how deep max. when diving solo?

[CamG]

Deepest Solo dive was 150' in Lake Huron on a wreck.
It was a planned deco dive with a run time of around 55-60 min.
My buddy had a gear issue at the last minute so I went on the dive.
It was a great dive executed spot on with all my stops and I added time to my 20' just for safety.

All of my Solo dives are done with plenty of redundant gas / aka bailout.
When or if Im in a overhead Wreck or Cave my dive plan is very clear and not complicated.
I do enjoy solo caving as it allows you to take your time, I love to go very slow and scan everything.
When I slow the pace I see so much more, absorb so much more, let the awareness grow running the numbers so to speak.
In tighter spots another diver can make it very dangerous.

CamG

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Deepest solo dives I've done are around 100' on several occasions. As with Cam, when I solo dive I have a significant amount of redundant gas. I'm in doubles with a significant amount of excess gas built into my plan and sometimes doubles with a stage given the cold water we dive in up here. When solo I typically keep it shallow, but if diving deeper I keep it simple and make sure it's an environment I've been in many times before.

Added: Just checked my log book. It was 111 ffw on the Checotah in Lake Huron.

 

[tarponchik]

Normally I stay in the shallows but did some solos below 100 ft in Hawaii

 

[Aquanomad]

Ill chime in as I zip up my flame suit as no way am I alone. Nearly all my dives are 60m minimum and I dont think Iv logged a buddy dive in 18 months. After over a decade of diving I doubt 10% have been with a buddy. Iv logged well over 1000 dives and cringe to think how low that number would be had I waited for a buddy each time.

 

[Nemrod]

I was 14, my best (and only) dive buddy was 16+ (that counted at that age of course). He discovered girls and I discovered I did not need a buddy. At any depth.

N

 

[TONY CHANEY]

Just dive to your training. Diving "shallow" while solo is like being "a little bit pregnant." You are still diving solo and anything and everything can happen. You might want to add distance Vs depth for us cavers. At the level my friends and I are at...we seldom do a dive we are not prepared to do alone.

 

[Tigerman]

Just dive to your training. Diving "shallow" while solo is like being "a little bit pregnant." You are still diving solo and anything and everything can happen. You might want to add distance Vs depth for us cavers. At the level my friends and I are at...we seldom do a dive we are not prepared to do alone.

There IS however certain physical facts that change with going deeper vs staying shallower..
- Regardless of how much gas you bring it WILL last for longer at shallower depths, giving you more time to sort things out in any given situation - which might be what you need, although, AVOIDING to need to sort things out is much preferred. What would be an appropriate ammount of gas for a 100ft dive would be way more than neccesary and a very nice safety margin on a 50ft dive and depending on gear config, you might dive the same tank(s) on both dives.

- Diving shallower, unless you're on other gases than air or nitrox, decrease the risk of being dumb due to narcosis.

However, you DO drown just as much in 13 feet of water as you do in 130 feet of it (or 1300 feet into a cave) if everything goes to hell..

 

[TONY CHANEY]

There IS however certain physical facts that change with going deeper vs staying shallower..
- Regardless of how much gas you bring it WILL last for longer at shallower depths, giving you more time to sort things out in any given situation - which might be what you need, although, AVOIDING to need to sort things out is much preferred. What would be an appropriate ammount of gas for a 100ft dive would be way more than neccesary and a very nice safety margin on a 50ft dive and depending on gear config, you might dive the same tank(s) on both dives.

- Diving shallower, unless you're on other gases than air or nitrox, decrease the risk of being dumb due to narcosis.

However, you DO drown just as much in 13 feet of water as you do in 130 feet of it (or 1300 feet into a cave) if everything goes to hell..

It is called proper gas planning. Period! With proper gas planning the gas will last you just as long in the shallows as it does the deep stuff or even distance in the caves. The way I take it when divers say, "I only dive solo in the shallow depths," I hear, I feel that if something goes wrong I can just pop to the surface." SAC is SAC is SAC at all depths but what changes it is other factor like currents, working, task to perform, fear, etc. If you are going to 30 FSW then you bring enough gas for that dive and if you are going to 200 FSW then you bring enough gas for that dive...all based on SAC. If you sometimes plan your dive and dive your plan then you better damn sure you do it when diving solo.

 

[igor p]

Lot of dives done solo ... Max depth solo was 70m .... Dont have fixed buddy... dived all arround with different divers and always did dives as I would be diving solo ... OC and CCR. If I do not feel comfortable doing the dive solo I do not do it neither with a buddy. How can I help him if I am not able to complete the dive solo....

Igor P

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[Tigerman]

It is called proper gas planning. Period! With proper gas planning the gas will last you just as long in the shallows as it does the deep stuff or even distance in the caves. The way I take it when divers say, "I only dive solo in the shallow depths," I hear, I feel that if something goes wrong I can just pop to the surface." SAC is SAC is SAC at all depths but what changes it is other factor like currents, working, task to perform, fear, etc. If you are going to 30 FSW then you bring enough gas for that dive and if you are going to 200 FSW then you bring enough gas for that dive...all based on SAC. If you sometimes plan your dive and dive your plan then you better damn sure you do it when diving solo.

Unless you have a big selection of tanks on hand, like many of us DONT, you dont dive (a) SMALLER tank(s) because you dive shallower - you dive the same tank(s) that is appropriate for deeper dives.
You're not actually suggesting that people should buy smaller tanks so they can bring less gas on a dive "because thats proper gas planning"?