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LKunze · 09-14-2004, 11:03 AM,

I'll take a stab. Because DIR is about team diving and the buddy system. Solo diving obviously has none of this criteria.

Freedive WI · 09-14-2004, 01:15 PM,

Dean,

4 people have died on the Willy- which is shallow enough to snorkel. The one thing they all had in common is they died while solo- although not all of them started out that way. One was a trimix diver, another was a very experienced instructor, the third was a commercial diver, and the last was 15 year old kid who got seperated from his buddy.

If people with these kind of credentials, and experience, can die on such a shallow wreck, we alll can.

Jon

DiveCaptDean · 09-14-2004, 02:48 PM,

Lonnie,
Too easy of an answer...give me more.

DiveCaptDean · 09-14-2004, 02:57 PM,

Jon,
Having not known any of these divers, or their qualifications..Let me put this one at you....A Trimix diver...there must have been special circumstances to that..was he inside? A commercial diver...i bet he was inside, and was he a freshly practiced diver on SCUBA. You mentioned an instructor....you yourself have stated that this means nothing because you have had to save them...and the 15 year old...Got separated from his buddy..so, he wasnt trained to dive solo.(was this the drysuit diver that removed gear?) In my statement, i mentioned that a solo diver is responsible for him or herself, and are supposed to self regulate their diving. They are supposed to regulate it to a point that they are not in a situation that they cannot get out of safely...Of these solo divers that died on the Willie, how many of them were within these limits.

Keep in mind..i almost always dive with a buddy and have no problem with the thought of a buddy....but what about deep, deep wreck diving..do you really think it is ALWAYS best?

LKunze · (This post was last modified: 09-14-2004, 03:21 PM by LKunze.)

LOL! Dean are you kidding? Though I'm not DIR what I stated seems pretty obvious why solo diving isn't DIR I think. There's no way they could have the DIR system if solo diving was acceptable. There's no I in team right? ???

Freedive WI · (This post was last modified: 09-14-2004, 04:22 PM by Freedive WI.)

The trimix diver died on the OUTSIDE of the wreck- just above the skylight to the engine room.

There have also been a couple of deaths in Wazze where the divers started, or at least ended up , alone. Even if everything else goes wrong, having a buddy there to help you out is never a bad thing.

You can still hate DIR, but your not going to convince anyone that the buddy system is bad- even PADI will go along with that.

Jon

DiveCaptDean · 09-14-2004, 07:48 PM,

Actually Lonnie, i was looking for more of a why as opposed to what their phylosophy is..i understand the principles...

and just so everyone understands..I am mearly trying to get some conversation going......I get the big picture......

If solo diving offends people..lets switch it to another DIR issue..Pick one! How about DIR in the non technical environment....or...why not bungies...or...why aluminum deco bottles....or....why bottle on left rather than right..or..anything....

DiveCaptDean · 09-14-2004, 08:03 PM,

Oh yeah...I dont recall ever stating that i hated DIR, or even that i disliked DIR..i'm pretty sure that i have only ever said that i dont believe in some of their priciples....I agree with you that it would be hard to convince most that solo diving is an acceptable form of diving....but there are those out there that think it is safer in certain circumstances. For the most part..where this is believed is well beyond any training that i have, and probably will ever have...but it does exist. I would imagine that many of you out there have this certification..TDI has it...Many believe that after completing your Advanced Nitrox Decompression proceedures classes, that you have completed the work of the solo diver class. What about instructors....if you are an instructor for an agency like PADI, Naui, SSI how can you fit into the DIR program...is this equipment configuration accepted by these agencies for an instructor to wear...in essence, you are a solo diver....or at least 2/3 of a solo diver...do you get a bye for this, or are their provisions for it in the DIR bible.

scubadog76 · 09-14-2004, 08:09 PM,

How about the need for a more clever acronym? ;D

LKunze · 09-14-2004, 08:58 PM,

Dean, are you referring to bungies on wings? If so I think there are three primary reasons DIR frowns upon bungies on wings. One is that it provides for a potential snag hazaard. If you're in a wreck and rub up on something the bungies could snag. Makes sense to me. Another reason is that the bungee wings will deflate air faster than needed and in the case of a puncture the wing will deflate faster. It will also be harder to inflate the wing at depth manually with your mouth because of the increased resistance of the bungies. Yet another reason that's been highly debated is that the bungie wings have more drag in the water. George Irvine said in the DIR II lectures that bungie wings provide a rougher surface with the ripple effect of the bungies cutting into the wings. A regular wing with a smooth surface will break the water better and have less drag. I think this argument while maybe true is probably pretty tough to prove and even if bungie wings do have more drag in the water it's probably pretty negligable. I guess in my opinion bungies on wings aren't necessary. I agree with DIR in that the most important thing is using a wing that has the proper amount of lift for the type of diving and gear you are using. Example, you don't need 50 or 60 pounds of lift for single tank diving. For around here 30 to 40 pounds of lift is ideal. For diving doubles you want probably 45 to 55 pounds of lift.