Introduction

[master00sniper]

Hello solo divers, after receiving plenty of peer pressure from others I decided to finally post here. I've been reading a lot in the solo forums and a thread was recently created about me earlier.

I am new to diving. 4 dives under my belt, three of them solo. I knew I was going to love solo diving before, and especially during the certification process, just like a few others on here have mentioned. Only difference is, my DM actually did not have a problem with it (although he did say it was less safe). I thought all DM's were like this, but after coming on here it looks like he's the exception to the rule, especially for being such an older/experienced one.

I'm not (at least not yet) planning on being a self proclaimed 'solo diver'. I've got 10 or so dives planned in the near future all with buddies before my next solo dive. It just happened to work out that diving in a lake nearby (one which I had done my research, talked to people who have already dove it, talked to people on here for advice, etc.) was only going to work if I did it solo, and I wasn't going to let that stop me. I'm very familiar with the lake, I've driven it near empty and full.

My solo dives in that lake, all three of them, were... AMAZING! Just like I figured, it is so relaxing being down by yourself. It only took half way through my OW training to figure out that the buddy system was going to be much more of a drag then a help for myself. Hell i've only made one single real dive with a buddy and I'm already hesitant (but none the less still willing) to dive with a buddy on my Monterey trip coming up Sunday. I do realize that as much as keeping track of another person might annoy me, I'll have to, and will be, the best buddy that I can be and hope the other person does the same.

I'm sure you all have horror stories of bad buddies, I've had 4 training dives and 1 real buddy dive and 5 horror stories of bad buddies (4 of them being the same buddy lol). Not a good track record so far. It doesn't help that my ideal buddy and best friend is currently being certified at the naval academy 3 thousand miles away either.

I could explain to you all how I feel that I'm competent for a beginner, at least in my eyes. I could tell you all what I've read so far, what I plan to read, and how much time at work I spend thinking about being under water and how I would react to certain problematic situations if they arise. It has not helped me anyplace else however. I'm constantly met with 'you don't know how much you don't know' paired with 'solo diving is never safe' or 'solo diving is only safe for the very experienced diver' (I'm assuming maybe 500 plus dives on that very experienced mark?) Some of which may be true, especially what I don't know. I've always been one to dive right in (and now that's literal haha) and figure things out for myself.

I had no redundant gear for my solo dives other than an octo, but I feel comfortable doing a cesa from 50 feet (i've surface swam over twice that on one breath of air, I know I can do 50 even with partial lung capacity. I read its a good idea to not completely exhale just in case, so I don't ) I realize that was a bit extreme especially for a first solo dive, but from talking to people who have dove the lake I knew entanglement hazards in the area I was diving were virtually nonexistent. In the future I am definitely going to make sure that I have a pony bottle or some kind of alternate air source to use in case of emergency.

I think that just about sums it up. I'm kind of afraid of hitting the submit button. I've been called a troll multiple times in other forums. I'm not trying to be, this is just me and how I feel. In most places its worked to just dive right into a forum letting people know exactly who I am right away. I never figured I'd be met with such concern, and even disgust and hatred. Like I mentioned I'm trying to get as much experience in with a buddy as I can, but I like being under water way too much.

As one last thing, I just wanted to add (and maybe i'll move this over into the appropriate thread), the dark side of scuba diving solo, the things you like doing when nobody else is around. I didn't see this one mentioned. Laying on your back and trying to make those perfect rings float to the top? like the rings of smoke, but this time water bubbles? I tried that for decades it seems. I could never get it tho

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

I'm curious about the wording here;

"and a thread was recently created about me earlier."

After you started the first linked thread below, perhaps you feel the second linked thread was "created about you?"

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/norcal/351068-diving-lake-camanche.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/advanced-scuba-discussions/352962-death-diving.html

"In most places its worked to just dive right into a forum letting people know exactly who I am right away. I never figured I'd be met with such concern, and even disgust and hatred."

Considering the fact that in your first thread in your local forum you were the only poster to have a post Moderated, the smart money is not on your future success.

"Last edited by Quero; September 20th, 2010 at 05:13 AM.(Hawaii time). Reason: Deleted off topic remarks, accusation of a personal attack, and deleted image constituting a personal attack."

 

[master00sniper]

No sir, that is not the thread I was talking about. The thread I was referring to that was 'created about me' is this one.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/solo-divers/352860-so-ive-got-friend.html

And haly, did you see the original post before it was edited? First off, it was hilarious. Second, I was just defending (and admittedly doing some attacking back) at a person who attacked me on a PERSONAL level, about my career, hobbies, and interests. He edited his own post shortly thereafter, I left mine to be until the mod came around and cleaned it up. I would not have been the only poster to have mine moderated if the attacker had left his post be, or had he not attacked me in the first place.

Edit: I realize at certain points in that thread it got a bit heated. In my experience most forums have moments like that. All I started off wanting was advice. If someone started telling you you shouldn't do what you just discovered you absolutely love doing and invested a lot of money into, would you not be upset? This circumstance literally called for a solo diver only. I had been looking forward to it for weeks. I apologize for any time my posts were... over the top. I can think of one or two that looking back, seemed to be just so.

 

[Quero]

I think that just about sums it up. I'm kind of afraid of hitting the submit button. I've been called a troll multiple times in other forums. I'm not trying to be, this is just me and how I feel. In most places its worked to just dive right into a forum letting people know exactly who I am right away. I never figured I'd be met with such concern, and even disgust and hatred. Like I mentioned I'm trying to get as much experience in with a buddy as I can, but I like being under water way too much.

master00sniper, first of all, as a solo diver myself (though one who pursued specific training for it), I'm glad to see you here. That you have joined the group shows that you are seeking out a place where you can get information from other more experienced solo divers.

Next, in relation to the part of your post that I've bolded above, yes, SB members did express concern for you, and that is how you should see it. We HATE seeing reports of deaths of our diving sisters and brothers over in the A&I forum, and huge amounts of advice here on SB are offered in order to keep each others' names out of that forum. I think, furthermore, that what you interpret as disgust and hatred is simply frustration that you argue against reasoned advice and insist on re-inventing the wheel, so to speak, by trial and error. You yourself admit that here:

Some of which may be true, especially what I don't know. I've always been one to dive right in (and now that's literal haha) and figure things out for myself.

The whole problem with solo diving through the trial-and-error approach is that what you don't know can kill you, even if you're reasonably competent in the areas your training has already encompassed (in other words, in the areas that you do know).

Furthermore, solo was not the only way to do that dive. If I recall correctly, there were offers from experienced potential buddies to do the dive with you if you would simply reschedule. The fact that you blew off these offers didn't seem wise to most of us (to put it gently).

You did the dive(s); you survived. But it's a little like russian roulette--you dodged a bullet, but who knows what will happen next time if you refuse to consider good advice, especially after you have sought it out. Now that you're here, show a little humility and let us help you pinpoint what you don't know so that you can go get the appropriate guidance to fill in the gaps. Don't repeat the mistake of flaming those who are only trying to help and getting very frustrated in the attempt. This is an online community, and by and large we all care about one another, and that includes you. Look on it as "tough love."

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

OP, your friend is rightfully worried about you. I am glad that you are confident and brave. The problem is that you need dive experience in varied conditions over time to really be exposed to all that out there. You have yet to be challenged with problems, and I promise, they will happen. You will have things go wrong, equipment glitches, condition challenges. You will have any number of minor to great emergencies. Do you really want to face these with no buddy or assistance? Trust me when I tell you that there are definite needs for a good buddy.

You have also not been taught Everything there is to know about diving. Not in OW. You need more knowledge to have the power and preparedness to dive solo.
Take the Advanced course, and take Rescue. You will be beeter trained and also be gaining experience. Just having a spare air, does not give you the knowledge and experience to anticipate problems or troubleshoot existing problems.

I am not telling yu that you cannot be a solo diver. I am telling you that you are not ready to be one Yet. There is no place for arrogance in diving.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I could explain to you all how I feel that I'm competent for a beginner

So could the dude who disappeared at Vortex ... there's still some dispute over whether his body's in there, or whether it'll ever be found.

Overconfidence isn't unusual with beginners if they are the sort who are into taking risks.

Problem is that risks taken through ignorance have a way of catching up with you. In diving that tends to be fatal.

I've pretty much given up trying to talk folks like you out of learning the hard way ... people only hear what they want to hear.

I truly hope you survive the lessons ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[master00sniper]

Grateful, the problem is I'm hearing conflicting opinions. The most vocal of which seems to be everyone who opposes, but i've talked to people on here, through the scuba chat, and in real life who think solo diving for a beginner like me in an easy environment as long as I have a redundant air source, say a 40cf pony bottle, is just as safe as buddy diving.

I'm hearing what I want to hear and what I don't want to hear. It has been enough to make me postpone the purchase of my reg *sigh* and get a pony bottle for myself, which will make buddy diving safer as well (in case I get that buddy again)

I finally decided to post in here to get opinions from SOLO divers. Not people out in the main section. It felt like I was getting too many responses from people who disagree with solo diving in the first place, let alone a beginner doing so.

And quero, my moderator friend, the trip I had planned was not just for diving. It had been planned for weeks, originally just a wakeboarding trip to my favorite lake. I was going with family, staying in an RV park. I could have scheduled another trip to the lake with people from here, which I fully intend on doing if anyone wishes to join me, but I still would have been on the lake wishing I was underneath it. Judging by the time in which we were leaving, how long we were staying, how we were staying, and the few hours I had to use the boat and dive, made this trip only doable solo unless there are some EXTREMELY flexible people on here.

 

[CyprusSeb]

As a pretty new diver myself I will tell you this...

When I first started diving a little over a year ago I thought I was ready for anything. I was taught the basics in OW and thought "how much more complex could this get?". I had decent buoyancy, knew how to deploy my octo, clear my mask, etc. Here I am a year later with over 150 dives, 100 of which are wreck dives and half of those being serious penetration dives. Looking back I can think of DOZENS of times when I realized during a dive that I was nowhere near as good as I thought I was.

Sebastian--
Curiosity and complacency kills divers.

 

[master00sniper]

As a pretty new diver myself I will tell you this...

When I first started diving a little over a year ago I thought I was ready for anything. I was taught the basics in OW and thought "how much more complex could this get?". I had decent buoyancy, knew how to deploy my octo, clear my mask, etc. Here I am a year later with over 150 dives, 100 of which are wreck dives and half of those being serious penetration dives. Looking back I can think of DOZENS of times when I realized during a dive that I was nowhere near as good as I thought I was.

Sebastian--
Curiosity and complacency kills divers.

cyprus, it definitely helps hearing from another relatively new diver, one like myself. I'm coming into this thread with a lot more of a willingness to learn, a lot less of an argumentative spirit. So let me ask you, did you ever encounter anything you could not have overcome yourself in a basic open water low hazard setting, as long as you had a back up air supply and good OW skills? If so, what? How did you deal with it? I have mentally worked my way out of probably every problem I can think of. I know its not the same as ACTUALLY doing so, but it helps to think ahead. They all seem doable with a redundant air supply unless they both failed at the same time. Most problems seem preventable to me with common sense, something you don't need years of diving experience to have.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Grateful, the problem is I'm hearing conflicting opinions. The most vocal of which seems to be everyone who opposes, but i've talked to people on here, through the scuba chat, and in real life who think solo diving for a beginner like me in an easy environment as long as I have a redundant air source, say a 40cf pony bottle, is just as safe as buddy diving.

I'm hearing what I want to hear and what I don't want to hear. It has been enough to make me postpone the purchase of my reg *sigh* and get a pony bottle for myself, which will make buddy diving safer as well (in case I get that buddy again)

I finally decided to post in here to get opinions from SOLO divers. Not people out in the main section. It felt like I was getting too many responses from people who disagree with solo diving in the first place, let alone a beginner doing so.

To be clear, I solo dive ... I've written an article on solo diving for people like yourself who are considering it. I have no objections to people making their own decisions about however they choose to dive ... but I believe those should be informed decisions.

I don't agree that solo diving is safe for a beginner diver. Now, philosophically I'm generally opposed to blanket statements ... there are always exceptions. But those exceptions are rare ... and I have no way of being able to judge whether you are one of them. People have a tendency to overestimate their abilities in diving as in many other things ... and in scuba diving, what you don't know can most certainly hurt you.

The problem with solo diving for the inexperienced diver generally boils down to this ... it's one thing to read about something, and an entirely different thing to experience it. Most divers at your level haven't developed their basic skills to the point where they can perform them without thinking about it. They haven't, therefore, developed an awareness level that's adequate to being able to keep tabs on what's going on around them. They haven't developed enough experience to be able to recognize the signs of something going wrong that can, if not addressed promptly, lead to a bigger problem. And for the solo diver, that heightened awareness level is a critical skill ... because if you find yourself faced with difficulty, you have only yourself as a resource for dealing with it.

There's a big difference between feeling competent to getting yourself out of a bind and being competent to not put yourself in that bind in the first place. The latter only comes with experience ... and the former is a competency that most new divers simply do not possess. Solo is a bad way to suddenly realize you didn't prepare properly to deal with a problem.

Confidence and enthusiasm are something I encourage in scuba divers. But I also encourage them to slow down and learn a little something about their limits before putting themselves out there to test them in a solo situation.

Slow down ... find a competent buddy or mentor. Develop your skills to the point where you don't have to put much thought into them. Give yourself time to learn the new behaviors that will help you maintain the proper level of awareness of what's going on around you when you dive.

THEN consider solo as a viable option ... because by then you'll have given yourself the tools you need to do it safely. Equipment won't get you there ... you need to develop enough experiential context to make good decisions ... because solo diving is all about making good decisions. And most newer divers simply aren't equipped to understand what that really means ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)