Practicing skills....Alone??

[QuoVadis]

Is it OK to practice Diving skills alone, especially buoyancy control? I would be doing it in an area with other divers around (beach jetties) and only going down aprox. 15 feet. And if it is all right, should i consider it a "dive" as far as logging it in my logbook? Thanks for the help.

 

[gfisher4792]

I'm a diver who ventures out on my own to practice skills. Ideally, you should be doing this in a pool, but sometimes that just doesn't work. As far as choosing a location, I would pick one that is relatively popular, and has calm water (no current). A bay, cove, something like that. And if it's early in your diving life, I would log the dive. Why not? You'll probably end up practicing for a while, then swim around, observing what's around you. I would also note that it was a skills dive. I like to practice buoyancy, check to see if I can handle/use all the gear I have strapped to me (especially cutting tools, and if I've added or changed a configuration) and other procedures (i.e, inflating and shooting my safety sausage, for example). Have fun!

 

[Boogie711]

Can you drown in 15 feet? Has anyone ever planned on drowning? If you have to ask, isn't that reason alone to reconsider?

IMO - never EVER dive solo.

 

[tx.lakerats]

I have to agree with Boogie711... if you have to ask... then YOU know the answer already!!

 

[OneBrightGator]

So do I.

Find a buddy who also wants to work on skills and go diving together, not only will you both get to work on skills, you'll improve your buddy diving.

Ben

 

[HammerNoMore]

Is it OK to practice Diving skills alone, especially buoyancy control? I would be doing it in an area with other divers around (beach jetties) and only going down aprox. 15 feet. And if it is all right, should i consider it a "dive" as far as logging it in my logbook? Thanks for the help.

This is something you generally have to decide for yourself based on your own skill level and comfort in the water as well as your own regard for personal safety. My best suggestion would be do do a search on here on solo diving. There are lots of good (and sometimes heated) discussions on the topic.

Some, as you see here will say never dive solo. IMHO that's their personal decision, and not necissarly one you have to take for yourself. My personal take is that solo diving is ok, if you are properly prepaird. For me that means familiar conditions and not too deep.

For example, when I get to Coz in a couple of weeks, I'll be shore diving the La Ceiba area. I'm going alone and I have been diving there before. When I go for a dive, I'll look around for others getting ready to go in and try to buddy up with them. If nobody is available, I will go solo, assuming the currents are not unexpectedly fast. I'll set a max depth of 30' and not sray too far from the dock.

James

 

[MikeFerrara]

My opinion is you shouldn't be solo diving if you need work on the basics (if ever).

 

[QuoVadis]

Well you can drown with 10 buddies also. Its waying the risks for the reward. I have new equipment (wetsuit etc.) that i have never used so i want to get my buoncy down with proper weighting. With other divers in the area i see no problem with it. I dont think anyone wants to hang out and watch me practice buoncy control.

 

[QuoVadis]

I'm a diver who ventures out on my own to practice skills. Ideally, you should be doing this in a pool, but sometimes that just doesn't work. As far as choosing a location, I would pick one that is relatively popular, and has calm water (no current). A bay, cove, something like that. And if it's early in your diving life, I would log the dive. Why not? You'll probably end up practicing for a while, then swim around, observing what's around you. I would also note that it was a skills dive. I like to practice buoyancy, check to see if I can handle/use all the gear I have strapped to me (especially cutting tools, and if I've added or changed a configuration) and other procedures (i.e, inflating and shooting my safety sausage, for example). Have fun!

Thanks. sounds very logical.

 

[QuoVadis]

Can you drown in 15 feet? Has anyone ever planned on drowning? If you have to ask, isn't that reason alone to reconsider?

IMO - never EVER dive solo.

yes you can...................Im sure some people do.......................no its not reason enough.............