Here are a few quotes from my cave training manual.
“If you are not comfortable making the dive solo, then you shouldn’t be in the water”
“The only rescue you can depend on is self rescue”
All cave dives are solo
Re: Wikipedia & Cave Diving
Correct me if I'm wrong, but...Originally Posted by aw
Last time I opened my N**CDS Workbook it explicitly states that solo diving should be avoided. GOOEY states the same thing and correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't NARCD state that in their literature also? If they are all saying the same thing then what is the problem with the guy's post on Wikipedia? You, or myself or other divers may have different personal opinions on Solo diving but I think an encylopedia entry should be devoid of them and should consist of "purely factual info about the sport"
Re: Wikipedia & Cave Diving
The new entry should speak for itself. It clearly discusses that NOT all agencies belive solo diving is bad. At least one British cave diving group teaches solo diving as a part of the course. My manual says nothing and my workbook (though likely older then yours) discusses the probable drawbacks - but doesn't at all forbid it.
In my opinion the new "rule" pushed through on solo diving clearly not a causal factor in anyone's death. (I challenge anyone to find a autopsy report saying some cave diver died of "loneliness"). It's not like running out of air due to improper reserves or getting lost (and running out of air) due to not running a guideline.
By some leap of logic being alone to some people will contribute to a diver dying or running out of air. This isn't the case - they still die of not running lines or of improper air reserves. However, an unfortunate consequence that the act of solo diving is a often frowned opon action places the diver in a group more likely to be found breaking other rules as well...
Thus those who made up this new rule mention it as a "contributing factor".
The solo diving rule was a belief or prejudice that was held by many that was pushed through DESPITE a lack of supportable evidence. With similar evidence we should be able to make a rule against wetsuit (or drysuit) diving, or any other common practice.
Death of a single member of the buddy team who got separated from the team an later died "solo". While those who oppose solo diving see this as support of their position (since they died after they became separated) I associate this with the inherent weakness of the buddy system IF/WHEN not all members of a buddy team are fully capable/participant in making the dive on their own.
Actually far more people die while diving with a buddy. There are a number of dive accidents where diving with a buddy has led to a double fatality. In a number of these cases diving solo likely could have prevented one or both deaths.
This does not mean diving with a buddy is less safe or that solo diving is more safe. A dive buddy with the skills and experience to complete the dive on his own is one of the best things you can have for most dives. However, when not all members of the buddy team are on that level that the result can be (and sometimes are) worse then when diving alone. Also there are places and conditions where a buddy can be a liability.
In short: proposing that the "various training agencies are now publicly in unanimous agreement" on the solo diving issue is clearly untrue - nor is the "at all cost" reference agreed on. It is likely that the various training agencies agree on very little outside the 5 central rules of accident analysis - and the solo diving rule is not one of those 5. Even the reference to the death of "a cave diving pioneer and expert" is not agreed on by everyone except those pushing this silly rule.
Re: Wikipedia & Cave Diving
No one said he was wrong. But, Solo diving has not been adopted as a rule by any agency so it's inacurate, saying it sould be avoided is like saying avoid silt out, drinking and doing drugs before diving etc. Some sort of politital statement had to be made by the agencies. It was not even in the book for years. I'ts a cover your A.. thing. The open water agencies started buddy diving so an instructor could train more than one student at a time. In open water it's practical to expect contact with a buddy. In cave environments it's simply not always something that is practical. That some people feel safer with their own skills than others is just a sign of the inate independence of people drawn to cave diving. Quoting agencies is not always a good thing to do since each of them has a different way of doing things. GUE also does not believe in Side Mount diving, ie because most of the time you have to solo dive to Side Mount. It is a system that was developed for smaller caves. You can go your entire career doing things the GUE way and there is nothing wrong with that. I perfer my way. Remember there are no set of laws for cave diving, no cave cops. There is a suggested set of rules and some things that make common sense that were developed to help people dive safer. No matter what agency you use or set of rules you will never by SAFE in a cave. That's something we all deal with in our head, where hopefully we are always solo diving. Sheck Exley also had a quote "If you stay in cave diving long enough either someone you know or you will be killed in a cave." It's part of the deal. I know people who have died in caves that were solo diving, buddy diving, with cards, without cards, scooter diving, fat, skinny, and just plain unlucky. We are entering into a environment that is not compatable for life for human beings, all we have is some gear, our minds and our training. Past training there are no rules other than the ones we make the choice to obey. If you want to stay alive you obey the ones that make sense to you. Cindy
"Philosophy is a purely personal matter. A genuine philosopher's credo is the outcome of a single complex personality; it cannot be transferred. No two persons, if sincere, can have the same philosophy."
--Havelock Ellis
An article by the National Secretary in the October 2005 CDG Newsletter explains quite clearly why the CDG advocates solo diving in British caves backed up by supporting references from the UK Health and Safety Executive. The last fatality in the UK was of an experienced diver in a very nasty sump. A buddy would not have helped and would probably have become another statistic. There is at least one fatality in the UK that can be attributed to "exploration fever" as part of a team - the outcome might have been different if the individual had been solo.
Solo diving has never directly contributed to any incident although it can, of course change the outcome. Solo diving should not be undertaken without adequate traning, experience and equipment configuration.
I think that readers have to accept that there are regional differences in approach to cave diving in just the same way that I would advise anyone from the UK visiting the US to drive on the right hand side of the road when there.
<insert politically correct seasonal greeting here>
The argument/discussion of solo has merits on both sides primarily because the individuals role in planning a solo dive can be from the very involved, as in exploration or to the very routine such as a pleasure dive within a system well known to the diver. We have recorded fatalities in each instance and it appears that the routine solo dive fatalities could have been prevented.
Early on the same discussion could be made for test pilots. Chuck Yeager didn't have a buddy nor did the original cosmonaut and astronauts. Yet today and everyday there is a co-pilot and an engineer on most transcontinental flights, mostly for the redundancy.
Duncan is right. I suspect he is referencing the incident last March in Low Birkwith cave in which there was testimony that it didn't matter if someone was nearby or a 100 miles away. The situation would have provided great danger to anyone who accompanied the deceased. However, for the most part, in the US and Mexico, within the more frequented systems it would be hard to argue that a redundant brain and diver could not be of assistance in the event of an emergency.
The CDS Workbook states that "... in 2001 ... TC Denny Willis added solo as a contributory factor" and now lists six rules. The NACD advocates that any team member needs to have the awareness of a solo diver even though part of the dive team. All divers should be prepared to challenge errors of judgment made by other members of the team, whether it being a wrong turn or omitting the use of a gap reel etc...
Happy Boxing Day Duncan!! /K
Hey Ken, I think scooter diving should be rule number six myself for American accidents. Look at how many divers died scootering! I think they outnumber the divers solo. I believe those last divers in Mexico had buddies that followed them to their death? I won't comment further on that.
Cindy, Oh Merry Christmas, THERE I SAID THE BAD WORDS.....
"Philosophy is a purely personal matter. A genuine philosopher's credo is the outcome of a single complex personality; it cannot be transferred. No two persons, if sincere, can have the same philosophy."
--Havelock Ellis
Yeah - even having 4 buddies somehow didn't save them (or 9 or 8+a guide depending how you want to count it.)
Funny cause I know a solo divers dive there all the time and never have a problem.
Another interesting thing suggested in the original article was that this one solo diving accident was the cause of all agencies getting together and banning solo diving. As if to say this one person was so important to the Global cave diving community that his death changed the rules for everybody and thus became the 6th rule. The recollection of my training is that the other five rules were a result of analysis of MANY deaths. And that analysis showed a trend toward the five basic rules. You can't have a trend when you are atrributing a rule to one single accident. It goes against the grain of how the other five were determined.
In addition (as others have already said), even all of the original five rules are not CAUSES. Several are contributory. So to say diving solo caused the accident is wrong. The original article even states having a "buddy present - a safe exit may have been more likely". Even the author of this article could not state with 100% certainty that a buddy would have changed the outcome.
"AT ALL COSTS"???? Solo cave diving is kind of like special warfare to the military. It DOES have its applications. The proof is in the pudding. There are too many solo cave dives being done where cave divers are returning safely. So it would be innaccurate to say it can't be done. Or to say it's just as unsafe as not running a guideline or diving your mix below 1.6 ATA PPO2, etc. In all these other instances, yeah, you may get away with it a number of times, but eventually your number will come up. I believe you could have a solo diving career and still die of old age.
I have had a solo diving career (with many hundred solo cave dives) and could easily have died two years ago of cancer. That should be proof enough of that theory already (except that I didn't actually die).
I did 15 more solo caves dive in the 9 months that I was being treated with agressive chemotherapy for cancer and dozens more before in the months leading up to the discovery and in the year afterward recovering from treatment.
Sure a buddy can improve your chances of getting out in some accidents - as well as lower it in others and double your chance of having an accident in the first place.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks