Solo Beach Diving?

[b3w@r3]

Thanks for the insight into SDI standards. Most of it sounds reasonable. I would like to point out that a redundant air source has to be sized correctly to be effective obviously. IMO it should be at least 2/3 of the volume in your main tank, and not one of those "spare air" things or something equilivent.

I like the idea of the extra mask and have carried one myself many times. If you lose your mask during a dive it not only makes finding it nearly impossible, but reading your computer to know what depth you are at and trying to get your deco info is all but impossible.

The extra bcd is a good idea, but I think chosing a SMB with enough lift is also a good back up (as is a dry suit). This would also require a reel with enough line to make it to the surface from your deepest planned depth. Deploying one of these at depth can be tricky and should be practiced regularly to assure that you can deploy it while maintaining bouyancy.

All of these things togather mean that a diver is carring a lot more gear than normal, and that alone adds to the task loading/stress factor. I think anyone serious about "solo" diving should take some technical diving classes where redundancy is explained more indepth and task loading can be done in a controled situation.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Solo Beach Diving?
Do any of you ladies solo dive? I am looking at trying some solo dives off the beach close to where I live. There is a small reef in 10 to 20 feet of water about 30 to 50 yards off shore. Hubby works weekends and so I don't have a buddy to go with as none of my female friends are divers at this point. I really need to brush up on my dive skills as its been 6 months since my last dive and I want to dive in Sept/Oct in Freeport. Would be interested in some pros & cons on solo diving from a females point of view.

Getting back on topic, and 10 months after the original post, zuzanne, did you ever do your solo beach dive? I am local to your neck of the woods (missed meeting you at the clean up last weekend), please join us on some beach dives. The conchs are diving all the time now that the weather is good, and with enough of us active here on SB, it shouldn't be hard to find a buddy.

FWIW, I did my first solo dive yesterday. I am (way) over 21 and have over 200 dives, the majority of them beach dives. My list of "must haves" did not even closely resemble the list BubbaFetta posted, some of the items for this dive were not relevant even with a buddy! HOWEVER, I did know the location having dived there many times, and knew local conditions.
http://www.scubaboard.com/showpost.php?p=648862&postcount=17

 

[zuzanne]

Hi Scuba-Jenny, How did you like diving solo? Did you notice a difference in how you felt not having to worry about keeping tabs on your buddy, or did you miss the ability to share the dive with one? Did you feel uncomfortable at all being by yourself on the dive?

I am brushing up on my skills and checking out some new equipment, BCD & Computer so have not gone solo yet. I am still considering this route though. I know that lots of folks disagree with solo diving, but lets face it, not everyone is a good dive buddy. I would only dive solo in an environment that I have dove many many times and therefore know the area well and I would stay shallow and carry safety gear.

I'm sorry I did not get to meet you at the clean-up. I was orginally planning to stay for the entire day, but friends needed to be picked up at the cruise ship dock in Port Everglades. Their parents were supposed to pick them up but one of them was ill so they called and asked me if I would go get them. Since it is my best friend I could not say no. I am looking forward to getting together and diving with you all again real soon.

Zuzanne

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Hi Scuba-Jenny, How did you like diving solo?

I have been the "bad buddy" too many times, ya know your buddy is same day, same ocean (but I am getting so much better because of SB). So it really wasn't a whole lot different. I just took my time and worked hard at keeping positive reasurring thoughts in my head..In other words, did not focus on "What if," but rather, "I have dived here, I know my skill level, my confidence level in myself, If something were to go wrong, say a malfunction in equipment, I have practiced slow ascents, and know how far I am from shore."

Did you notice a difference in how you felt not having to worry about keeping tabs on your buddy, or did you miss the ability to share the dive with one?

Was a little weird not having a buddy, but at the same time, what one sees, somebody else misses. Also, since different buddies react to different creatures (I might get all googly at a butterfly fish, while another gets happy seeing a balloon fish), me stopping to see a tiny blenny was not a problem. IN the beginning, it was odd being alone and only hearing my reg, and am glad I was doing a REEF ID to keep my mind occupied. Overactive imaginations are not necessarily a good thing!

Did you feel uncomfortable at all being by yourself on the dive?

The only time I really felt nervous was when the fish were all erratic and the big silvery fish did a fly through. Buddy or not, I would of been scared. "What was that? Are they being chased? Is there more, or they the ones doing the chasing? What did I miss?" other than that it was a very relaxing interesting dive. Talking with a couple others, solo diving does have some unexpected benefits. The main thing was the fish were a lot more curioius. Especially the french and gray angels. They swam right up to me. The triggerfish escorted me the whole dive. And most of the other fish seemed less afraid. The tarpon making long slow passes was awesome! That probably would not have happened as much with a group.

I suspose here is the time I reiterate that solo diving is not for everybody. Only you can make that choice. Consider the risks, and be honest with the results. I prefer a buddy, but if conditions are right, I would go solo again.

 

[BubbaFetta]

Thanks for the insight into SDI standards. Most of it sounds reasonable. I would like to point out that a redundant air source has to be sized correctly to be effective obviously. IMO it should be at least 2/3 of the volume in your main tank, and not one of those "spare air" things or something equilivent.

I like the idea of the extra mask and have carried one myself many times. If you lose your mask during a dive it not only makes finding it nearly impossible, but reading your computer to know what depth you are at and trying to get your deco info is all but impossible.

The extra bcd is a good idea, but I think chosing a SMB with enough lift is also a good back up (as is a dry suit). This would also require a reel with enough line to make it to the surface from your deepest planned depth. Deploying one of these at depth can be tricky and should be practiced regularly to assure that you can deploy it while maintaining bouyancy.

All of these things togather mean that a diver is carring a lot more gear than normal, and that alone adds to the task loading/stress factor. I think anyone serious about "solo" diving should take some technical diving classes where redundancy is explained more indepth and task loading can be done in a controled situation.

You are welcome, b3w@r3.

Yes, the redundant air source should be adequate for the purpose.
I dive with twins, w/ isolated manifolds, so my back-up ratio is 1:1.
With regards to the SMB, the SDI Solo Diver course does teach the diver how to deploy the reel and SMB from depth. I.e. DSMB (delayed SMB).

Yes, there is definitely increased task loading, but with practice, comes proficiency, and it would no longer be a stress factor.

Yes, I'm technical diving trained.

A point I forgot to mention was that the course is a real boon for UW photographers and videographers. If you ever have been buddied with a guy who is one, you will know what I mean. Floating in one spot for 20 minutes waiting for your buddy to take the perfect macro shot is no fun. (Same goes if you are the photographer/videographer as well: you will have to pacify a very upset buddy after the dive...)

Safe diving,

-BubbaFetta

 

[bnaudie]

Make a check off list for BEFORE you enter the water. Make sure it is a written list, not something you memorize. I still do this before EVERY dive, and I have thousands of them.
Leann

I would be interested in seeing anyone's pre-dive checklist.

 

[Wildcard]

That sounds like a lot of extras to me. You can "what if" it to death and try to carry everything that may go wrong or just be extra safe....I dive solo all the time and have had no problems. I just don't push anything far. Nice easy dives, not to deep, not to far.

 

[Curt Bowen]

Obviously I am not a female. But I do dive solo most of the time even when others are in the water with me. I don’t think gender has anything to do with solo diving.

I do not believe in the buddy system, (i.e. there to save my butt all the time) thus I always prepare each dive for self-reliance.

I feel much more comfortable in the water and if I happen to see my buddy sometime during the dive, that’s good also.

 

[mgri]

A good book to read on solo diving is "solo diving" by Robert Von Maier. I think it is a required read for the SDI course. He makes a lot of good points. Instead of calling it solo diving he calls it self-sufficient diving. Hey states that if you are not a self-sufficient diver than you are a buddy dependent diver. If we take that statement to it's logical conclusion than if you are a buddy dependent diver and an emergency pops up you will not be able to handle it with out your buddy present. He also makes a good case for not solo diving more than twice the depth you can free dive with a max solo depth of 60'. The only thing I didn’t like was his endorsement of spare airs.

About 90% of all my dives are solo and in that time I have adjusted my gear along those lines. I rig a 30 in a stage config, carry a shear and a knife, carry a lift bag with spool to double as a SMB and have stream lined every thing along a DIR configuration to reduce entanglement risks.

I spend at least five minutes during a dive practicing skills such as mask removal, shoot the lift bag, switch to the bail out bottle reg, all to make sure if something does happen I am better prepared to deal with it.

One rule of thumb I have is to not dive a sight solo unless I have done at least 5 buddy dives there.

Another plus to solo diving is you begin to have a lot more confidence in your diving ability, so much so, when you go into a new environment or if things get a little dicey you feel comfortable in your ability to handle it. You can also see so much more solo diving without a group of divers thrashing around scaring everything. The only downside is if you see something really special you don’t have anyone to share it with.

 

[BubbaFetta]

Another plus to solo diving is you begin to have a lot more confident in your diving ability, so much so, when you go into a new environments or if things get a little dicey you feel comfortable in your ability to handle it. You can also see so much more solo diving without a group of divers thrashing around scaring everything.

Amen to that.

The only downside is if you see something really special you don’t have anyone to share it with.

That's what cameras and videocameras are for!


-BubbaFetta