From: jdale@cats.ucsc.edu (Jonathan Dale)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: Article in Current _SCUBA Times_
Date: 22 Aug 92 07:18:03 GMT
Organization: University of California; Santa Cruz
NNTP-Posting-Host: si.ucsc.edu


In article <BtCKBo.x4@scd.hp.com> dave@hpdstma.ptp.hp.com (Dave Waller) writes:
>In article <BtB3Cv.HwJ@ais.org>, tim@ais.org (Tim Tyler) writes:
>
>|>      Then I stared in disbelief at the line "I was pretty sure I
>|> was the only person in the water that night for miles. I liked that
>|> thought."
>|> 
>|>      I think the article is a clear demonstration that stupidity
>|> (not to mention irresponsibility, for daring to condone the solo
>|> night/cold-water/wreck/current dive in Scuba Today) isn't just a
>|> sign of novice divers.  Marty's article shows that it can be a
>|> symptom of anyone, regardless of dive equipment, qualifications, or
>|> experience. I guess for that, I am thankful to him and Scuba Today.
>
>It is far from a settled issue that solo diving is "irresponsible". Indeed,
>there are many in this forum who engage in such a practice, and there has
>been lively discussion in the past on this topic. I put forth some suggestions
>for rules that should be adhered to for solo diving last year as a starting
>point for discussion on this topic, and am still interested in developing
>a course for solo diving; I am only holding off on this until I complete
>a NAUI crossover, because I would like to seek sanction first from NAUI
>before hitting up the YMCA (they tend to be irrationally rabid about the
>buddy concept).

I think that, whether or not you think solo diving can be safe, Marty and
Scuba Today should have been more careful about how they discussed it.  It's
one thing to say you went solo diving, and what precautions you took, and how
you understood the danger.  This article seemed to say, "Solo diving is fun,
much better than having some loser tagging along, I recommend it to everyone."
Not only that, rather than saying how he planned the dive, the high currents,
sharks, wreck, and night conditions are mere asides, AS IF he didn't plan
for them at all.  Now maybe he did plan and take precautions, but the 
article is reaching a lot of people who have been told never to solo, and who
don't know how to current dive, or night dive, or wreck dive, much less solo
dive.  The article suggests they just hop in and do it!  What fun!  Glad 
they're not on MY liability insurance!  Solo diving _may_ be safe under some
circumstances, but these people have an obligation to warn people of the
risks, and at the very least direct them to the very important training most
of them don't have.

On a related topic, how do you teach a course in solo diving?  I mean, if you
go down with them, it's not a solo dive, and if you don't, how do you know
how they're doing?  I suppose you could talk about the dangers and safety
gear, then let them go, but would you really be willing to give them a card
for that?  That solo diver card says, you as an instructor are willing to
take responsibility for their life.  In most courses, you can at least watch
them dive, see how they do.  I wouldn't want to risk my insurance on something
like this, to say nothing of morals.  BTW, this _is_ a serious question, I
don't mean it as a flame.  But how _can_ you test someone's ability to do
something when you aren't there?