shallow solo question

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I don't see it so much as an inland cert for private property as an easier way to be able to dive solo on a charter boats. I found some who say no solo no matter what (as is their right). Others say if your qualified you can, a solo cert works easy here to show you are qualified. Same boat may still let you dive solo without the card once they are convinced you know your stuff, but they are used to divers misleading them on experience level so it takes some time to work on them. Other boats don't really care, they act as a taxi service and not nursemaids, typical in hardcore cold water dive areas that don't cater to tourist.

 

[lowviz]

Yeah, my local bias is showing. Good point.

 

[Kharon]

... don't really care, they act as a taxi service and not nursemaids, typical in hardcore cold water dive areas that don't cater to tourist.

Not only cold water, non-tourist. The reason I go to Bonaire and not Curacao. My checkout dive and boat dives (not to forget all my shore dives) are done solo on Bonaire without a card. I couldn't find anyone on Curacao that would sell me unlimited air for shore diving. Their immutable policy (across all dive shops, at least what they told me) was absolutely no solo diving even with a card. Fine - their loss and Bonaires gain $$$.

 

[flots am]

I don't think that taking the course is worth the money unless you need the card. Get the SDI Solo Diving Manual and study it. There is nothing in there that you need an instructor for except the card.

A good solo class will show you your own limits so you can better plan and execute your dives.

For example, doing mid-water zero-viz skills like remove and replace and gas switches, followed by navigating back to the boat/shore, demonstrates all sorts of fascinating things about your internal "map" of where you are in the water and how deep you are, where you've drifted, and gives you a much more realistic idea of what kind of dives you're actually capable of safely doing solo.

There are all sorts of other parts to the class that are hugely valuable when done right. Just getting a "solo card" without a good class and dives is about as useful as getting an OW card just because you managed to survive.

 

[drbill]

I've dived solo for 51 years now (initially because there was only one set of gear to share). I've dived solo many times to depths of 180-200 fsw (but always with redundancy). However, recently most of my dives have been night dives without redundancy and I never go deeper than about 50 fsw since I don't carry my pony on these dives. Most of the time I'm above 30 fsw. Entanglement is a consideration, but mostly in giant kelp and that is not too difficult to extract one's self from if you don't panic. The site I dive is a marine protected area so there is minimal chance of entanglement in fishing line (although there are cursed poachers occasionally).

If I had a wife, hopefully she'd be diving with me as my buddy but I like the fact that you call yours after the dive.

 

[raftingtigger]

I see a solo cert as an inland cert. It sometimes gives you access to solo diving on private property.

As for the course, if taken from the right instructor, it can be really good. They go over your gear and your reason for wanting to dive solo. The also quietly (secretly) assess your "attitude" as it relates to your own safety. Yeah, you get a book and answer a few questions. The real value comes from what the instructor thinks is important and how you act under several mildly stressful situations underwater. Usually task loading stuff. Much valuable discussion about hazards, many that you may not have thought about.

That is assuming you get an instructor that wants to teach you things you don't know, not just check off requirements for a card. There is a LOT to be gained from an independent assessment of your diving skills and judgement. Will taking a solo diving course give you that. Sometimes yes and sometimes no. The SDI solo book has a lot of information and I found it useful and thought provoking -- whereas the Nitrox package I was required to buy contained nothing I hadn't already learned through self study.

FWIW, I carry 2 cutting devices (folding knife, trauma scissors) on every dive and a 13cf pony on deep or solo dives. Once in the water I 'forget' the pony is there.

 

[lowviz]

That is assuming you get an instructor that wants to teach you things you don't know, not just check off requirements for a card. ...//...

I completely agree, that I why I added the disclaimer: "...if taken from the right instructor..."

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

I've often mentioned that my personal rule for solo diving is no deeper than 30', though on rare occasions I have broken that rule by 10 feet or so. Most of my total dives are like this. I usually dive sites I know well, and if a new site, I enquire and use caution. I phone/text my wife after each dive. My biggest concern is entanglement, so I steer way clear of anything sketchy--even swim well over eel (sea) grass that's 8 feet high. Other than obvious medical situations, like heart attack or fainting,etc., what other concerns/redundancies (if any) should I have? Obviously a 30+ foot CESA is a piece of cake, and I look at it as a little more dangerous than solo snorkelling down 20 feet, though with snorkel you have no air down there... There is not much talk of shallow solo diving on SB. Appreciate tips.

As noted already, you'll get as many opinions about redundancy for shallow dives as there are solo divers.

I am primarily a shallow water diver, so the surface is my redundant air source. I use exactly the same gear configuration for solo and buddy dives.

This "works" for me (and has since the 1970's) since I shore dive in very "benign" conditions:

• Generally good viz.
• Near-zero entanglement risk
• Manageable surge and currents

I consider "shallow" to be "one breath" away from the surface, which these days is about 1/2 the depth I considered "shallow" in as a teenager. About 50' is as deep as I'll go without redundancy here in Hawaii.

Best wishes.

 

[Doc Harry]

Hey Lead Turn, this past winter I sent a week soloing on the other side of the island, at Puako. Looks like the Hilo side is not so friendly to shore divers.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Hey Lead Turn, this past winter I sent a week soloing on the other side of the island, at Puako. Looks like the Hilo side is not so friendly to shore divers.

Hi Doc!

Yup, Hilo is on the "wild" windward side, and we need to contend with wind, rain, and generally rougher ocean conditions and lower viz. But having said that, there is REALLY good shore diving in Hilo, you just have to pick your days. The payoff is an abundance of sea life.... take the number of fish you saw at Puako, multiply by 2.5, and add 10 -12 sea turtles with shells the size of coffee tables and you'll have a typical Hilo dive. The problem is that we simply do not have the same number of good dive days on this side, due to the Trade Winds.

Best wishes.