CCR Solo Diving

[john j]

I do occasionally solo dive with my CCR and have done all different kinds of solo diving like shallow dives, very deep dives, wrecks, ets.

Since in all of those cases, I was choosing by my own free will to perform these tasks, I think it is OK for me in my case.  I do not encourage others to solo dive, nor do I generally discourage them either unless I know of a reason why I believe they shouldn't.  It's a decision you have to make on your own, based on your own value system.  You also must consider that if you are killed or need assistance on the dive, there are others affected like friends, family, rescue/recovery personnel and the dive industry legal shenannigans that will occur.

It can also be argued that on a technical dive (like a CCR), if your skills and confidence aren't up to solo diving, you probably shouldn't be diving even with a buddy.  I don't mean that to be arrogant, but my point is that there is a lot of extra complexity with a CCR or any technical dive and it requires a high level of training and practice.  To some extent, all dives are solo dives and especially so in technical diving.  For example, on a long non-solo decompression dive, if someone gets an O2 toxicity hit or passes out while deep, there isn't a whole lot that can be done  to help the distressed diver without putting someone else at a major risk.  To the distressed diver, it is a quasi-solo dive.   To what length would you expect your buddy to go to try to save you?  Again, a personal judgement that you must decide and discuss with your buddy.   If I was in a situation where I had hours of decompression ahead of me I wouldn't necessarily expect my buddy to bring me straight up to the surface if I passed out or whatever.  Not only is my chance of survival nearly zero, now his is as well. 

If on a dive, you get completely separated from your buddy and cannot find him, you are now on an unplanned solo dive.  An unplanned solo dive is a very bad situation.  Much worse than a planned solo dive in my opinion.  You do have enough gas to do a full deco on your own don't you?

I always prefer to dive with a buddy because I agree that it is a more enjoyable experience.  It is also statistically safer based on data published on Inspiration CCR accidents.  However, a buddy can give you false confidence too.  Did you ever feel "ready" for a more advanced dive simply becasue you were going with a really good buddy that day?  I've been there and that's dangerous too.  Perhaps more dangerous than solo diving where a person is probably more apt to dive conservatively.

The Europeans generally have a less conservative view on diving risks like solo diving, etc.