Is it (a relatively) safe idea or are we crazy?

[ttew]

Why do not insta-buddy with other solo divers, join a discover local dive, or hire a DM to buddy with him on his "solo"-dives?
It is usually much cheaper than having the pony inspected and it is much more useful in most likely emergency situations than an ooa.
The second option, if available, definitely increases the dive experience.

my 2 cents

 

[ScubaSteve]

Why do not insta-buddy with other solo divers, join a discover local dive, or hire a DM to buddy with him on his "solo"-dives?
It is usually much cheaper than having the pony inspected and it is much more useful in most likely emergency situations than an ooa.
The second option, if available, definitely increases the dive experience.

my 2 cents

Hiring a DM for every single dive is cheaper than slinging a free tank? I can also say that for me (everybody may see this differently), a solo dive in a place like Bonaire is one of the best places because you can just take everything in and focus only on what is in front of you......that could also be the "photographer" in me talking though.

 

[herman]

Why do not insta-buddy with other solo divers, join a discover local dive, or hire a DM to buddy with him on his "solo"-dives?
It is usually much cheaper than having the pony inspected and it is much more useful in most likely emergency situations than an ooa.
The second option, if available, definitely increases the dive experience.

my 2 cents

Depends on your objectives and point of view. When I solo I usually have a camera with me and I am looking for macro shots. No buddy is likely to want to do my dive which will likely involve as much as 15 minutes or more in one single shot looking at a creature the size of an ant. In the past, I have spent almost an entire dive in one spot working on one shot....and considering my normal dive on Bonaire is over an hour, that can be really boring for a buddy. I would make a horrible buddy for someone if I do my dive and it's unlikely that they would ever want to go with me again. Adding a buddy to those dives greatly decreases my enjoyment of the dive as I now go into DM mode and keep one eye on my buddy and the other on the dive- just as a good buddy should instead of concentrating on my camera. Insta buddies are the worst as I have no clue their level of experience or competence so the DM mode goes into high until I have a few dives with them. With insta buddies, my camera usually gets turned off, so much for the whole purpose of the dive.
Just to put it in some prospective, I also enjoy diving with others, esp. just certified dives, so it‘s has nothing to do with diving with others. Nothing is more satisfying for me than to get to see the look on the face of a new diver that just did their first OW dive in a tropical location. I had the great pleasure of sending almost every dive last summer on Bonaire with 2 new young divers and I am looking forward to diving with one of them again this summer. It's all about the objective of the dive, some are best done solo and others are more fun with a buddy.

 

[diversteve]

IIRC he is the only one on the island (but my info may be dated). The couple people that I know that have gone down and rented ponies have only done it once. The spare stage kit and slinging an 80 or a 63 is so much easier. Basically, you set the "pony" up when you get there and leave that tank in the truck for the week. If you never breathe it down down there is no need to fill it. That verus the $80 or $90 it costs to rent the tank.......I'll take my spare kit.

Dive Friends has 40's but they're filled with tech gas - likely DIN also:

Tech Rental:
We have an assortment of well maintained Scubapro technical diving equipment and other tech diving accessories available for rent. Some gases need to be arranged in advance, so please email info@dive-friends-bonaire.com to reserve.

Nitrox 40% fill - 40 cuft tank

Nitrox 70% fill - 40 cuft tank

Personally I'd rent a small Pony before slinging an 80. But to each his own.

 

[DaleC]

No extra gas will help you when you have a medical issue once submerged.

As long as both of you understand the risk and comfortable with the decision them who are we (read me) to say no.

I do know that a large % of dive fatalities happen we the diver is alone/separated.

https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/files/Fatalities_Proceedings.pdf
http://d35gjurzz1vdcl.cloudfront.net/ftw-files/Day1/Evidence/2.pdf

Just read through those two links - couldn't find a mention of solo diving as being a contributing factor to diving fatalities. Can you indicate the page #'s please. And there is a difference between being solo and being separated. The second being a failure of the "buddy" system.

 

[ntmainstrm]

UNCFNP,
I did solo dives from DIVI pier last spring and found it very relaxing. On some dives I even carried OMG a SPARE AIR! I wouldn't want all my dives to be solo but Bonaire was a great place to enjoy a few.

 

[Kharon]

I had already checked with Dive Friends and we fly with Insel Air which states " no tanks" and with my luck...

Yeah. I flew Jet Blue who had the same restriction on tanks as well as Insel. Thing is, the only people who look in your checked bags are TSA - the airline people never see it. I took my pony with valve removed in my checked bag, no problem. Here's a link to a doc I printed and put in checked bag (and wrapped one around the pony too) just in case the TSA person wasn't familiar with the regulation.

Compressed Gas Cylinders | Transportation Security Administration

 

[gbf]

I do it routinely - I like to dive a daybreak, and I have a little trouble getting my women up to go with me.

I take a roll of tape, some bungee and cave line, a couple of bolt snaps and a stage reg with me. Grab an extra tank, smallest available, rig it, and keep it for the duration of the trip.

Sling it on left d-rings and instant, easy, out-of-the-way (and free) redundancy. Most of our dives on bon are 60' or less for an hour+, so I just do the same thing when solo...

 

[uncfnp]

Why do not insta-buddy with other solo divers, join a discover local dive, or hire a DM to buddy with him on his "solo"-dives?
It is usually much cheaper than having the pony inspected and it is much more useful in most likely emergency situations than an ooa.
The second option, if available, definitely increases the dive experience.

my 2 cents

If he hires a DM it would be for the east side and he would then have to take me with him!

I do it routinely - I like to dive a daybreak, and I have a little trouble getting my women up to go with me.


I take a roll of tape, some bungee and cave line, a couple of bolt snaps and a stage reg with me. Grab an extra tank, smallest available, rig it, and keep it for the duration of the trip.


Sling it on left d-rings and instant, easy, out-of-the-way (and free) redundancy. Most of our dives on bon are 60' or less for an hour+, so I just do the same thing when solo...

Definitely a possibility.

Also still considering possibility of packing pony. I think he likes the option of going a little deeper.

Kharon. Thanks for the link

 

[Colliam7]

My husband and I will be back in Bonaire this spring. I know from past trips that he will want to do more of the shallower dives then me. Usually it's on the house reef . . . We agreed our last trip that he could do a solo dive for about 30 min and no more than 30 feet so a cesa is possible. . . . We have all the typical safety gear, except no pony bottle. . . . And do not see it listed as rental where we go.

I can't tell from your post if the 'safety gear' includes a reg he can use on a pony bottle. Dive Friends does list AL40s (with 40%) as tech rentals. I wouldn't want to pay $15/day for a redundant air source. But, the beauty of email is that you can ask them, in advance, whether your husband could, for instance, rent a bottle for a one time fee, and only pay more than one day's fee if he uses the gas (or some other, similar accomodation). All they can say is 'No'. I agree that the cylinder will probably be DIN. Is that a problem with his spare reg?

So, without a pony pottle for air redundancy. Am I crazy to let him do this. He has done about 120 dives in all.

No, you are not. More than a few of the people who have already responded dive solo on Bonaire, without a redundant air supply. When I am there, I do regularly, usually in the evening. I am in agreement with Herman - the likelihood of a catastrophic failure is quite low. Bonaire is generally a very benign diving environment around the resorts.

I think he would be well-served by a solo diving course. He would also be well-served by gaining experience slinging a bottle, or learning to use a recreational sidemount rig, for that matter. For Bonaire, slinging a AL63 would be a reasonable alternative to consider, compared to trying to find / rent an AL30 or 40. Although my wife and I (like to think that we) pack 'light' for Bonaire, we usually seem to have near max loads, and adding the weight of a pony seems unnecessary. I carry a cam band, bolt snaps and some braided cord and can rig a sling easily.

Bottom line - doing shallow solo dives on the house reef should not be a big deal, with or without a redundant air supply. You are not crazy.