My first solo dive!!
- Thread starter SmileMon
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you might find yourself at some point wanting to blow it from deeper. Example: I will be drifting with a group....I enter a ledge/cavern to shoot some sleeping sharks that I am excited to have found. Everybody else looks and then moves along..drifting in the current. I stay seven minutes or so, taking pictures. Now, I continue my drift, knowing that I am certainly well seperated from the group. I blow my sausage and it is easy to tow, even at 50ft or so.... By doing this I know that when the other divers are met by the boat and say "oh we last saw her in the cave..." the captain will not worry because he can track my last portion of the dive. It keeps him from having to scan the waters surface for me. By seeing my marker, he knows all is well, and if the captains aren't stressed, they let you "do more".
Most operators here tolerate solo by advanced divers who have a marker and do not "screw up the charter" by diving for prolonged dives. Sometimes I get a little heat for taking to long...I try not to push my luck with them.
BTW, the sausage I tow has much less drag than a float or a flag. I hardly know it is there.
Most operators here tolerate solo by advanced divers who have a marker and do not "screw up the charter" by diving for prolonged dives. Sometimes I get a little heat for taking to long...I try not to push my luck with them.
BTW, the sausage I tow has much less drag than a float or a flag. I hardly know it is there.
Six packs are for drinking, not for diving. If you really want to go solo, don't do a charter where they stick you with an un experienced diver. Get your own boat, have a top man/lady and go solo diving. It will set you free. If you have to ask questions about your kit or your abilities, you just plain not ready. Actully read books about solo diving. These will answer alot of questions you may have. In the end though, if you cannot believe in yourself or your abilities, stick to buddy diving. If you think you will fail, you will. Its as simple as that. If you feel confident in your abilities and can work your way through problems, your probably ready. Any doubts in yourself scrub the dive. Dive safe.
Jim
Jim
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I agree with you although I want to point out that the commercial captains I rely on, are very experienced, and I would probably worry a bit with an "uninitiated" captain.
When we get our own boat very soon, we will not be solo diving on drifts the way we do it with our very reliable captains who really know what they are doing. The captain I use a lot has 35 years on these waters. In some ways it isn't really solo when you have a guy like that tracking your movements! I cannot overestimate how much I count on them to have a safe solo dive.
Often, I think how much more "solo" kayak divers are than what I do. The possibility that their kayak won't be there is a possibilty, etc. If I dive without anyone on a boat, I stay within eyesight of the anchor. I am not telling anyone else what to do, I am just sharing my own strategy for staying "safe enough for me".
When we get our own boat very soon, we will not be solo diving on drifts the way we do it with our very reliable captains who really know what they are doing. The captain I use a lot has 35 years on these waters. In some ways it isn't really solo when you have a guy like that tracking your movements! I cannot overestimate how much I count on them to have a safe solo dive.
Often, I think how much more "solo" kayak divers are than what I do. The possibility that their kayak won't be there is a possibilty, etc. If I dive without anyone on a boat, I stay within eyesight of the anchor. I am not telling anyone else what to do, I am just sharing my own strategy for staying "safe enough for me".
Jim, I don't know if I'm ready or not, I just feel its better... a lot of times I feel very unsafe with a buddy, this way I only risk my own ignorance and lack of experience.
Diving with an experienced diver is fun, we both just drift along (or hover about), not bumping into eachother, not draining too much air, just laying there and letting the current do the rest.
I had the buddy from hell on friday night dive, the guy acted like he had a scooter up his behind, left right left right, up down forward backward, I got pissed after 20 minutes of following him (he's an air hog so I was afraid he'll ran out of air, I already dove with him once and the problem is that my instructor buddy him with me on the advanced). what are my options? pay for a charter and get pissed at the insta-buddy or take the risk of solo and at least enjoy my dive?
(its the same guy from "almost an accident", a thread I posted before about not knowing what to do if your buddy shoots up to the surface... he did it again that last dive too... he signalled up and just flew to the top.. "I have a headache..")
Next time I take the flag, I need to get used to it..
Diving with an experienced diver is fun, we both just drift along (or hover about), not bumping into eachother, not draining too much air, just laying there and letting the current do the rest.
I had the buddy from hell on friday night dive, the guy acted like he had a scooter up his behind, left right left right, up down forward backward, I got pissed after 20 minutes of following him (he's an air hog so I was afraid he'll ran out of air, I already dove with him once and the problem is that my instructor buddy him with me on the advanced). what are my options? pay for a charter and get pissed at the insta-buddy or take the risk of solo and at least enjoy my dive?
(its the same guy from "almost an accident", a thread I posted before about not knowing what to do if your buddy shoots up to the surface... he did it again that last dive too... he signalled up and just flew to the top.. "I have a headache..")
Next time I take the flag, I need to get used to it..
David P
Guest
Usually, not always but usually I enjoy solo diving better than with a buddy. Simply because I have a photographers mindset. I've dove with people who cover about 5 square miles of terrain in one dive, but I would preffer looking at one or two rocks for 45 minutes or so. A few weeks ago during my Rescue class, we all got to do a recreational dive and take a break. We started off as a group but ended up with solo except one guy following me. At the end of the dive everyone said it was an ok dive but didn't see much. I pointed out to my follower 8 lobsters, 3 octopi, a colony of cowries, 3 or 4 different species of nudis, it was an awsome dive. I think the ultimate is to do a solo dive and have a friend happen to follow you so you can point out all the cool stuff as you putt along. I just got doubles, insta buddied with some guy I've seen at my shop (who is a DM candidate), he said he'd watch me becuse it was my first dive in doubles. The guy panicked in the current, couldn't submerge, and then blasted to the top from 108' because he couldn't vent air from his drysuit, hit the surface and started swimming the wrong way to the boat. The whole time Im thinking "if it werent for the doubles, I would have soloed this dive..." Im thinking of getting a 40 for pony for when I single tank it...
ianr33
Contributor
How do you carry your pony?
I guess the buddy system doesn't work for some divers...
Or, I should find a serious buddy that's not a "guage buddy".. I'll be perfectly happy with 2-3 rocks, usually they have plenty of life on them, every coral has fish near it, worms, shrimp and some other things I can't identify yet.
But most of the divers I've been with just try to cover as much space as they can find, seeing only the big things.
I've seen a new coral today, it was black and it looked like it had a mouth that was closing and opening.. I'm sure I've seen it before, just couldn't spare the bubbles to actually see it....
Ok, this thread should be moved to whine and cheese..
Or, I should find a serious buddy that's not a "guage buddy".. I'll be perfectly happy with 2-3 rocks, usually they have plenty of life on them, every coral has fish near it, worms, shrimp and some other things I can't identify yet.
But most of the divers I've been with just try to cover as much space as they can find, seeing only the big things.
I've seen a new coral today, it was black and it looked like it had a mouth that was closing and opening.. I'm sure I've seen it before, just couldn't spare the bubbles to actually see it....
Ok, this thread should be moved to whine and cheese..
Zeagle pony straps, its on my BC on the back, I tried setting it so the valve is on the bottom so I can reach it during the dive, but its hard to breath like that (the hose is too short).
So right now its on my right side, valve up, two straps, hose going under my right arm and clipped to my lower chest D ring (the octo is on the higher chest D ring).
It sustained strong currents, giant stride and backroll without a problem.
So right now its on my right side, valve up, two straps, hose going under my right arm and clipped to my lower chest D ring (the octo is on the higher chest D ring).
It sustained strong currents, giant stride and backroll without a problem.
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