My first solo

[Tigerman]

If you are totally comfortable if your first stage fails at 40 ft, then you are in good shape to solo at 40 ft. If it scares you, you shouldn't be there. I would have no trouble at 40 ft (and you probably wouldn't either) But, you need to feel certain of that. Once I'm at 70 ft, I start to feel insecure about a CESA, and thats how I know how deep to be.

Good to hear im not the only one that use the feeling of insecurity of one of my limiting factors.. I dont feel that I can master things as deep at 70 ft tho.. Tend to stay above 25 ft myself while diving solo.
A thought that keep bugging me a bit however is the fact that diving with a buddy, I feel completely confident far deeper (been to 100 feet with a buddy). Im not sure if that is a good thing..

 

[fire_diver]

Congrats on the first solo. Always remember to use your head, and carry backups. You have to be your own dive buddy, make sure you have the redundant gas "he" would supply to you.

Don't worry about being a bad example to students. I enjoy it. Just dive when and where you want. If there are students around, maybe they will open thier eyes (mind) and begin questioning "why" they are told certain things.

Comrade Stroke

 

[ArcticDiver]

Your post, to me, shows the absolute perfect reason for solo diving: It was the thing to do at the time.

You weren't trying to be macho. You weren't trying to prove anything. You just wanted a nice dive in conditions you were comfortable with. Great!

As for the equipment failure issue. Well, as has been mentioned, properly maintained and tested equipment failure is Very Rare. In fact one dive guide I know who does lots of dives leading others says in his many years of work he has never seen a failure with maintained, tested gear.

But, like all risk analysis, it comes down to your comfort level. Everything has some risk. How miuch is too much is a very personal decision for which there are no wrong answers; only what satisfies you.

 

[nereas]

Hanging around the perimeter of an O/W class is a lot like being in the class. I am sure the instructor was aware of you at all times, if not a little nervous when he/she could not spot you right away. You thought you were solo, but there were a dozen air donors available if you needed it.

On a solo dive, there are no donors.

Van Maier wrote a book on solo diving, which you should get a hold of and read carefully, Art. It will give you rules and procedures to follow on a real solo dive.

 

[nereas]

Your post, to me, shows the absolute perfect reason for solo diving: It was the thing to do at the time.

You weren't trying to be macho. You weren't trying to prove anything. You just wanted a nice dive in conditions you were comfortable with. Great!

As for the equipment failure issue. Well, as has been mentioned, properly maintained and tested equipment failure is Very Rare. In fact one dive guide I know who does lots of dives leading others says in his many years of work he has never seen a failure with maintained, tested gear.

But, like all risk analysis, it comes down to your comfort level. Everything has some risk. How miuch is too much is a very personal decision for which there are no wrong answers; only what satisfies you.

The only absolute reason for solo diving that I can think of is because you absolutely have done everything you can to find a buddy, but you could not find one, and there are no prospects of finding one anytime soon.

It is always better and more fun to dive with a buddy. It is never a good idea to dive alone.

When I dive solo, it is because I want to go diving and there is no buddy available to come along. Sometimes, on a cattle boat, I can find someone who came without a buddy. Otherwise, I dive solo because I am alone.

 

[Timeliner]

Welcome to the group Art Vandalay.

You went in , had fun and lived to do it another day
Cool !

Remember though that just because a person thinks they can probably do an out of air assent from 40 feet or deeper doesn't mean you ought to think of that as your back up plan. It took me awhile to come to that conclusion but I finally did. Get some back up gas. It's a comfort to know you have it when you solo or go deep and get separated from your buddy in the dark.

 

[ArcticDiver]

The only absolute reason for solo diving that I can think of is because you absolutely have done everything you can to find a buddy, but you could not find one, and there are no prospects of finding one anytime soon.

It is always better and more fun to dive with a buddy. It is never a good idea to dive alone.

When I dive solo, it is because I want to go diving and there is no buddy available to come along. Sometimes, on a cattle boat, I can find someone who came without a buddy. Otherwise, I dive solo because I am alone.

HMMMM....I think the the rules for this forum are similar to those for DIR; no challenge on whether to do it or not; just on techniques and practices.

So, I'll limit my comments to two:
1: Yes sometimes it is nicer to dive with someone else. I thoroughly enjoy most of my dives with other people. I especially have enjoyed my team dives with some of the friends here and on both coasts. But, I have had enjoyable solo dives because that fit the situation and I didn't seek out anyone else.
2: You and I will have to agree to disagree. When you use terms like "never" and "always" in this context I know you have so much emotional energy tied up in your position arguement is pointless.

 

[nereas]

Welcome to the group Art Vandalay.

You went in , had fun and lived to do it another day
Cool !

Remember though that just because a person thinks they can probably do an out of air assent from 40 feet or deeper doesn't mean you ought to think of that as your back up plan. It took me awhile to come to that conclusion but I finally did. Get some back up gas. It's a comfort to know you have it when you solo or go deep and get separated from your buddy in the dark.

Maier talks about this issue in his book.

The technical choices indeed are (1) limit your depth to your max CESA depth, or (2) wear a pony.

My person preference is (1). Of course then you must always keep your buoyancy neutral, so that you can implement a CESA (controlled emergency swimming ascent) at any instant.

There is lots and lots to continually think about on a safe solo dive.

 

[nereas]

HMMMM....I think the the rules for this forum are similar to those for DIR; no challenge on whether to do it or not; just on techniques and practices.

So, I'll limit my comments to two:
1: Yes sometimes it is nicer to dive with someone else. I thoroughly enjoy most of my dives with other people. I especially have enjoyed my team dives with some of the friends here and on both coasts. But, I have had enjoyable solo dives because that fit the situation and I didn't seek out anyone else.
2: You and I will have to agree to disagree. When you use terms like "never" and "always" in this context I know you have so much emotional energy tied up in your position arguement is pointless.

I believe that the right answer is that a solo dive is the lesser of two evils, the two evils being (1) not being able to go diving and (2) diving solo.

I do not believe it is a safe idea to pretent there is any other reason to dive solo.

I completely agree with NetDoc's statement on the decision to dive solo, as well. Diving solo is a choice that should be based on many things, including whether there was available another equally competent diver to buddy up with you.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

The only absolute reason for solo diving that I can think of is because you absolutely have done everything you can to find a buddy, but you could not find one, and there are no prospects of finding one anytime soon.

That's your opinion ... but I think the only absolute reason for solo diving is because you want to. Why you want to isn't anyone else's criteria. Sometimes I just want to be alone and not have to feel responsible for someone else. That's as good a reason to solo as any I can think of.

When I dive solo, it is because I want to go diving and there is no buddy available to come along. Sometimes, on a cattle boat, I can find someone who came without a buddy. Otherwise, I dive solo because I am alone.

That's your choice ... mine is to avoid cattle boats and unknown dive buddies. To my concern, those conditions represent the VERY BEST reasons to go solo, since by doing so you're eliminating a lot of unknowns and potential liabilities.

It is always better and more fun to dive with a buddy. It is never a good idea to dive alone.

Hmmm ... doesn't this statement belong in some other forum

http://scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=66561

... Bob (Grateful Diver)