Anything else I should have/do

[PaulChristenson]

I do a lot of solo dives and my loved ones regularly express concern as I'm sure many of you also experience. I've read through a great many of the posts here and talked to other solo divers but I thought I'd post what I do to minimize risk and ask if there are other things I should have or do short of not soloing.

Things I have or do:
1. I am comfortable with and confident in my gear
2. I dive an area I litterally know as well as my backyard
3. I carry a sturdy and sharp knife
4. I carry a pony bottle
5. I almost always dive under 30' and never more than 40'
6. I "file" a dive plan
7. I have a bcd mounted air wistle
8. I carry a signal tube

So am I missing anything?

Depending on where you are diving...you might need a Diver Flag/Float with tow line

Paul in VT

 

[Nemrod]

You might also consider a signal mirror, small UK flashlight, glow tube, dye pack etc. I pack these in a small flat net bag. I clip it, my finger spool and SMB on the rear D ring of my BP except for the UK light which goes on my right shoulder under a bungee and clipped to the D ring.
You might need a flag and float, I used to use old inner tubes with a net or even ply floor. Then I discovered inflatable boats and now I have discovered kayaks.
If you look at my avatar you can see the SMB clipped to my rear D ring. It looks like it is floating up but it is refraction, it is securely clipped to the D ring on the crotch strap. N

 

[BigTuna]

How about a pre-entry checklist. Why? For the same reason that pilots use them before take-off. They're pros and know it all from soup to nuts, but they're human, too, and prone to missing something that could prove to be critical. Astronauts and other pros use checklists extensively, too.

How about mental rehearsal of all aspects of the dive (including entry and exit), of special skills needed, and of basic scuba skills. Pre-activity rehearsals somehow precondition the brain for optimal responsess.

Checklists and mental rehearsals can help fight the effects of rust that accumulates in the mental machinery when we can't practice our skills as often as we would like.

 

[Hawkeyegregg]

Thanks guys. Some good stuff to consider. Someone asked about how I file my plan and I do that with my wife. I also have the towed dive flag and when on the surface I have an extendable 5' pole with a dive flag. I don't have a written check list and that is a good idea. I do the mental check list a few times before each dive. I don't think I am any more careful on solo dives than on buddy dives but that is because I treat a buddy dive as seriously as a solo dive.

 

[Blacthorn]

Hawkeye makes a great point at the end there. Every dive should be treated as a solo dive, no matter if you are with no one or with a 1000 people all of them SEALs, when you are diving you should take care of yourself, and make sure you are alright. Check your own equipment, your own procedures and limits. The life you save just might be your own...

 

[WPBdiver]

Hawkeye makes a great point at the end there. Every dive should be treated as a solo dive, no matter if you are with no one or with a 1000 people all of them SEALs, when you are diving you should take care of yourself, and make sure you are alright. Check your own equipment, your own procedures and limits. The life you save just might be your own...

Well said!! Welcome to the board. Amazingly, you will find though that this principle is not very well taken by some on this board. It is only common sense to me.