From: spindler@rcf.rsmas.miami.edu
Subject: Re: Article in Current _SCUBA Times_
Reply-To: spindler@rcf.rsmas.miami.edu
Organization: RSMAS
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 92 21:03:17 GMT

In article <1992Aug21.011306.15229@odin.corp.sgi.com>, 
mango@nova.esd.sgi.com (Eric Manghise) writes:
>
>	People are solo climbing mountains, kayaking down class IV and V
>	rivers, jumping out of airplanes, jumping off 400 ft high towers
>	with bungy cords attached to them, racing cars around tracks at
>	200mph+, skiing off cornices, are these people stupid. 

Regardless of the experience and competence of people engaged in these
activities, the fact remains that these are high-risk activities. Each year
people are injured and killed while participating in these activities.  Like
diving, these sports can be very unforgiving to mistakes and are prone to
unforeseen  events.  Whether the participants are highly-trained and
experienced people, or just casual participants, one of their common goals is
to reduce the risks to acceptable levels.

Without continued effort in this direction, diving could conceivably end up
like bungee-jumping, which was recently banned in Florida (although I think
they may have lifted the ban for commercial jumping facilities) because of the
spate of bungee-jumping deaths and accidents around the country a couple of
weeks ago.  

>	
>	It sounds like you have been totally indoctrinated into the world
>	of PADI which preaches never dive without a buddy, which is not
>	bad advice. But wake up to the fact that people are soloing diving
>	and it has been going on for a long time. I am sure Mr. Snyderman
>	has taken certain precaution to be redundant and safe. There are
>	always going to be people who push the edge of the envelope and
>	are going to be judged as stupid or radical. There is a point
>	you will reach someday (maybe) in your diving where being underwater
>	is as comfortable as being on land. It takes a long time to come
>	to the point where you can solo dive and feel good about it. There
>	are safe ways to solo dive. Hunters and photographers have been
>	doing it. A buddy is someone to share the dive with, he or she
>	is not your bailout bottle and as such you shouldnt rely on your
>	buddy to save you in an emergency. You should be prepared to bail
>	yourself out of any situation.
>

There are situations that occur in diving that can prevent a single diver from
extricating himself/herself from danger.  Being prepared to save yourself is
good practice, and being self-reliant will help you to deal with an emergency. 
But the fact remains that even the most experienced and professional of divers
can encounter a situation that is more than he or she can handle alone.  A
buddy is not there just to share in the adventure.  The buddy is another level
of safety-netting to be available in case of an emergency.  While this is close
to the standards as taught by PADI, NAUI, SSI, or any of the certification
agencies, it is also simply conservative wisdom to be applied to any hazardous
activity (although I don't think I'd want to share my bungee cord with a
buddy... 8-) ).

You are correct that there is now and will in all likelihood continue to be
solo diving.  I beg to differ that solo diving is a goal to aspire to, however. 
Those that choose to solo dive do so in the knowledge that they have one less
level of defense in the event of an emergency.

>
>	If Marty penetrated the wreck without a line and a buddy, then
>	I would have to say that was stupid. But if he just swam around
>	the wreck and had a redundant setup than he was doing it by the
>	book. 

Again, not true.  "The book" as stated above does not advocate neglecting the
buddy system.  This is not to say that Marty is stupid.  Far from it!  As a
professional he simply evaluated conditions and chose a somewhat higher
risk-level for his diving.  I would not, however, recommend this practice to
anyone, as choosing to increase the risk in diving is not something I would do.

----
Todd Spindler                                  
TSpindler@rsmas.miami.edu                 RSMAS/MPO  University of Miami

Newsgroups: rec.scuba