My first solo

[Diveral]

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..

Actually I believe that is perfectly normal. When you are solo you are completely alone and dependent on yourself. So you are limited to your experience, equipment, and you usually accept a lesser degree of risk while soloing. When I solo I limit my depth to 2/3rd of my max CESA depth unless I bring a redundant air source. I will accept a higher level of risk when diving with a buddy. Also I find I will alter my dive profiles based on the experience of my buddy if I am buddy diving.

AL

 

[nereas]

Von Maier's book is one that I wish I had not spent the money on. ...after a few dives you'll develop your own to fit your style, comfort level and environment...

Well, sure, if you live.

The whole idea of reading someone else's views is to get a sense of what you are up against, and to visualize the situation, and prepare for it.

I thought the book was great.

 

[CBulla]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

This thread was brought to the attention of the Moderation staff. I've reviewed it and found that a few of the posts are on the border of the rules for this forum. This forum is for the discussion or sharing of ideas and techniques of solo diving and how to do it safely, not the debate of it's safety.

We now return you to your irreguarly scheduled discussion - CBulla, solodiver

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[Cacia]

So...just curious, are you supposed to discuss that anywhere?

Rules are so confusing.

 

[ArcticDiver]

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..

I agree, if that is worth anything, that going deeper with a buddy than you would go solo is not a good thing. A person should always either be comfortable in what they are doing, or know how they are nibbling at the edges of their comfort zone.

So, yes, learning to trust your gut is one of the best skills to have; not only for scuba, but for many other things.

 

[CBulla]

So...just curious, are you supposed to discuss that anywhere?

Rules are so confusing.

Discuss what? Solo? It can be talked about elsewhere, but if you join this forum, it's understood that you a) understand the risks of solo diving, and b) agree that preaching 'dive with a buddy' is recommended by most dive agencies, but we choose to do it a little differently and that its only a recommendation.

 

[evil_xander]

I just had to give it a try last weekend, it was a bit weird initially but then as I expected, I continued to do whatever it is that I regularly do diving - dive.

The fun part, well, as I always dive 'solo' mentally wise, prepaired to help myself, not expect others to do it, but keep an alert eye at the buddy at all times, before, during and after the dive, I could drop that part and just focus on the dive.

I kept myself in the range of 15-20m where I felt comfortable to do an emergency ascent should any such need arise, planned my dive to max 35 minutes (sea is still rather cold) with a 15L steel tank, 2 first stages.

You can say I did it out of curiosity, but on a very familiar ground, and I noted the appropriate person when I plan to surface as he escorted me to the shore, so that he may keep an eye on the sea for bubbles. Does this qualify as a solo dive?

 

[Tigerman]

I just had to give it a try last weekend, it was a bit weird initially but then as I expected, I continued to do whatever it is that I regularly do diving - dive.

The fun part, well, as I always dive 'solo' mentally wise, prepaired to help myself, not expect others to do it, but keep an alert eye at the buddy at all times, before, during and after the dive, I could drop that part and just focus on the dive.

I kept myself in the range of 15-20m where I felt comfortable to do an emergency ascent should any such need arise, planned my dive to max 35 minutes (sea is still rather cold) with a 15L steel tank, 2 first stages.

You can say I did it out of curiosity, but on a very familiar ground, and I noted the appropriate person when I plan to surface as he escorted me to the shore, so that he may keep an eye on the sea for bubbles. Does this qualify as a solo dive?

As long as you planned to dive alone, Id say yes.
Someone driving you and seeing your bubbles doesnt really help you during the dive, but its providing some extra safety should an emergency occur.
And grats on your first solo btw