diving alone

[Brand0n]

Has anyone here ever dove alone ? i know its not recommended and probley a stupid thing to do, but i realy wanna get out diving and noone to dive with right now

 

[redacted]

Take a look thru: http://www.scubaboard.com/forumdisplay.php?f=311

 

[stevetim]

I found when diving alone it was harder to give myself CPR, much harder.

 

[Big Jay]

I have dove alone only twice. Once was a 70' bounce to check to see if our anchor was secured into the wreck. Then i surfaced and descended with my friend and brother for the rest of the dive.

Diving alone is common here in the NE. All dives here are pretty much 70' + and equipment on dives varies from person to person. While you might be diving double 95's, your buddy might be diving a single 95. Plus, at varying rates of air consumption, its not uncommon for a buddy to surface while the other stays below to his limit. Just how it is.

The other time was my first NJ wreck dive, my buddy for the trip who was showing me the "ropes" (how to use a wreck reel, things to be aware of, etc.) On the second dive i was lower on air as i was only diving a 95 where as he had doubles. So i returned to the anchor by myself, ascended, and waited at the surface for him.

 

[drbill]

I have about 800-1,000 solo dives under my weight belt. However, I do NOT recommend it to anyone else since I cannot judge their abilities, comfort level underwater and reaction to emergencies. Solo diving can be a lot safer than diving with an unskilled or unwise buddy.

Look for other solo diving threads by trying a search. You'll find plenty of information that way.

 

[matt_unique]

Has anyone here ever dove alone ? i know its not recommended and probley a stupid thing to do, but i realy wanna get out diving and noone to dive with right now

This thread will probably be moved to the Solo section but....

Lot's of people dive alone all the time. It's not a stupid thing to do by itself. You need to be comfortable with your gear and the conditions you are diving.

My initial motivations were similar to yours. I was sick of canceling dives because I did not have a buddy available. Later I decided the best buddy is one who is comfortable and equipped to dive alone. I dive solo for any dive I would do with a buddy. You need to determine your own limits.

--Matt

 

[diverberr]

I totally agree with the good doctor. While I certainly won't recommend it to others, solo diving for me is often the way to achieve my goals on a particular dive. Of my dives this year, about 80% were solo. As was stated above, you may be planning a longer bottom time than your buddy or like me, on many dives you may prefer the solitude and challenges that come with solo diving. If I'm working a specific part of a wreck or taking wreck photos, I may be on a totally different part of the wreck than everyone else on the dive, sometimes several hundred feet away from the next nearest diver. Here in Nova Scotia, the group I dive with rarely do dives of less than 80' and many of us often dive solo on wrecks that are 200'+.

If you do make the decision to dive solo, make sure you have the proper training (although as far as I know there's only one agency doing solo certs and I started solo diving long before that), experience, and equipment for the dives you're planning.

Cheers,
Al.

 

[Hoosier]

You are opening your question on "Solo" forum, aren't you? If then, you know that there are many "Solo" divers out there.

You can do a solo diving with your set up conditions.

Mine are

get "Rescue" or "Solo" certification
get the redundant air source like pony
get two regulators, not only two second stages.
dive above 30 ft (1 atas) that you can ascent without air.

Has anyone here ever dove alone ? i know its not recommended and probley a stupid thing to do, but i realy wanna get out diving and noone to dive with right now

 

[Talon]

Depends on what you mean by solo dive. If you mean take my own private boat, anchor to a site, and jump in the water alone. For me, the answer would be probably not. But off a charter boat, it is not uncommon for me to either start or at least finish (I tend to stay down a long time) a dive solo. Many times, I actually prefer to get away from the group and just enjoy a portion of the reef all to myself. I find that to be one of the most relaxing situations in scuba for me.

Why the distinction? At least when I go to the site with other people I know that if *** does hit the fan, someone will at least know I am missing You will also find out that as you move up the “food chain” of diving, many of the more technical divers PREFER to dive alone because they believe it is SAFER! You would be amazed at how many divers die trying to help people out.

 

[AndyNZ]

Has anyone here ever dove alone ? i know its not recommended and probley a stupid thing to do, but i realy wanna get out diving and noone to dive with right now

Re-iterating everyone else's comments, really.

Solo diving has it's rewards but it also has it's risks - don't even consider it until you are in a position to know what those risks are and have the experience and confidence to cope with them when something goes wrong!

For a relative newbie to diving, you'd be a lot better off with an insta-buddy on a charter boat than thinking of going solo.

I do a lot of physical and mental preperation for solo diving. I carry multiple redundant *everything* (two computers, analogue depth gauge, anologue bottom timer, dive tables, pony bottle) and have put a lot of thought into configuring and placement of gear - so for example, I've got a self modified weightbelt that lets me ditch weights in 2kg increments rather than dumping the whole lot. Every now and again I'll go out with a buddy and practice emergency drills - swapping to alternate air source, simulating computer failures and lots lots more.

Even then, I still prefer to "dive solo" with someone else around!