How Did You Go Solo?

[stepfen]

For me it all started in a house reef in a homestay in Raja Ampat/Indonesia. I've snorkeled the place several times already and dived it another couple of times with some fellow divers. Conditions were very good: gentle slope with hard bottom at 18m, zero currents (at least at the right tide), easy entry/exit points, good visibility and of course nice reef. Since I mostly do macro photography I decided to try dive by myself and I LIKED IT!

The most important for me was that I didn't have to worry about who is near me - I am a big guy and I am always worried that I might hit/touch somebody. I also hate being squeezed/pushed to the reef by fellow divers getting near me from behind or the side. In other words I need my space! Hence during the solo dive I felt much more relaxed than usual! That was it.

I haven't got official solo training/certification yet as I mostly dive around my home town hence I don't need the card.
I had about 120 dives when I started solo several of which where unguided (me and 1-2 buddies diving local sites by ourselves). Now I have about 170 total dives with about 20 of them solo. Newbie but I like it

It is not that I don't like diving with other people at all (yet). Especially in new to me places I still prefer guided diving. I admit though that yesterday for first time ever I turned down an offer to dive locally with an instructor friend of mine and an (experienced) student of his. I didn't tell them, but I preferred to go diving this morning solo instead of joining them.

For me the amount of arrangements and worries from the point I think about a dive,down to planning it, do it, and clean the mesh of it after the dive is so so so much less when solo.

Good luck

 

[DBPacific]

For me it all started in a house reef in a homestay in Raja Ampat/Indonesia. I've snorkeled the place several times already and dived it another couple of times with some fellow divers. Conditions were very good: gentle slope with hard bottom at 18m, zero currents (at least at the right tide), easy entry/exit points, good visibility and of course nice reef. Since I mostly do macro photography I decided to try dive by myself and I LIKED IT!

The most important for me was that I didn't have to worry about who is near me - I am a big guy and I am always worried that I might hit/touch somebody. I also hate being squeezed/pushed to the reef by fellow divers getting near me from behind or the side. In other words I need my space! Hence during the solo dive I felt much more relaxed than usual! That was it.

I haven't got official solo training/certification yet as I mostly dive around my home town hence I don't need the card.
I had about 120 dives when I started solo several of which where unguided (me and 1-2 buddies diving local sites by ourselves). Now I have about 170 total dives with about 20 of them solo. Newbie but I like it

It is not that I don't like diving with other people at all (yet). Especially in new to me places I still prefer guided diving. I admit though that yesterday for first time ever I turned down an offer to dive locally with an instructor friend of mine and an (experienced) student of his. I didn't tell them, but I preferred to go diving this morning solo instead of joining them.

For me the amount of arrangements and worries from the point I think about a dive,down to planning it, do it, and clean the mesh of it after the dive is so so so much less when solo.

Good luck

Oh, I hate when people knock into me under water, but for me it's more because I'm small and everyone else is usually much bigger than me. I've been banged in the head, side, and fins to the point where I thought I'd lose my mask or regs, and I've been pushed into the reef or rocks a few times, so I feel your pain. I know a few solo photographers. Thanks for sharing!

 

[DBPacific]

I did my first "solo" dives on a liveaboard trip. My buddy was not very good (I often go solo on such trips and get paired up, this time it was with a below average air user and overall diver). I'd dived with the company and knew the crew, so when I said I'd "drop him off at the boat, then hang around waiting for another pair to join up with" they let me. Granted, this was in shallow water and they were confident in my abilities so they ignored that I was "technically" diving alone for a few minutes. The peace, lack of having to "watch out for anyone else", etc, were all things I thoroughly enjoyed, if even only for a few minutes each dive before I'd buddy up with someone else.

So, I decided I wanted to explore that side of diving and earlier this year I got my PADI Self-Reliant diver certification. The course taught gas management, self-rescue, and dive planning as the most important things (imo), while obviously discussing and going over (including practice/demonstration) being able to carry and utilize redundant gear safely, including communication equipment. Funny enough, getting practice on the "boring stuff" was one of the main reasons I wanted to get the cert, but I haven't done that much yet. I really need to refocus on that over the next couple months. So thanks for reminding me of that.

I've since done about 6 solo dives and plan to do a lot more. While I greatly enjoy the freedom to just go "do what I want and not have to worry about others", I still do enjoy diving with friends and sharing those experiences too. The whole "get to just dive" thing is very pleasurable though. I'm sure at some point I'll likely move towards doing solo dives more frequently, but I have built a network of a few local divers that I'm friends with and enjoy diving with.

That's great that you have a good network. I haven't yet found someone willing to be a buddy for me to just practice gear removal and replacement drills for an hour while staying in horizontal trim, but that and other 'boring stuff' like you say is one of the big areas that I want to practice and get better at. My work dives are some of the most relaxing I've had simply because my buddy and I are self-sufficient under the water. Until he's out of air, we really don't check in because that would take time from the work. It's been a little addicting to not be constantly worrying about someone else. Thank you for sharing!

 

[DBPacific]

Did it "illegally" for some time and the finally got the proper cert (SDI). I started by entering the water with a group and telling them beforehand that I will be going my own merry way and that I'd joint them after so and so minutes during the safety stop. Then I started striking out on my own doing my dives in sidemount with 2 tanks for redundancy. I got my recreational solo cert in a roundabout way since I got it after having been tech certified for some time.

Haha that's great. Is there a separate certification for tech solo diving vs recreational? Who did you get those separate ones through?

 

[DBPacific]

I started solo diving because I wanted to dive more often than my wife while traveling on our own to shore diving locales. I enjoy the solitude and quite frankly, it's the only time I get to dive my tank (except for Coz, but I've found an exceptional situation there ).

I also enjoy buddy diving whether it's with my wife, friends on a group trip, or insta-buddies. I've dived a lot with insta-buddies, had many enjoyable dives, and met many interesting people. As long as the diving is relatively benign and "buddying-up" is approached properly (there is a skill to it), IMHO, it's nothing to shy away from and it's been integral to my dive experience.

Follow whatever protocols you need and take whatever gear makes you comfortable for whatever type of diving you're doing. It's about having fun and that's hard to do if you're not comfy. It's all just tools in your diving toolkit. All IMHO, YMMV.

Yes, if I dove only with my SO, I'd pretty much never dive. Right now I'm trying to figure out what gear is best. I have a decently low air consumption rate and most of my dives have been within 10meters, so I'll likely stay in that range for practicing. There, I can go an hour underwater with a single Al 80 in cold water (2-3 hours in warm) and have a reserve of 1000psi left in the tank. I've never dove doubles or sidemount and I'm not sure where to get trained on that, but I'm not sure how much extra gas I'd need for redundancy. Do you think a pony bottle would be enough for shallow dives?

One dumb question: I keep seeing YMMV being used. What does it mean?

 

[DBPacific]

For me, it just happened.

Of course, like many, I had a few brief exposures to solo diving while finishing off a tank below the boat or something similar. Off and on, I dived with the same operator in Key Largo. I was usually by myself on these trips and was paired with an instabuddy. One day, about 15 years ago, a DM/mate who I had gotten to know well, asked me if I would like to dive by myself. I took advantage of the opportunity and it was absolutely liberating. Previously, I had nervously watched over my assigned buddy for the day, often worrying about their diving skill, judgment, gas consumption, or, just where they were. For the next several years I generally dived solo on my visits to Key Largo. Eventually, I moved north and did most of my diving in SE FL. After getting to know the operators, I was allowed to dive solo with them.

It was not until about 6 years ago that I finally got my SDI Solo Diver certification. This has allowed me to dive solo with operators who allow solo diving with certification, who do not know me. This has expanded my dive freedom significantly. So....now I have about 600 solo dives, nearly a third of all of my dives. This is the right diving for me, I would not change a thing.

That sounds fantastic. One of my worries is that dive operators wouldn't let me dive solo, but it seems that the main barrier is the card and finding ones that allow it? I know my university dive officer doesn't allow or approve any dive plans with a solo diver, which automatically rules out the most convenient place to get tanks. How common are operators that allow solo diving? Do you have trouble even just renting gear or tanks when you're solo and not with those operators?

 

[DBPacific]

I just sort of drifted into it. I found that my buddy’s attention was very difficult to get if he wasn’t looking directly at me. Then we started lobster diving which totally blew the buddy system and we were smart enough to recognize this. We decided to get Solo certified and to go with SDI since their course acknowledged solo and it was my understanding at the time that it was more widely accepted.

For me the biggest gear change was gas redundancy and for this I chose a slung 13 cf pony.

But gear isn’t the most important factor, its attitude and mindset. A Solo diver thinks differently then a buddy diver. They know they are on their own and are able to handle the unexpected calmly. And have the skills to deal with it independently.

So the most important factors to me

Redundant gas, either a pony or CESA depending and depth and dive plan
Ability to stay calm under stress
Skill set to handle the unexpected
Being comfortable with no expectation of assistance if things go south
Acceptance that if something does happen beyond your experience or skills, or a health issue, its on you.

Yeah, I'm currently diving for lobster research and we're definitely not close enough to each other to actually be effective buddies. Can you sling a pony on any BCD system, or is there a specific type or modification to allow it?

I would say that my instructors attacking me underwater and pushing all my discomfort buttons has helped me stay calm with a 'screw it' attitude, but I know solo diving invites a completely different scale. Thank you for the list and for sharing

 

[scubadada]

Hi @DBPacific

If I am considering diving solo with a new operator, I contact them ahead of time to confirm that they allow solo diving with certification. Occasionally, I have been asked a few additional questions. I have travelled with my 19 cf pony, not that difficult. If I intend on renting, I confirm that it is available.

 

[DBPacific]

Without cert, maybe I will do it with my agency (SDI) when I go on a trip where the operator would require it.

Why? My GF gets cold fast (we live in Denmark) so she often skips second/third dive.

When? Around my 120th dive. At that time, already DM / Cave / Helitrox / Multistage Sidemount certified.

Always diving fully redundant (sidemount, backup mask, lights, an everything just as if I am doing a cave dive).

Right now in my work group I have the lowest air consumption rate and highest cold tolerance (we're in Maine, so not as cold as Denmark, but we get to 7-10C in wetsuits) so usually my dives are cut very short by the group. Do you dive night or in caves solo? Or are the lights more signaling/just in case something happens and you're out on or in the water past dark?

 

[jlcnuke]

Yes, if I dove only with my SO, I'd pretty much never dive. Right now I'm trying to figure out what gear is best. I have a decently low air consumption rate and most of my dives have been within 10meters, so I'll likely stay in that range for practicing. There, I can go an hour underwater with a single Al 80 in cold water (2-3 hours in warm) and have a reserve of 1000psi left in the tank. I've never dove doubles or sidemount and I'm not sure where to get trained on that, but I'm not sure how much extra gas I'd need for redundancy. Do you think a pony bottle would be enough for shallow dives?

One dumb question: I keep seeing YMMV being used. What does it mean?

YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary (i.e. you may have a different experience than that person did)