Instructor vs Solo Cert

[DAJ]

The number of breaths depends on the individual and the depth. I carried a HEEDS bottle (spare air) in the military and they are generally designed to supply roughly 30 breaths. There is a difference between sitting at the surface and taking 30 breaths over being in panic mode being pulled down in a helo so the reported number of breaths will most likely be greatly reduced and dependent on the individual. While a spare air is better than nothing, it would be my last choice as a bail out option for diving.

 

[tursiops]

It is a solo course, there should be no witnesses!

Only the last dive is solo.

 

[Vicko]

? A SAC of 20 in what units? I don't see how one gets more than a few breaths at most.

Bars and litres.
To be exact, if we take that the 1L spare air actually holds 1L of air at 1 bar, pretending air is perfectly compressible and we consume 20l of air per minute on the surface
1Lx200bar=200L of available air.
20m depth=3bar
200L/3bar=66L of air available at depth
66L/20L SAC= 3 minutes of available air at 20m depth


If you ascend that gives you enough air to surface, and another few breaths extra if you feel like doing a safety stop.
And now I'm trying to figure out if i forgot how to calculate gas consumption, pretty sure that correct.

 

[FishWatcher747]

I've actually appreciated and learned from some of the comments here, but still maintain that in the real world of diving....that being "qualified" is far more important than being "certified". And knowing that I have a trip planned for Bonaire later this spring I've actually looked into just biting the bullet and taking the damn Solo course while there..... Apparently, I can do the academics ahead of time and then do the dives in one easy day. I won't learn anything and I'll be lighter in the wallet..... but what the heck.

That is exactly what I did on my first trip to Bonaire May 2022. E learning done at home. Arrived in the afternoon to Bonaire, tired, did grocery shopping, no diving on arrival day.

Next morning showed up at my SDI solo instructor's shop at 0830 and knocked out the 3 SDI dives. By 2:30 pm or so all done.

If you want the dive shop and instructor name let me know.

By the way we did DSMB deployment on all dives.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

There is a difference between sitting at the surface and taking 30 breaths over being in panic mode ...

That's why in the spreadsheet I have a stress factor. Obviously one cannot determine exactly one's gas consumption is going to be in an emergency. Unless someone has made poor decisions or been exceptionally unlucky (in which diving isn't for them), they are not going to ever have that information. It essentially becomes a WAG. That WAG depends heavily on our assessment of personal risk.

 

[Vicko]

That's why in the spreadsheet I have a stress factor. Obviously one cannot determine exactly one's gas consumption is going to be in an emergency. Unless someone has made poor decisions or been exceptionally unlucky (in which diving isn't for them), they are not going to ever have that information. It essentially becomes a WAG. That WAG depends heavily on our assessment of personal risk.

Get yourself hypercapnic, running like a madman works great.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

That is exactly what I did on my first trip to Bonaire May 2022. E learning done at home. Arrived in the afternoon to Bonaire, tired, did grocery shopping, no diving on arrival day.

Next morning showed up at my SDI solo instructor's shop at 0830 and knocked out the 3 SDI dives. By 2:30 pm or so all done.

If you want the dive shop and instructor name let me know.

By the way we did DSMB deployment on all dives.

That awesome.... Thanks! I'll shoot you a DM.. In my brief search so far it looks like Captain Don's offers the SDI Solo course and it's also closeby to where we typically stay up in Sabadeco..

 

[Trailboss123]

That awesome.... Thanks! I'll shoot you a DM.. In my brief search so far it looks like Captain Don's offers the SDI Solo course and it's also closeby to where we typically stay up in Sabadeco..

Dive Friends also offers the PADI Self-Reliant course, in case you want to compare/contrast the cost and time. I did mine 5 years back with Jeffrey Hesselink out of their downtown Dive Inn location. He was an excellent instructor.

Also, in my personal experience on Bonaire, I have always been able to rent a pony tank from the SDI shop located at Captain Don's without anyone asking to see my cert card. By contrast, Dive Friends is very strict about the rental of their pony tanks and will always ask to see and require a solo or self-reliant certification.

 

[SlugLife]

I have always been able to rent a pony tank from the SDI shop located at Captain Don's without anyone asking to see my cert card. By contrast, Dive Friends is very strict about the rental of their pony tanks and will always ask to see and require a solo or self-reliant certification.

That seems REALLY weird to me. There's nothing about a pony-bottle, which requires solo or self-reliant training. I always carry redundant air, regardless of whether I'm diving solo or not. I also advocate people look into and carry redundant air when possible, regardless of solo-diving.

 

[Trailboss123]

That seems REALLY weird to me. There's nothing about a pony-bottle, which requires solo or self-reliant training. I always carry redundant air, regardless of whether I'm diving solo or not. I also advocate people look into and carry redundant air when possible, regardless of solo-diving.

I also find it odd that Dive Friends requires that. Hopefully they have changed that policy. I have not rented one from them for a couple of years.