I was a little unsure where this was going.... Till I checked your profile, and noticed that you were a member of the solo-diver group.
Then I re-read your post, and realised that there was no mention of a buddy.
I can see the attraction to just pottering around on my own, but, I kinda like having a buddy. (often my wife). I also know that my skills, currency and confidence fall way short of solo diving.
Just as an aside...
I spent a lot of years jumping out of aircraft just for kicks, been out the door below 2000 feet, and at over 20000, so I've done my share of "dangerous" stuff.
If you are well trained and well prepared to do something "dangerous", then it isn't nearly as dangerous as it appears. I'd prefer to be well prepared and doing a "dangerous" dive than ill-prepared and doing a "safe" one.
When you play in this playground, If you mess about, ignore the advice of people who have been there, done that, then hey guess what, you will most likely get badly broken, or killed, or badly broken and then die a few weeks later.
Here's the kicker though.
You can do everying right and still die.
When you go out the door at less than 2000 feet, you are loosing some options in terms of time to deal with a problem. When you dive solo, you are loosing the option of having a buddy help you.
So while solo diving is not for me, nor cave diving, It's not the death sentence that some agencies make it out to be, but it's not to be taken lightly either.
I would agree gcbryan, there is a lot to absorb.
But I won't try to teach skydiving over the internet. I will happily point anyone to the DZs that I have jumped at and would recommend......
Dave.
gcbryan:
I went on a dive today When I was at my max depth I made sure I had enough air to be there. I made sure I didn't stay there too long and I made sure when it was time to ascend that I did it slowly.
I looked at my compass occassionally to make sure I was going in the direction that I intended.
This is how I dive. It works regardless of dive equipment type or agency affiliation.
This is at lot of info for some of you to absorb so please ask questions. I'm a pretty complex guy and I can dive this way but with some practice and with much guidance from me you can to.