Going solo - what do you think?

[lowviz]

Let's cut the guy a break. If he can pass Doppler's solo course, he is ready. If not, just the experience of taking a "best shot" is mindbending. Either way, he wins.

 

[Pudsky]

Here is a site I found with just a quick search: Bay Area Divers SCUBA club of Clear Lake Houston, Texas diving club home page for dive trips, presentations and events Also, you can try calling the facility you got certified through. They may have fun dives the shop puts on, or know people they can hook you up with. There has got to be some others in your area who would like to do some diving.

 

[lowviz]

IMHO, the biggest threat presented by a solo mindset is thinking "I'll try harder and it will be OK".

You will, it won't.


Seek good instruction, you get invaluable 'extras' along the way:

Lapenta's rescue course required a current cert in CPR/AED/FA. Seeking such, I found out that in times of natural disasters you could be in a city and medical help won't arrive until enough time passes for the victim to qualify for wilderness first aid treatment. Took that course, most worthwhile. CPR/AED? No brainer, also worthwhile.

I would never discourage anyone following the path towards becoming a truly self sufficient solo diver. Just do it without any shortcuts or 'gimme' certs. Check out your local instructors, gotta be a good one in there somewhere...

 

[DevonDiver]

Please post a list of these real problems that I don't understand. Please be specific and up to the point. Otherwise it is hard to learn.

Personally, I am disinclined to to that. Posting such a list might encourage you to sit at your keyboard and rationalize about how you could 'easily' deal with each scenario - a trait displayed already. That could lead to an assumption that you had 'dealt with' those risks.

Risk mitigation has to be more than a hypothetical exercise - largely because there is a strong psychological factor that presents itself when dealing with issues underwater. Knowing what to do, and being able to perform that function are two entirely distinct issues. If that weren't true I'd be hanging out on the NASA forum and adding to my resume weekly...

If I'm understanding correctly, you mean that, contrary to the advise given by others here, that you believe one should not even enter a pool alone with scuba gear since one cannot breathe underwater in a pool? I'm not arguing or disagreeing, I just want to make sure I've properly understood your enigmatic sentence

I meant, merely, that one should be cognizant of the dangers of having a finite air source in an environment that cannot sustain human life. Depth is irrelevant if that finite air source expires, or becomes inaccessible, and you cannot reach an infinite air source (the surface). You will drown just as surely at a depth of 5" as you would at 5' or 50'. The issue is whether you can reach, and remain at, the surface.

Plenty enough people manage to abbreviate their lifespans in the 'benign' environment of a swimming pool. Most of those people didn't have to deal with negative buoyancy via a weight belt and other heavy scuba equipment. Achieving positive buoyancy is the obvious mitigation to this - but a failure to do this is a notable factor in many, if not most, scuba fatalities. Typically panic and/or the lack of ingrained responses are the culprits behind that failure.

For the novice diver, panic and/or lack of ingrained response are two issues that must be assumed to be relevant and potentially contributing to any issue they face underwater. Thus, the issues of experience and training are absolutely critical factors when calculating the relative safety of any given diving environment.

In short:

- It is wrong to dismiss or perceive dangers based on depth alone.
- It is wrong to assume a reaction or response, unless that reaction or response is proven to be reliable.
- Problem solving is not a reliable skill when under stress.
- What may be ludicrously safe for diver A, may not be safe for diver B.
- Panic, negative buoyancy and water (of any depth) are a killer combination.

What if I die in a car accident on a way to the pond? What then, ah? What then? What if it is a semi who could not stop or an SUV that failed to see a red light? What if?

It's very easy to be flippant, or show bravado, about the issue of dying. Yes, a life can be snuffed out in the blink of an eye on any given day. The decisions we make in life should be aimed to reasonably reduce the possibility of that happening - reducing the threats to those that we have no possible influence upon.

The decision to go diving unsupported, whilst not truly aware of the risks or your ability to mitigate them, with the barest minimum of experience and capability, is never...can never... be considered an unavoidable accident.

Scuba diving is an enjoyable and rewarding pursuit. Unfortunately, for many divers the sheer pleasure of diving makes it very difficult to comprehend the risks that we face. Those risks do nothing to engage our instinct for self-preservation until they present themselves.... and then it might be to late. Your self-preservation instinct becomes nothing more than a last-ditch, mind-numbing panic to reach the surface.

Experienced divers are often safe divers, because they've encountered the risks at first-hand. They've had tangles, run low-on-air accidentally, got caught in currents, lost visibility, made human errors, experienced equipment failures... and, most importantly, examined their performance and psychological responses with the benefit of post-incident hindsight.

Their self-preservation instinct develops as a consequence to this. They enjoy the pleasure of diving, but temper that pleasure with a foresight and recognition that they are exposing themselves to dangers. They don't trust to blind-luck - because they know that the threats can, and should be, mitigated.

The capacity for human ego to lead a person into an avoidable fatal accident, for lack of patience, the expedience of convenience or a failure to realistically consider their capabilities against the demands required... can best be described as evidence supporting 'Darwin's Law'.

 

[CT-Rich]

What if I die in a car accident on a way to the pond? What then, ah? What then? What if it is a semi who could not stop or an SUV that failed to see a red light? What if?

Having a buddy near by absolutely does not guarantee that he will be helpful in saving you.

having a seatbelt is no guarantee either. which would you want to hit a tree at? 25 mph with or w/o a belt?

---------- Post Merged at 07:19 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 06:56 AM ----------

this is my last post on the matter. we gave you our advise (which you follow or don't). I will continue this thread when it is moved over to accident analysis and we can do a post mortem on your last dive... Otherwise I wish you the best. We all hope that you are better prepared than we assume you are.

 

[NCadiver]

Base off of Texasguy other post he is not ready for solo diving and nobody should hint that he should try solo diving even in a pool. At his stage he needs a competent dive to go with because he has a lot to learn. You can drown in as little as 6" of water.

 

[Texasguy]

Even if scuba is new to me, I have been a capable swimmer and free diver for a long time.

NCadiver, I am not 12.

 

[DevonDiver]

Even if scuba is new to me, I have been a capable swimmer and free diver for a long time.
.

And you managed that in XXlb weightbelt and XXlb of scuba gear weighing you down?

It's patently obvious that you didn't come onto the board looking for advice, so you must have been expecting people to advocate a decision you've already made. I'm not sorry to disappoint you.

The people on this thread have been capable divers for a long time. You haven't. Your total dive experience equates to less than a single working week for me... and others, who've tried to educate you.

You knew the answer to your questions before you started this thread:

Having recently graduated from OW & AOW training, you were taught to "always dive within the limits of your training and experience". Solo diving is not within the limits of your OW & AOW experience - it is well beyond it. You are trained on basis of the buddy system. That buddy system, along with other recommended limitations on your diving, exists because the training you have done provides the bare minimum of competence under the best possible conditions.

When you enrolled upon, and graduated from, your OW and AOW training, your instructor should have made you complete and sign the PADI 'Statement of Safe Diving Practices'. That statement is your signed declaration to abide by a number of core safety principles. I will remind you that declaration includes:

"5. Adhere to the buddy system throughout every dive. Plan dives – including communications, procedures for reuniting in case of separation and emergency procedures – with my buddy."

 

[cb5150]

Texasguy, you've received a lot of great input from other experienced members on this forum. The bottom line is this, the decision to dive alone at your current experience level could have dire consequences. No one wants you to get hurt...or worse.

Scuba is supposed to be a fun activity that you can share with like minded friends...even if they are friends you haven't met yet. This activity can be dangerous if you aren't on your game 100% of the time, just like driving a car or even riding a bicycle.

I'd suggest attending a CHUM club meeting. They seem like a fun bunch of divers with a wealth of experience at all levels. I joined their website 2 years ago but have yet to attend a meeting (mostly because I'm lazy and live north of Houston).

I'm loosly affiliated with the Sea Sports Scuba stores in the Houston area. They are ALWAYS diving somewhere, including 288 Lake, Blue Lagoon, Rig Dives, Flower Gardens, etc. I've met a lot of good people through Sea Sports since moving to Houston 3 years ago.

Relax, dive safe and come out and meet some good folks.

 

[lowviz]

...//... there is a strong psychological factor that presents itself when dealing with issues underwater. Knowing what to do, and being able to perform that function are two entirely distinct issues. ...//...

Texasguy,

May I suggest a real-life example of this excellent advice? Go to Lake 288 with a trusted buddy. You get flat (face down) on the bottom with your head facing shore in an area where you can just get air by arching your head way back to break the surface. Doing a push-up while arching your head will put you well above the surface. Your buddy holds your tank while you do this. Get comfortable and keep swapping main secondary and backup secondary (octo) regs underwater until you are sure that this is a trivial task.

The drill:
(note: Your buddy never lets go of your tank throughout the drill.)

You signal "OK" to your buddy when you are ready to start. Your buddy firmly pats you on the head and starts timing you. You then start to fin AS HARD AS YOU CAN. No slacking off! Your buddy pats you again at the end of exactly one minute. He then times you while you swap regs and signal "OK".

-a simple, memorable, exercise from one of my PSD classes meant to speak to just this issue...

Be safe.