Potential Emergencies in Solo Diving

[Ice Diver]

Being a diver in a small town in Northern Ontario, with limited diving buddies, solo diving is training that really interests me. In a lot of the solo diving threads, the philosophy for being a competent solo diver seems to be on a having a certain mindset, and training that emphasizes being prepared and ready for the unexpected. Im just curious, what are some of the less obvious emergencies that could happen in solo diving (that wouldnt be issues if you had a dive buddy), besides the obvious, entanglements, ooa, equipment failure, narcosis, bad air? Im guessing a major part of the course is trying to simulate every possible emergency that may arrise and how to deal with them on your own.

 

[drbill]

Personally, my statistics indicate that over my thousands of dives (the vast majority done solo) my greatest risk of incident occurred when I was diving with a buddy. I've had two incidents diving solo over the decades. The worst one was when the dip tube inside my tank got clogged cutting off all air flow out the valve and I had been lazy and not mounted my pony bottle. I thought I was going to a max depth of 40 ft and ended up at 80- ft when the air supply was cut off. Had I dived with my pony this wouldn't have even been an "incident."

Yes, things such as entanglement, narcosis or bad air can be far greater problems diving solo. Being more aware diving solo can help avoid the first. Knowing your depth limits and tolerances for narcosis can alleviate the second (although these can change). You may or may not be able to detect bad air before it creates a problem.

Although I live in a popular dive destination, I rarely dive with a buddy. The divers I know here are most dive professionals who are working when I'm diving and most of my incidents diving with a buddy occurred with pick up buddies so I avoid that situation. Besides, a buddy distracts me from my filming. However, if one of my "regular" buddies is available (including my son), I enjoy diving with them.

 

[Bobby]

One of the bigger hazards goes for both solo and team diving which is not knowing what you don't know. By that I mean not understanding clearly your limitations or when you are near or over them. With any type of diving, and more so with solo diving, critical thinking about every dive before, during, and after will help gain understanding of limitations and abilities.

 

[Kharon]

Like the "Boy Scout Motto" BE PREPAIRED. Absolutely independant air (configured to be available on the spur of the moment), cutting tools (multiple), quality computer (buddy or not - essential), surface buoy, safety stop marker or flag (as needed)

 

[DevonDiver]

Aside from (non-diving) medical issues and the incredibly rare issue of a life-threatening marine life injury; the only thing that will kill you is, quite simply, not having enough time to get to the surface.

An equation between:

Time to Breathe. Time tends to be dictated by gas supply;. Gas = time = life. Carry the correct amount of gas for the planned dive, for contingencies etc.

and

Time to Surface. Getting to the surface is the other variable. Depth, ascent speed, entanglement, decompression, disorientation... all factors that influence your 'time to surface'.

Safety is simply dictated by covering as many reasonable options as possible, to ensure you have more time to breathe than time to the surface.

This can be approached by:

Increasing Time. Larger gas supplies, redundant air sources, gas reserve strategies (rule of 1/3rd, rock-bottom etc) etc

Decreasing Distance. Accurate dive plans, conservative depths, no-decompression, cutting devices, guidelines, situational awareness etc

 

[redacted]

Don't forget pre and post dive requirements. Nobody is going to be helping or checking you out. Being old with some joint problems, getting in and out of a wetsuit and my BP is no trivial concern so I have to make sure selected sites accommodate my requirements. A book and a mentor to discuss things with should provide you all the knowledge you will need. Then it is a matter of attitude and skills.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Being a diver in a small town in Northern Ontario, with limited diving buddies, solo diving is training that really interests me. In a lot of the solo diving threads, the philosophy for being a competent solo diver seems to be on a having a certain mindset, and training that emphasizes being prepared and ready for the unexpected. Im just curious, what are some of the less obvious emergencies that could happen in solo diving (that wouldnt be issues if you had a dive buddy), besides the obvious, entanglements, ooa, equipment failure, narcosis, bad air? Im guessing a major part of the course is trying to simulate every possible emergency that may arrise and how to deal with them on your own.

Well if you don't consider gear failure, OOA, Entanglement, Narcosis, bad air....then I think the remaining things a buddy can help with would be: Sharks, medical emergencies and general assistance with gear and entry/exit and maybe navigational checks (but a few of those aren't emergencies).

 

[Dsix36]

The ONLY way to solo dive safely is if you make sure that you are not diving with an idiot!!!!!

there is also the need to think about redundancy in all of your gear, since a buddy will not be there for a failure with yours. Like lights, knives, regulators, air supply, etc.

 

[raftingtigger]

The potential problems are the same, but the risks are different. With solo diving you are the only one that can deal with the problem. Simple to fix items (like a looped line around your valve) are trivial to fix with a buddy, but require a different approach when solo. If you become incapacitated there is no one else to help, therefore you are now SOL.

Redundant gear. If you can't live without it, then you need a back-up. For OW this usually means air supply, cutting devices, depth gauge, and mask (unless you are very comfortable no-mask and do not need to either navigate or make a safety stop).

You also need to be able to do all anticipated tasks comfortably without the aid of anyone. That includes entry/exit, suiting up, etc.

I highly recommend you at least read the SDI Solo Manual AND get a independent evaluation of your diving (from a formal eval to what your buddies think of your diving). In some case formal training would be a good idea. If you have doubts - then you need to assess those carefully before solo diving.

Remember it is often what you don't know that you don't know that bites you. And yes, I do solo dive.

 

[bbarnett51]

Redundant gear but also skills like navigation, free ascents, etc...

I think experience is important simply for the mental aspects of things.

I prefer to dive solo over most buddies.