its presence.
did i answer your questions?