Info Published Standards for SSI, SDI, and PADI "solo" courses

[rgkv]

I just started my self-reliant {solo} course and was told there is no manuel, it is all instructor taught, I did one day class, 3 dives to go

 

[Wibble]

I just started my self-reliant {solo} course and was told there is no manuel, it is all instructor taught, I did one day class, 3 dives to go

It kind of isn't a course per-se. I always get battered for saying this, but you should learn very little on the Solo Diver course as you should bring your self-sufficient skills with you along with "your mature attitude".

Meaning that you can solve all the problems thrown at you by the instructor/assessor. Kit failures; "airgunned" (i.e. switch to backup, do shutdowns); mask comes off; putting up an SMB; keeping your buoyancy in check; doing a safety stop.

Literally the only new info is writing a will solo diver document for the dive site with your info on it. All other skills should be just a fun day out. Which is why you need to have a minimum of 100 dives -- that's 50 more than a DiveMaster!

 

[tursiops]

It kind if isn't a course per-se. I always get batter for saying this, but you should learn very little on the Solo Diver course as you should bring your self-sufficient skills with you along with "your mature attitude".

Meaning that you can solve all the problems thrown at you by the instructor/assessor. Kit failures; "airgunned" (i.e. switch to backup, do shutdowns); mask comes off; putting up an SMB; keeping your buoyancy in check; doing a safety stop.

Literally the only new info is writing a will solo diver document for the dive site with your info on it. All other skills should be just a fun day out. Which is why you need to have a minimum of 100 dives -- that's 50 more than a DiveMaster!

It is indeed a course for those who have not yet experienced the joy of such unexpected issues during a dive. It is perfectly OK to learn some new things during the course.

100 dives is 40 more than a Divemaster, 50 more than a Master Scuba Diver.

 

[Nemrod]

I just started my self-reliant {solo} course and was told there is no manuel, it is all instructor taught, I did one day class, 3 dives to go

For the SDI Solo Diver course there is a manual and it is referred to during the instruction. There is nothing in the manual earth shattering but it does provide a good basis for consideration of what makes solo diving different from buddy diving.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I think this whole concept of a “solo course” is pretty funny. But be aware that I started solo diving when I started diving in 1959, as a 14 year-old boy. There simply were no other divers around most of the time. We started the Salem (Oregon) Junior Aqua Club, associated with the Salem Aqua Club, and then in 1963 hired an instructor to come up from California to teach us a certification course (Roy France, LA County). We never ever considered a separate “thing” about diving solo. I remember taking my small 39 cubic foot tank and my Healthways Scuba double hose regulator on a trip to Elk Lake, in Central Oregon. I dived off an 8-man life raft while the rest of my family fished. I saw the fish, and they were ignoring the bait. After about 15 minutes underwater, my Grandma kinda freaked out and told my Dad, “Tell him to come up! Tell him to come up!” My Dad simply looked at her and said, “How?” I stayed down another ten or so minutes, really enjoying the aquatic plants and fish and mucky bottom, with about 20 foot visibility. You know, as a kid, you could then get away with stuff that today people would freak out about. But, I was also a water person, on the North Salem High School Swim Team, and pretty confident in the water.

SeaRat

PS, if you read JY Cousteau’s book, “The Silent World,” three times, you get just about all the information you need to dive safely. It contains instructions on not holding your breath, the dangers of pure oxygen and carbon monoxide, decompression sickness (it is virtually impossible to get into decompression problems on a 38 cubic foot tank), limited visibility diving, problems with caves (Cousteau almost died in a cave), and much, much more.

 

[SlugLife]

It all sounds like it should be basic scuba diving skills. The SSI rescue prerequisite is interesting. Isn't the rescue course taught so you can rescue your "buddy?"

IMO, the benefit is that it typically covers.....

• types accidents and incident scenarios
• how to rescue in each scenario
• how to remain safe and calm during the rescue, which itself can be dangerous.
• mindfulness of environmental conditions and hazards

I can certainly see a good amount of benefit to a solo (or self-reliant) diver taking the rescue course, even if the focus is technically rescuing another diver. While perhaps very useful, I think it's an unnecessary requirement and is indirect-learning of related concepts.

For example, talking about out-of-air scenario handling in a rescue course may (or may-not) help a solo-diver better understand or think about how they might self-rescue if they ran out of air while solo. That said, what if that class was taken years ago, or the diver never really considered the relevance to solo-diving, or the diver isn't good at coming up with creative solutions? The self-reliant class should be directly telling the diver "do X scenario, do A or B as appropriate." When narced, cold, tired, time-limited, and handling 2-3 emergencies, etc you don't want to be coming up with self-rescue creative solutions on the spot based on indirect learning from a rescue-class.

If you lost your mask

In open-water during the day, the idea of a lost-mask and no backup isn't that scary to me.

A better skill would be to learn to shoot your SMB from depth, pre-mark the line at ~10-20 ft.

100%

 

[SlugLife]

Re: pencils and slates…
I take notes on things that I think of while I’m down there.

Can't let those "shower thoughts" go to waste.

"a wise man once said nothing, because he was on a dive."
"wash wetsuit, peed 3 times."
"did I leave the stove on?"
"leave slate at home next time, unnessecary bulk."

accepted Spare Air as a pony

I consider 1.7cu and 3cu as a hazard (worse than no "pony") based on actually using one for a ~20ft deep swim with each.

my SDI instructor was insistent that only an AL40 was suitable for use as a pony. I don't follow that line of thinking and use an AL19 for my pony.

I generally agree with you. Redundant-air size "required" should be based on the context, including the diver's own air-consumption, depth, and potential hazards. I have low air-consumption, am not panic-prone, and mostly dive in the 30-to-60ft range. The 19cu could handle all that, while assuming some other problem (entangled, out-of-breath, etc), with safety stop, and have air left over. 13cu would be fine too, but having more air gives me a bigger buffer.

I could also surface from 120ft on a 19cu too, assuming no significant additional problems. I usually upgrade to a bigger than 19cu beyond 90ft.

AL 40’s are small, and if clipped off/bungeed properly you don’t even know they’re there.

The one place "everyone" notices pony-size is on the surface. Several of my dive-buddies have 40cu tanks and regulators, dive solo, and I've never seen them bring those tanks on a dive. I don't have a problem using any size (I dive sidemount), but I have noticed people seem more prone to being lazy and not bringing larger tanks.

 

[happy-diver]

I think this whole concept of a “solo course” is pretty funny.

and If it does not cover the psychology of diving all alone it's hilarious
explaining that you do not have to ask permission to scratch your arse

Hey I've got a known unkown for youse, work on me own stuff, doesn't blow up, don't run out of air
an I don't use NO stinking pony

or is that a known known or is it something else

 

[Rob9876]

The 19cu could handle all that, while assuming some other problem (entangled, out-of-breath, etc), with safety stop, and have air left over. 13cu would be fine too, but having more air gives me a bigger buffer.

I could also surface from 120ft on a 19cu too, assuming no significant additional problems. I usually upgrade to a bigger than 19cu beyond 90ft.

One other thing about 19 versus 13 -- this is one of those "I probably shouldn't, but realistically I do anyhow" -- with my 19 on my normally 70 foot max dives, I'll do the test breaths on the pony every dive and not really worry about topping it off until the pony gets down around 2,000 PSI. With a 13 I'd probably feel the need to top off more often. Again, not recommending this, but it's true for me.

 

[SlugLife]

I'll do the test breaths on the pony every dive and not really worry about topping it off until the pony gets down around 2,000 PSI. With a 13 I'd probably feel the need to top off more often. Again, not recommending this, but it's true for me.

Hah, I almost wrote an identical thing in my post. I also do test breaths before and during every dive, and don't worry about it much if I'm around 2400psi for my 30-to-60ft dives. I have a transfill whip, and topping off would be quick, inexpensive, and easy. For 80+ft dives if I'm bringing the pony (and not 2x 80cu), it would be topped off 2800+ psi.

Like you said, I don't recommend it, it doesn't take long with the transfill-whip, and it's practically no-cost extra emergency air.

---

On another random note, I had an idea that if I ran an LDS, I'd offer "hot-fill top off for pony-bottles" with any fill purchase. Basically, if you purchased a fill for an 80cu, and brought in a 2000+ psi pony bottle, you'd get a free quick-fill to about 2800psi or so. It would earn good will among the local community, encourage safety, and perhaps sell a few more pony tanks and VIPs. (But I'm also not a guy running a dive shop, so it's easy to say from the sidelines)

Locally, they charge the same $10, whether filling a 6cu or 120cu, and regardless it's starting pressure.