windapp
Contributor
Is it OK to pool dive without a buddy (say to perfect your trim) if you have shore supervision? I am talking about an 8-10 foot pool.
Pool Diving
- Thread starter windapp
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Panga Man
Contributor
I'm honestly not trying to be a dick but if you can't honestly assess your skills as a diver well enough to answer this on your own the answer is no.
But then again this is coming from someone who does solo cave dives...
But then again this is coming from someone who does solo cave dives...
sjmueller61990
Guest
yes it is fine in my opinion. if you have a problem with air u can simply just swim to the surface althought it shouldnt be a problem. ill do it before a dive to do a quick bouyancy check there no problems ive ran into yet.
I am asking because I don't think there is much risk. If something goes wrong, I surface, or if need be, drop my weights and surface. I spend most of my time at the bottom of the deep end when I am "swimming" anyway. That is why I got into scuba diving. I really want to know if there are risks I am not thinking of that I need to look out for.
I know a few shops that will rent out of the pool to people to test out new gear and such. Typically, it is a single diver without any shore supervision.
I don't see a huge deal with it.
I don't see a huge deal with it.
There's always a possibility of something bad happening, but I do it fairly routinely, even as a brand newbie. If you're comfortable with your OW skills, it's a great way to dial in buoyancy or practice new skills like different finning techniques etc. I've posted several times about my pool experiences. There will always be some folks who frown on it, especially for newbs, but I tend to take the nay-sayers with a grain of salt anyway. Their points are 100% valid, I just know my own skill level and assess myself fairly realistically.
I tend to agree with Panga Man, though; if you need to ask the answer is no, at least for now. Find a buddy and go to the pool with them until you're certain you are up to the task alone. Then take a buddy anyway, it's more fun.
I tend to agree with Panga Man, though; if you need to ask the answer is no, at least for now. Find a buddy and go to the pool with them until you're certain you are up to the task alone. Then take a buddy anyway, it's more fun.
Is diving solo safe at all? Even in the best conditions whether that be a crystal clear ocean going to 20ft or the big giant 130ft pool off in central america?
Short answer is no, there's always a risk with scuba. It's up to you how you want to address those risks.
If the life guards say no then you have your answer. If there are no lifeguards on duty then it's entirely up to you.
I would recommend making sure your shore support has full knowledge and capability of rescuing you should you go unconscious at the bottom or worse suffer an AGE.
Other than Murphy's law I think it's pretty safe IF you're competent.
Edit: When I first got certified I gave into my dad's pressure to scuba dive alone to repair and putty up our leaking drain in the pool. I was the only one certified at the time, and I only had 6 dives under my belt.
I didn't feel safe, but I felt it was the least I could do since he put all this money in for my gear and certification. Better paying $500 for a repair man to do it on scuba.
So I went in on scuba and he stayed at the surface in swim goggles.
Before going in though I briefed him on how to get me to the surface, how to inflate my BC AND I gave him a detailed step by step set of instructions on what he should do if something happened.
ie.
- yell for my mom to call 911
--- tell the operator there was a diving related emergency
----tell them our address and actually saying our home address out loud (you'd be surprised how forgetful people get under stress)
- how to get me out of the pool and out of my gear
- CPR - 2 breaths for every 30 compressions (my dad was previously certified a long time ago)
I think you should shoot for covering the same at the very least with your shore support.
Short answer is no, there's always a risk with scuba. It's up to you how you want to address those risks.
If the life guards say no then you have your answer. If there are no lifeguards on duty then it's entirely up to you.
I would recommend making sure your shore support has full knowledge and capability of rescuing you should you go unconscious at the bottom or worse suffer an AGE.
Other than Murphy's law I think it's pretty safe IF you're competent.
Edit: When I first got certified I gave into my dad's pressure to scuba dive alone to repair and putty up our leaking drain in the pool. I was the only one certified at the time, and I only had 6 dives under my belt.
I didn't feel safe, but I felt it was the least I could do since he put all this money in for my gear and certification. Better paying $500 for a repair man to do it on scuba.
So I went in on scuba and he stayed at the surface in swim goggles.
Before going in though I briefed him on how to get me to the surface, how to inflate my BC AND I gave him a detailed step by step set of instructions on what he should do if something happened.
ie.
- yell for my mom to call 911
--- tell the operator there was a diving related emergency
----tell them our address and actually saying our home address out loud (you'd be surprised how forgetful people get under stress)
- how to get me out of the pool and out of my gear
- CPR - 2 breaths for every 30 compressions (my dad was previously certified a long time ago)
I think you should shoot for covering the same at the very least with your shore support.
would you swim alone in your pool? there are risks in that too, but if you are comfortable managing those risk alone in water (swimming or scuba) you can make a decision. For me I do both (in a pool), but don't do as stupid things (like breath holding when practicing apnea - obviously not on scuba - had to point that out because this is SB and someone might think I am)
I'm picking up that he's asking about 'unknown' risks.
Is it a public pool? Swimmers overhead. Emergency ascent could hurt them or you, and the resulting outcry. Are you putting up an SMB or something? Need to warn people.
Are you alone? As someone said, what is the worst that can happen? You giant stride in and rip a tendon - do you have a way to get yourself out? You said surface support -- out there at the pool, or inside the kitchen with the patio door open?
What about kids? Could someone come to the edge and go, 'ooh, let's go see what he's doing?' Kid could drown before you know they are there. Pets?
What about exposure protection? Don't underestimate the power of hypothermia or of water's ability to cool down your core far more than you know.
How am I doing, so far?
