My 63 Meter Solo Dive - Cebu, Philippines

[gypsyjim]

But in the end it is our sport that gets a black eye, whenever one diver's poor choices get them hurt or killed. It is not just the reputation of that diver alone that such high risk stunts put on the line.

Not to mention risks to other divers who volunteer to attempt the recovery when things do go south from such a stunt.

 

[Andygoiii]

Hi. Thanks for the responses. As for one poster, no I didnt post this to get praise. I just wanted to share my experience. Isn't this the forum for solo divers? As for bounce diving, some would say it is, but I failed to mention that I ascended in a zig zag pattern. This is to prevent me from ascending faster than I should. Despite this my computer still beeped but it only beeped once and I flatened my ascent even more.

BTW to answer someones earlier post my "tech" position a similar style to when I do wreck diving. I am most comfortable in this position to be able to monitor all my data. The position is similar to skydiving. I avoid diving like I am standing like many do.

I understand some say solo diving deep is dangerous. It is, isnt it? I consider this as dangerous as sky diving or flying alone on an ultralight. I think what is important is proper planning which I believe I did. Yes, I dont have 1000 dives like many others do, but I planned and trained for this for sometime. Will I do it again? Maybe next year looking at 66 meters which is my personal limit solo or with a buddy on air, but Im not sure yet. Its not something I will do on a whim. Before this dive, I was diving around 30 to 40 times a month. I was diving so much just to prepare for this making sure I had the skills I needed. I aborted this deep air dive attempt around 20 times because of poor conditions or just the feeling that something isnt right.

 

[Rhone Man]

I am going to guess: , and shame on the rest of you for taking the bait.

That is a very long and detailed first post (first sign of a troll), and second...

I finally accomplished my goal of hitting 63.2 meters

That is very strange milestone to aim for.

 

[ianr33]

That is very strange milestone to aim for.

My handy dandy online calculator Online Conversion - All Length and Distance Conversions

Tells me that 63.2 meters is Pi/10 Furlongs .

That is an obvious goal for any air bouncing troll

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I understand some say solo diving deep is dangerous. It is, isnt it? I consider this as dangerous as sky diving or flying alone on an ultralight. I think what is important is proper planning which I believe I did. Yes, I dont have 1000 dives like many others do, but I planned and trained for this for sometime. Will I do it again? Maybe next year looking at 66 meters which is my personal limit solo or with a buddy on air, but Im not sure yet. Its not something I will do on a whim. Before this dive, I was diving around 30 to 40 times a month. I was diving so much just to prepare for this making sure I had the skills I needed. I aborted this deep air dive attempt around 20 times because of poor conditions or just the feeling that something isnt right.

I don't think solo diving ... even deep solo diving ... is particularly dangerous if you've considered the risks and prepared for contingencies. I think when you do a dive that deep on a single tank ... even with a bailout bottle ... the risk increases. When you dive to that depth on air ... due to narcosis ... the risks increase. Possibly the mentality that goes into the dive can increase the risks ... because sometimes people get so goal-oriented that they ignore warning signs that should be heeded.

But the real question is how much risk are you willing to take? And do the potential pitfalls of attempting such a dive exceed your capacity to deal with them?

Those are questions that each of us must answer as individuals.

The problem is that most people see themselves as more skilled or capable of dealing with problems than they really are.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Rhone Man]

Sorry, I forgot to add - also calling BS on anyone who can do a 50m dive followed by a 62.3m dive (inc deco on air) on the same single tank. I know mice that have a higher SAC rates than that.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Sorry, I forgot to add - also calling BS on anyone who can do a 50m dive followed by a 62.3m dive (inc deco on air) on the same single tank. I know mice that have a higher SAC rates than that.

Maybe I'm missing it, but I don't think the OP said that in his post.... he did say he stopped at 50m, then continued to 62.3m, then said future dives would be in the 50m range?

I'm fairly "neutral" in regards to posting this type of dive here.... if the appropriate disclaimers are made by the poster, then it is personal choice to conduct (and post about) this type of dive...

And while it may be a personal best for the OP, it is not a record for bounce dives on a single tank.... These deep bounces were fairly "common" (but really stupid) rights of passage for many of us in the 70's and 80's, using steel 72's, no computers, no BC's... silly deep, heavily narc'ed, just enough air for deco...

My "personal choice" is not to give exact details of my own dives because in hindsight I do consider them extremely ill-advised "personal choices" I made as a teenager.

Best wishes.

 

[DevonDiver]

Hi. Thanks for the responses. As for one poster, no I didnt post this to get praise. I just wanted to share my experience.

With all due respect, I would suggest they you honestly analyse your motives.

There is no learning value to your story...and it certainly doesn't illustrate any sound or approved diving practices. Neither is it phrased as a salutory or warning story.

I think most forum members would be mystified why it would be posted. Such scuba 'indiscretions' are normally kept as 'dirty little secrets'.

Isn't this the forum for solo divers?

Yes....solo divers who advocate safe diving practices.

As for bounce diving, some would say it is, but I failed to mention that I ascended in a zig zag pattern. This is to prevent me from ascending faster than I should. Despite this my computer still beeped but it only beeped once and I flatened my ascent even more.

Bounce dive - I am guessing that your descent time exceeded your bottom time?

It seems like this 'zig zag' pattern was used to compensate for a lack of buoyancy and ascent control? I guess you were ascending on a slope.

Comments like that...and also your computer 'beeps' lead me to believe that you have had no technical deep dive training?

BTW to answer someones earlier post my "tech" position a similar style to when I do wreck diving. I am most comfortable in this position to be able to monitor all my data. The position is similar to skydiving. I avoid diving like I am standing like many do.

Word to the wise.... refering to such peculiarities as being 'tech' will get you laughed at.

I understand some say solo diving deep is dangerous. It is, isnt it?

Not really. That is because most of us focus on doing it safety.

It's all about relative perspective. 63m only seems deep to a recreational diver. With the proper technical training and equipment it's not a dangerous proposition at all.

I think what is important is proper planning which I believe I did. Yes, I dont have 1000 dives like many others do, but I planned and trained for this for sometime.

You didn't. Take some advice on that. Your dive was glaringly wrong in every respect.

Regardless of dive count, it is apparent that you do now have the knowledge base to appreciate this yet.

I was diving so much just to prepare for this making sure I had the skills I needed. I aborted this deep air dive attempt around 20 times because of poor conditions or just the feeling that something isnt right.

You don't know what skills are needed. Why would you think you did?

It seems that you are enjoying the 'bravado' of this dangerous stunt. It may make you feel very macho. Perhaps you imagine your name in the media if you tragically died?

Anyone can do a bounce dive. It's not rocket science. Getting back to the surface is the easy bit. The reality is that...running the dive as you are.... you would get a nasty DCI hit. Probably a spinal hit.

It wouldn't be a glorious death. It would be the shock of feeling your lower body go numb. Of sh1tting in your wetsuit and collapsing dribbling and fitting onto the floor... it'd be the reality of having a nurse wipe your stinking ar$e for the rest of your life...and drinking your liquid lunch through a straw every day for the rest of your life. Of bankrupting your family, for the sake of chamber fees and lifelong medical care.... Of never having sex again.... never having children..... inspiring pity, but never lust, in every woman you ever meet.....

You think you know what you are doing??? Really????

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Dive Site: Mactan, Cebu, Philippines
Visibility: Murky at shallower depth and clear after 25 meters
Equipment: Single tank, OMS wing/backplate, 13 liter pony
Dives: 199 for the 63 meter dive, currently 244 dives including 126 solo dives

The Deep Blue Sea

I finally accomplished my goal of hitting 63.2 meters on August 7, 2010. This long elusive deep dive goal was set when I only had 40 dives under my belt and for months I have been preparing to make this dive possible.

I remember doing my first "deep" dive at 30 meters during my advanced open water course late last year. My air consumption was not ideal and the feeling of going to that depth was a different experience. Yet, my curiousity for the deep began. Reading books and articles on deep diving made me realize several things the first being its dangerous. That even excited me more. I crave dangerous challenges. Its something that motivates me. And so I prepared for the last several months going incrementally deeper on my "training" dives. I was excited when I had my first narcosis experience. I wanted to know how I would react to it and learn how to deal with it. The reality is at depth you can't escape it. I have experienced it 5 times where I got extremely dizzy underwater and at least 4 times where i got light headed. Of the dizzy spells, 3 were on solo dives.

Solo, that word combined with dive elicits different reactions from different people. I have heard it all. Dumb, stupid, bold, daring. I really dont care. Solo diving is riskier, but people jump out of planes, climb rock faces without ropes, go to space, and many ordinary people even choose to cross EDSA (a busy road in Manila). I choose to dive alone for several reasons. One, it forces me to dive properly, enhance my skills, take pictures without bother and the pure thrill of being alone.

Thousands of people have done deep dives on air, but a lot less people have gone solo diving let alone a sub-60 meter solo dive. I know a few, but its a rare story one hears. So, I planned this dive doing over 160 or so buddy and solo dives of different types to prepare myself. Every dive was a training dive. I frequently took my gear off including my BCD, mask, and fins at increasingly deeper depths. I went on many zero visibility dives, wreck diving, line diving, drift, etc.

The Dive

I flew in to Cebu earlier in the day to inspect some underwater work for a project we are doing and the water was extremely murky due to habagat season in Cebu. I planned 2 dives for the day in preparation for my 200th dive the next day which was going to be my deep dive as well. After my first and 198th dive, I decided to do a practice deep dive (yes, I did a shallow dive before my deep dive) to 50 meters and check the effects of narcosis. And so I left my camera at the shore donned my gear and checked my tank which was at 180 Bar and jumped in. I started to make my way towards the wall which is around 190 meters from shore checking my gear and air consumption along the way. The water was extremely murky until I hit the wall where it cleared up a bit. I peered down to check how the wall conditions were visually and I could see the bottom. I checked my air noting I still had around 165 bar of air after around 8 mins of dive time. I checked the current at my current depth and it was surprisingly very calm. I began my descent facing north with the wall on my left side. I was at 30m when I changed to my tech position with my gauges and dive computer filling my mask. I would occasionally check my surroundings especially checking the condition of the current since at times it changes rapidly at different depths. Once I hit 50 meters, I faced the wall since I didnt want to worry about seeing anything that might cause me to worry or panic at that depth, like a shark or even a mermaid . I could feel the onset of slight narcosis and I know people who start hallucinating at depth and I wanted to concentrate on my data. I stayed at 50 meters for a couple of seconds when I took a glance of the ocean floor. I knew then that was at around the 60 meter mark. I checked my air again and I still had around 110 to 120 bar. I already blew past my non-deco dive so I knew I had to make some mandatory decompression stops along the way. I observed how lifeless it is at that depth, but I also loved how peaceful and tranquil it was. The water was clear, cool, and calm. I made my way to 60 meters and hit the bottom of the floor. All this time, my eyes were glued to my computer and gauges breathing as calm and controlled as I can. I noticed there was a ledge that would take me a couple of meters lower so I made my way and dropped down to 63.2 meters. I stayed there for less than a minute and started my ascent. I looked up and was surprised how far up the top of the wall was. I thought to myself, "wow, Im 20 stories under the sea alone. how incredibly crazy!" I knew I was a bit impaired due to narcosis since it was hard for me to manage looking at three pieces of data of importance to me. My depth, my ascent rate, and my air. At around 60 meters my computer beeped as the SLOW sign showed showing I was ascending faster than I should. I quickly told myself, "see you are narced, your staring at your watch and still acending quicker than you should". I made the immediate effort to slow down as I made my way up. At around 50m, I started to see more sea life and schools of fish I noticed absent just 13 meters below. I had around 100 bar of air left when I broke the 40 meter mark and when I reached 30 meters I took my first decompression stop for 1 min. I kept my computer at chest level and held on to a rock or coral on the wall for exactly one minute before continuing my ascent. I went over the crest of the wall and made my way to 20 meters where I made another 1 minute decompression stop. I started to feel extremely excited and happy at this point since I knew I was almost in the clear. I say almost because I knew I still had to make several long decompression stops. I made another one at 12 meters for one minute then made a 3 minute stop at 6 meters and another 3 minute stop at 5 meters. By the time I finished my last stop I was shouting loudly as I can underwater. I was so happy. After over 170 dives I finally accomplished my goal. I made it to shore 33 minutes after I started my dive. I noted my air was at 30 bar. I was happy with my air consumption and was glad I was back to shore alive.

Afterthought

Solo deep diving to me is really a mental game. I always knew that at any instant I can die. I knew the risks and was willing to take it. Was this to show I was a tough man? No, I don't really care what others think. This was for me. It was to challenge my psyche. I wanted to do something high risk. Is going deep high risk? Yes, but there are safe parameters to work with. Is diving solo dangerous and risky? Yes. And that's where my challenge was and Im happy to survive it. Will I do it again? Maybe not alone. I really can't say if I would again. I would probably try to hit the 66 meter mark, but I am fully aware of oxygen toxicity which I do dread.

This isn't for everyone. Many will say this isn't even for me, but well Im still alive to talk about it. Maybe I just got lucky, but luck plays into many things. It was an amazing experience to be alone at 63 meters. I hope someday to visit that part of the ocean again, but its not something I take lightly so Im sure it will be another 170 dives before I think about it.

For now, im back to doing 40 meter dives. I will be doing a 50 meter dive soon enjoying underwater photography with my Lumix GF1.

I do solo spearfishing dives on air with a single tank and a pony bottle to a max depth of around 185 ft (56 meters) pretty often. I generally limit my depth to around 200 ft because of narcosis and I really begin to worry about safety at deeper depths and the fun factor begins to fade for me.

Your description of a bounce dive to 210 feet sounds scary to me. Looking only at the wall because you are afraid to look around? Staring at your guages? Screaming and yelling because you simply didn't kill yourself? Worrying about an excessive ascent rate from 63 to 60 meters, because the computer beeps; experiencing significant dizziness .

Seriously, if you are clinging to a wall, staring at your guages rather than looking around etc. etc. it really sounds to me like you have utilized all your bullets in order to simply stay alive at those depths. Sounds to me like you have near zero situational awareness, are very heavily dependent on your computer and I honestly wonder what reserves you have to manage a problem at those depths. A quick drop to 210 feet, with no currents or any specified tasks to accomplish is pretty much a piece of cake for most people I know that dive deep on air. Hell, you weren't even sight seeing, you seem to describe it as guage staring.

From the description, you sound like you want to try deeper dives, I think you should work some more on situational awareness on shallower dives.

 

[DevonDiver]

....oh...and how we would laugh if his computer failed......