Solo Certification

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1fspeed

Contributor
Messages
86
Reaction score
150
Location
Duluth, Minnesota
# of dives
200 - 499
Long time reader now member. Thought I'd start with a question...

Is it worth traveling for a solo certification?

Local PADI shop doesn't off the self reliant diver course. I've studied "Solo Diving : The Art of Underwater Self-Sufficiency" by Robert von Maier, and researched extensively online regarding equipment.

I'm a photographer. I dive locally in fresh water lakes (northern Minnesota), focusing on fish in shallow water. Average depth of most dives is ~20ft, and very occasionally to 50ft, my self imposed limit. Don't travel much and when I do it's buddy diving.

For a redundant air I use a back mounted 19cuft pony with a button pressure gauge and a necklace mounted reg. Carry two cutting tools, practice reaching both and switching air sources regularly. Do bubble checks, triple checks (car, shore and surface) of valves, regulator, inflator etc. function before I enter.

Realize solo is more about mindset and planning than anything else. I'm pretty careful.

Now that I've done a few solo dives (10), and realize I love it, wondering if it's worthwhile to travel for the certification given my shallow and fairly focused goals.

SSI certified 30 years ago, PADI AOW last summer, 150+ total dives with 50 of those in the past 6 months.

Appreciate you thoughts
 
What do you consider “travel”? If you’re diving cold water, you should do it in similar conditions. There should be other MN dive shops that offer the SDI solo cert.
 
Never thought of taking it from an independent instructor - I'll look into that.

Travel - ya, by car. I'm sure I could find a shop in in the Minneapolis area that offers it - be a 3 hour one way trip. Certainly not out of the question.
 
If only for insurance purposes I would recommend you get it done, package it in with a solo trip to Bonaire or something if the money is not a real concern and you cannot get training locally.
 
If only for insurance purposes I would recommend you get it done, package it in with a solo trip to Bonaire or something if the money is not a real concern and you cannot get training locally.
insurance... Like DAN insurance (which I carry) or what are you thinking? - as I hadn't thought of that either.
 
Based on this thread, it seems that some operators permit solo diving without a cert and some don't even allow it with a cert--but some do want to see that cert card. What solo cert do you have, has it ever been turned down?

I've had my solo cert a year and a half and still can't get anyone to look at it. But that's very much a reflection of where I live and the fact that I haven't traveled much since 2020 for obvious reasons. I'm glad to have it for when I need it. If you really can't foresee a situation where you'll need the card itself, I think you can learn what you need to know on your own. You can always buy the course books without doing the course.
 
Medical, Life, probably DAN accident as well, any of them could say you were diving beyond your training and possibly deny claims.
 
Long time reader now member. Thought I'd start with a question...

Is it worth traveling for a solo certification?

Local PADI shop doesn't off the self reliant diver course. I've studied "Solo Diving : The Art of Underwater Self-Sufficiency" by Robert von Maier, and researched extensively online regarding equipment.

I'm a photographer. I dive locally in fresh water lakes (northern Minnesota), focusing on fish in shallow water. Average depth of most dives is ~20ft, and very occasionally to 50ft, my self imposed limit. Don't travel much and when I do it's buddy diving.

For a redundant air I use a back mounted 19cuft pony with a button pressure gauge and a necklace mounted reg. Carry two cutting tools, practice reaching both and switching air sources regularly. Do bubble checks, triple checks (car, shore and surface) of valves, regulator, inflator etc. function before I enter.

Realize solo is more about mindset and planning than anything else. I'm pretty careful.

Now that I've done a few solo dives (10), and realize I love it, wondering if it's worthwhile to travel for the certification given my shallow and fairly focused goals.

SSI certified 30 years ago, PADI AOW last summer, 150+ total dives with 50 of those in the past 6 months.

Appreciate you thoughts
If you go to SDI's dive center locator there are two shops that offer that class in MN, or they appear to do so. I'd give them a call see if they have someone on staff who can teach your course.
 

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