Aspiring Solo Diver

[waterpirate]

Waterpirate: nobody is making you read this.

The point (to me) is discussion, and making me think of things I hadn't thought of. To that end, this thread is succeeding admirably.

For example, Devon's last post just suggested something I hadn't thought of, but seems pretty damned obvious now:
1. A real danger is a solo diver thinking they are ready for a situation which is going to start them down the panic path, and believing they can deal with it. (I agree with that.)
2. So duuuh --- since people are offering courses where in fact they *do* make you undergo exactly this stress, under (I hope) suitably controlled conditions, and then evaluate how you did... (and you yourself can feel how you did)

... that's the perfect opportuntity to stop wondering how you'd do in a hypothetical situation and actually find out.

Sounds like a damned fine idea to me.

The use the search function in this forum would have regurgitated the same results, found in this thread sans Devons input, he is new.
Eric

 

[Tim R Alcoser JR]

Thank you for the specifics. I understand what you are saying. (And while I might have focused my remarks on avoidance, I'm equally focused about thinking what I can do to prepare for things. Kelp? Keep aware of that overhead environment, and don't surface into it... Ascending? are you listening for that boat? etc.)

I get that it's not one thing: most of the accidents turn out to be a completely absurd chain of things bundled together until at all breaks. I do keep in mind, at all times, the accident chain: (and I read the accidents/incidents section of this board all the time, to learn things and constantly think "what if"). You have to be aware of it, to break it, no doubt. (If you've ever read an account of Chernobyl, you realize how truly remarkable that disaster was: it was if someone had a well-thought out plan to get down a chain of 10-20 steps to cause a meltdown, any one of which could have halted the disaster, or severely mitigated it...)

I have to say, the incident which resonates the most is #2 (being stung). But you did cheat slightly: I said what has happened to *you*: you did not experience hypothermia, yourself. I am curious to know if you imagine that *you* could have this as a danger, diving in conditions like Monterey or Casino Park, for yourself?

I was actually thinking you would relay some catastropic equipment failure that was a severe danger at 40'. I'm sure these things happen: but has it happened to you in 2500 or so dives? (Not a challenge, a question.)

Like I said, I am really curious to know what things are likely to happen, if you keep at diving long enough.

As for medicals, I can't argue with that. Sadly, I know two people who died (likely) from medicals, while diving --- neither solo.

Well, the point is moot, for me, for a while: my next couple of dive trips, certainly all the way through October, are almost certainly going to be nothing but buddy diving, as it turns out.

Mr. Alcoser, if you're reading this far: take my remarks, put them on a scale with one pound, put Devon's remarks on the other side with a weight of about 100 pounds, and make your own decisions from there.

I am reading everything in this thread, sir. My end goal is still to become a solo diver. I think I realized many of the risks well before I even posted, but I am still learning a ton out of this thread and this section of the forum.

My first step to meet this goal has been to join a local dive club (Southern California Dive Club of the Inland Empire) and continue to do dives with them once or twice a month. Then I plan on buying redundency gear and eventually making my first dives in the pool, followed by my first dives at the Catalina Dive Park...but that's not until way down the line and probably not until I've had plenty of my own experiences and realize I am ready for this sort of thing.

Again, I don't think I will ever Dive below 40 feet, or in a lone area without other divers nearby, ever, at least not until I reach Dr. Bill "status".

I'm an avid photographer and I think I will eventually be using those skills underwater. Solo diving is something I want to keep thinking about and planning for, actively on every dive, so that when the time is about right, I'll know and have thought about it well in advance.

 

[DevonDiver]

The use the search function in this forum would have regurgitated the same results, found in this thread sans Devons input, he is new.
Eric

By that logic, we could pretty much close Scubaboard today, as most topics have been comprehensively debated. That said, people enjoy debating - and new members have the ability to participate in each thread.

The OP's advice was pertinent - if you don't like, don't join the thread. We don't need a censor on the board, thank you.

 

[DaleC]

I just thought I'd mention that solo diving was happening long before any courses on solo diving were invented and we need not in any way correlate our responses to them. Nothing against anyone taking such a course but they have not become the only portal into the activity. What they have done is mainstream the activity to some effect so a wider base of people feel they are "qualified" which may, or may not, be a good thing.

In some ways, the personality type of a solo diver may be skewed towards individuals who are self sufficient, don't need to follow established pathways and are comfortable navigating a new environment alone.

 

[DevonDiver]

I just thought I'd mention that solo diving was happening long before any courses on solo diving were invented and we need not in any way correlate our responses to them. Nothing against anyone taking such a course but they have not become the only portal into the activity.

I think that ventures into the realm where statistics get involved. Vast decreases in diver fatality (in line with vast increases in diver participation) tend to illustrate generally that the provision of formalized training has a positive impact on diver safety. I would imagine (having no statistics at hand) that a similar trend would be evident amongst solo divers as a specialist demographic.

People did dive solo before courses were available - whether those people were safer (statistically) or not remains to be seen.

People drove cars for years before lessons/tests became available, then mandatory. Some of them were good drivers - many weren't. However, training and assessment created a benchmark for safe entry into motoring - and had an undeniable positive influence on accident statistics.

And... of course..... the critical factor being that 'in the olde days' divers received much more comprehensive and robust training - not at all comparable to the McDiver certifications of nowadays. The 'olde timer' might not have required specialist solo training, but his modern McDiver counterpart most certainly does.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

So I have to ask: in the conditions that I mention, in your lifetime of diving: what are 2 or 3 specific things that have occurred to you personally, where if you were diving like I am diving, and with my level of experience, might do me in? I'm not talking hypotheticals: i'm asking for specific things that have really occurred. Conditions being less than 40', daylight, a dive sight you are familiar with, no currents, close to land, well rested, etc. Assume that weighting is good, all that sort of stuff.

I am not challenging your assertions: I am asking for incidents that have truly occurred so I can think more about this.

You dive in the Bay area, which is not too dissimilar from prevailing conditions where I dive a bit further up the coast. So I'll give you some that have either happened to me, or to others I dive with on what we considered "benign" dives ...

Unexpected current - when diving in sites that are prone to current, we usually plan our dives around current charts ... using times of predicted slack as our baseline. But there's a reason they call 'em "predictions" ... nature has a way of surprising us at times. Currents can create unexpected hazards in several ways ... the most common being either to pull you away from your desired location or to cause exertion that leads to excessive CO2 buildup. Both of those can ultimately lead to panic in a diver who doesn't know how to deal with them ... or who hasn't experienced them before. Often the response will be completely out of proportion to the hazard created by the current itself ... in other words, your mind will make the problem worse than it needs to be.

Brain Fart - this can take many forms, and is often the result of a distraction that leads to a small problem that leads to a bigger problem ... the classic "chain of events" that often ends with a bad outcome. Some examples I've seen are a chronic mask leak that leads to a stress-distress-bolt response ... forgetting to purge a regulator and inhaling a bit of water, leading to a coughing fit or worse, a laryngospasm ... a partially-opened tank valve leading to excessive work-of-breathing at depth, and that classic "I can't get enough air" feeling.

Marine life - Unlike the tropics, there's not really a lot of critters here that can hurt you. But I've seen divers panic and bolt at the sight of a fast-moving sea lion ... particularly if it's a bull during mating season who sees your bubbles as a challenge for a female. Or it could be a chance encounter with a cabezon guarding eggs that leaves you seeing stars and wondering what the hell just thumped you upside the head and feeling a definite urge to get the helloutta Dodge before it hits you again.

Any of these problems can happen whether you're solo or diving with someone else. But having someone nearby often has a way of reducing that particular impact, because knowing that help is nearby often reduces the stress of the situation and makes it easier to deal with. The smart solo diver will have experienced some or all of these conditions before, and the familiarity with them will reduce the likelihood that something easily handled will be impacted by stress and lack of familiarity and turned into an event with worse potential consequences than it has to be.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[divin'dog]

One problem while diving solo is what to do if you encounter vertigo or something similar... I've never experienced it but while diving with my buddy, he got a small dose of it. Good thing we were together. I was leading and kept an eye on him about every 2 mins or so. He was just off to my right and behind by 1/2 body length. We were probably 30' deep on the last half of the dive. When I turned around, he was nowhere! I doubled back and there he was sitting on the bottom looking confused with his reg hanging out! I put the reg back in and he seemed to be fine from then on. We ended up heading back to shore to end the dive. Something like vertigo could be incapacitating to a solo diver. My buddy has trouble equalizing which is what set it off.

 

[NAM001]

I can empathise with the situation. I am cused so to speak with what i think is Meniers desiese. a form of vertigo. have had perhaps a half a dozen spisodes in the past 30 years. My grandfather had it also. Meclasine is what i take for it. My grandfather and myself have what is described as a thickening of the fluid in the ear which controls ballance. My bouts were severe in that i threw my self down a flight of stairs. If you have seen reruns Of LAUGH IN on tv there is a charactor that rides a tricycle and all of a suddon he falls over. For me by simply turning my head the body reacted like a gyro and countered 90 degrees out. step forward fall left...turn ad fall forward ect. Dehydration and a number of factors contribute to it or its symtoms. During those periods i played with it to see how to counter the effects when needed. Most of it relies on a point of reference and a quick retraining of the mind to stablize. Although it ihas been 15 years since the last episode i still dont temp fate by solo night diving. Through at e time i had issues with it I was in the service and the job did not provide a stable footing. Sea duty... so i learned to not depend on the sensation of stable footing to regain my ballance. I have grown to learn theat dark doest bring it on but once it is happening it compounds it. Calling the dive was the correct action and calling it quits for the day is prudent. As far as the mouth piece hanging, i cant explain that.

One problem while diving solo is what to do if you encounter vertigo or something similar... I've never experienced it but while diving with my buddy, he got a small dose of it. Good thing we were together. I was leading and kept an eye on him about every 2 mins or so. He was just off to my right and behind by 1/2 body length. We were probably 30' deep on the last half of the dive. When I turned around, he was nowhere! I doubled back and there he was sitting on the bottom looking confused with his reg hanging out! I put the reg back in and he seemed to be fine from then on. We ended up heading back to shore to end the dive. Something like vertigo could be incapacitating to a solo diver. My buddy has trouble equalizing which is what set it off.

 

[Tigerman]

...
Marine life - Unlike the tropics, there's not really a lot of critters here that can hurt you. But I've seen divers panic and bolt at the sight of a fast-moving sea lion ... particularly if it's a bull during mating season who sees your bubbles as a challenge for a female. Or it could be a chance encounter with a cabezon guarding eggs that leaves you seeing stars and wondering what the hell just thumped you upside the head and feeling a definite urge to get the helloutta Dodge before it hits you again.

Any of these problems can happen whether you're solo or diving with someone else. But having someone nearby often has a way of reducing that particular impact
...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Indeed it will, as I could always push you into the sealions path, which I couldnt when I solo dive

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Indeed it will, as I could always push you into the sealions path, which I couldnt when I solo dive

... reminds me of my dive with TSandM the evening she saw her first six-gill shark ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)