I've been set free!!! Solo

[Solotor]

9. In a past life, I raced mountain bikes, road bikes and off-road motorcycles competitively and trained solo all the time. I would go on 9 hour training rides in the Oregon Cascades backcountry on my mountain bike with nothing but myself, my bike and some redundant gear (tools, spare tubes, patches, enough water and food)- I find it interesting how different sports and activities treat solo participants differently.

To be fair, this is an underrated security aspect in these sports. In my group we remind our buddies to be very careful when riding alone. With an enduro motorcycle, you can very easily reach spots where nobody else ever goes, and there's lots of ways to screw up yourself, the bike, or a combination thereof.

In my opinion, the different treatment of solo activities has to do with the perceived difference in the near-instant death of scuba diving, versus sitting in the dirt with a broken leg, thinking somehow you might fight your way out of this.

 

[mallbritton]

OP here. Thanks for all the great responses. To answer several inquires: yes, I did get solo certified. It was fun!

My only concern in the future is the availability of pony bottles for a reasonable rate. I DO NOT want to fly with one in my luggage. Seems like a big (and expensive) pain, when considering all my other gear and luggage fees.

Luckily, Coco View had them for free, but other places I've asked have limited or no availability. Maybe that will change too.

Remember, if there are no smaller tanks available you can always sling an AL80. There's no rule that says you can't do that. I've done it a number of times.

 

[RonaldP]

I like all of you also like solo diving. But I do feel resistance by the establishment. Just recently I got an email from a resort in Bonaire stating no solo diving is allowed. This happened to me again in the Caymans where 2 businesses would not give tanks out as on that day, my buddy had gone shopping with his wife and I was stranded on land looking at the beautiful water.

I was actually encouraged in a resort in Bonaire by the the diveshop/school to go solo in front of the resort and do some work in the coral nursery. I have to mention they know me, did my OW and AOW and > 40 boatdives with them as a “solo” diver in the group led by the DM, so just keeping an eye on the group and only regularly communicating with the DM with the normal handsignals like being Oke, half tank etc.

Real solodive in the the nursery was around 30 feet max, no pony. I do check, double check my gear to a higher standard, have a knive, return having at least 50 bar when exiting the water, being conservative in my actions and safety limits.

I did informed the dive shop upfront of my plans and timing, got my bottle and off I went. I am a confident diver, precise and have my own gear, and in total done around 60 dives sofar.

Ron

 

[tkaelin]

At 60 dives you just don't know what you don't know. Be careful out there. There is some logic by requiring a certain number of dives before being able to certify solo

 

[Marie13]

I was actually encouraged in a resort in Bonaire (Harbour Village) by the the diveshop/school to go solo in front of the resort and do some work in the coral nursery. I have to mention they know me, did my OW and AOW and > 40 boatdives with them as a “solo” diver in the group led by the DM, so just keeping an eye on the group and only regularly communicating with the DM with the normal handsignals like being Oke, half tank etc.

Real solodive in the the nursery was around 30 feet max, no pony. I do check, double check my gear to a higher standard, have a knive, return having at least 50 bar when exiting the water, being conservative in my actions and safety limits.

I did informed the dive shop upfront of my plans and timing, got my bottle and off I went. I am a confident diver, precise and have my own gear, and in total done around 60 dives sofar.

Ron

Suggest you go get the SDI solo cert once you have 100 dives. You just don’t go off for a single tank bimble. Redundancy!

 

[Ana]

...and here we go again.

Actually, surprised it was almost 2 hours for the warnings to come in. I read "60 dives" and I knew it was coming.

 

[Marie13]

...and here we go again.

Actually, surprised it was almost 2 hours for the warnings to come in. I read "60 dives" and I knew it was coming.

 

[RonaldP]

It is close to shore 50 - 75 meters, CEA is very doable from 20-25 feet, so no fear of out of air situation. if the worst come, I can drop my BCD at the surface and swim back to the beach.
I definitely would make not make a solo shore dive from a place not so secluded as this place.

 

[scubadada]

@RonaldP

Doing a solo dive without certification and appropriate equipment is one thing. Having that promoted by a dive operation is an entirely different thing. I could try to guess your operator, but won't. There are a small number of resorts/dive ops with a coral nursery out front on the reef.

 

[RobPNW]

I would like to do the training, if for nothing else, to learn more redundant techniques and self rescue, even if I never dive solo.