I dive often enough on the local charters that they know me. One of the boat
DMs is an AI, that I have worked with in classes. Frequently my dive
decisions are spur of the moment, the S.O. tells me to go soak my head, so I
sign up on the next boat leaving. ;-} Since I'm solo, they like to buddy me
up with 'newer' divers, or at least they use to, I've made my displeasure
known. On the other hand, they won't buy it when I try to convince them my
pony bottle is my buddy. If I can't find someone on the boar I want to dive
with, then I've taken to joining up with another buddy pair, with the
understanding that if we get separated they don't need to look for me. I
feel that I am paying the same as everyone else on the boat, so why should I
take on the newer divers?
I spend enough time in classes with new divers, so that when I'm on a fun
dive, I want it to be fun, not work.
On the other fin, we just finished a class of 5 last weekend, they were a
fun group, we swapped e-mail addresses, & I told them that I'd go on a
non-training dive with them any time. I don't do this with every class, gawd
No!
I also point the newbie divers to various clubs we have in our area, they
like to take on new divers, & have people who like to take newbies out.
Disclaimer -
I don't advocate solo diving, & wouldn't suggest anyone try it.
Solo diving, or diving beyond recreational dive limits is the Dark Side of
the Force...err, Sport.

Ed


----- Original Message -----
From: "Kuty" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2002 2:24 AM
Subject: Re: [SCUBA-SE] St John, USVI Trip


> At 29/05/02 09:41 +1000, Strike wrote:
>
> >Mate!  An "assigned" buddy can take all of the fun out of diving - and,
to
> >my way of thinking, *can* be potentially far more hazardous than diving
> >solo! :-)
> >
> >It seems to me that far too many operators, hung up on the "buddy
system",
> >overlook exactly what the term means and put an unfair onus of
> >responsibility on one or other of the divers in order to pad out the
bottom
> >line in their cash till!  :-)
>
> That's a great point.  The problem as I see it is how can we put an end to
> this fiasco.  Should we declare a divers' boycott on any operation which
> force the buddy system?  Should we support PADI's "solo diver"
certification?
>
> A tough call.
>
> Besides there is another angle.  Most of the novice divers learn a lot by
> diving with experienced divers.  The forced buddy system helps them find
an
> experienced buddy from time to time.  We can't knock this advantage for
the
> newbies.
>
> So?
>
>
> Regards,
>
>                     Kuty
>