Solo dive - true confessions

[Alekath]

In Cyprus I have to confess I really don't worry too much about solo in less than 7-10 metres with or without redundant air. O

I am also the same, anything below 10m, and no other risks I dive without redundant air.

 

[Dsix36]

The only think you need to do to be able to solo dive safely is to make sure you are not diving with an idiot.

 

[SlugLife]

My first solo-dives were as a brand new OW diver, because my "dive buddy" was already underwater and long-gone before I had my equipment half-donned. I ended up diving anyway, and sticking about 15-30 feet close to the shore the first dozen dives or so that way.

 

[admikar]

Since this thread has been resurected from 7 years of sleep, what the hell.....
My local diving is in a 20 ft river, I dive mostly solo since I feel safer on my own than with what dive buddies are available. Single tank, day/night, wet/dry and....no redundant air, heck, no octo.

 

[Cthippo]

Did my first dive after certification today.

Yeah, solo.

It wasn't great. My skills have atrophied in the three months since I was last in the water, my buoyancy was atrocious and I struggled a lot, but I did it.

30 minutes on a LP72, 2200 psi start, 740 finish, 34 FFW.

Next week I will do it again and again until my skills are where I want them to be, and then I will move into deeper water.

 

[SlugLife]

Did my first dive after certification today.

Yeah, solo.

It wasn't great. My skills have atrophied in the three months since I was last in the water, my buoyancy was atrocious and I struggled a lot, but I did it.

30 minutes on a LP72, 2200 psi start, 740 finish, 34 FFW.

Next week I will do it again and again until my skills are where I want them to be, and then I will move into deeper water.

My "dive buddy" was off underwater before I had my BCD on, and I had to decide whether to continue or not. I'm not one of the people to lecture you, because I'm as guilty, and I do want you to be safe.

• You REALLY should dive with a redundant air supply. That's a separate tank and regulator. Consider it like an insurance policy with low recurring costs
  • You can even cheap out a little on the regulators, potentially buying used, inexpensive, or not being 100% up to date on your service-schedule. If you do buy used regulators, connect them to a full tank to verify they work as is, otherwise you'll likely have to pay for service.
  • I recommend 19cu. It's small enough it's not a hassle to lug around, but big enough to actually be useful. 13cu is okay. 6 is the smallest "useful" size. I recommend no redundant air over 3cu and 1.5cu, because you'll only get a few breaths, it's a false sense of security, and it's basically a useless dangling thing on your chest. (Of course bigger is also fine too)
  • There are ways to "transfill" bottles; essentially transfer air from one tank to another. It's a way to avoid the VIP/hydro tax, and any costs topping-up the pony tank.
• Practice regulator switching, and ensure your regulators are exactly where you expect them. Feel free to use "regulator retainers" to clip them to a consistent spot.
• If you are ever unsure about anything, take a practice dive(s), and there's no shame in that. Essentially, it's a shallow, easy, no-rush dive where I verify everything is at 100%. Even after a couple-hundred dives, I do practice-dives the first of every season, and any time I make a major equipment change. I've even practiced a few skills in standing-height water.
• Local dive parks are a good place to find insta-dive buddies. Facebook dive groups in your area (as much as I hate FB) is another good place to find dive-buddies.

 

[Ana]

Like any solo thread in SB this one has the mandatory scare tactics. Still feels like the 90's , when I started hearing the nonsense about solo.

Let's all blindly follow a blanket rule. Only with redundancy you'll be safe.
Pffffff!

 

[NaCl H2O]

@ Ana
Why not take one of your GI Joe buddies?

 

[Ana]

@ Ana
Why not take one of your GI Joe buddies?

For many years I run underwater drones. Had several groups of different types and sizes. There was a particular type, the Remus 100 that had to be troubleshoot more often than i cared for. I was responsible for 6 of them. Eventually I color coded all the internal parts. It made it practical when more than one had all its guts spread on the work bench. For a particular one that kept malfunctioning I decided to give him what some of my coworkers defined as witchery help and tie-wrapped one of this to the chasis.


Funny thing it completed more missions than normal. After that i found dive buddies for all our UUVs.

And you just reminded me that I've accumulated way to much

Got to go diving ...and today again seas are too rough to go out the inlet.

 

[Cthippo]

My "dive buddy" was off underwater before I had my BCD on, and I had to decide whether to continue or not. I'm not one of the people to lecture you, because I'm as guilty, and I do want you to be safe.

• You REALLY should dive with a redundant air supply. That's a separate tank and regulator. Consider it like an insurance policy with low recurring costs
  • You can even cheap out a little on the regulators, potentially buying used, inexpensive, or not being 100% up to date on your service-schedule. If you do buy used regulators, connect them to a full tank to verify they work as is, otherwise you'll likely have to pay for service.
  • I recommend 19cu. It's small enough it's not a hassle to lug around, but big enough to actually be useful. 13cu is okay. 6 is the smallest "useful" size. I recommend no redundant air over 3cu and 1.5cu, because you'll only get a few breaths, it's a false sense of security, and it's basically a useless dangling thing on your chest. (Of course bigger is also fine too)
  • There are ways to "transfill" bottles; essentially transfer air from one tank to another. It's a way to avoid the VIP/hydro tax, and any costs topping-up the pony tank.
• Practice regulator switching, and ensure your regulators are exactly where you expect them. Feel free to use "regulator retainers" to clip them to a consistent spot.
• If you are ever unsure about anything, take a practice dive(s), and there's no shame in that. Essentially, it's a shallow, easy, no-rush dive where I verify everything is at 100%. Even after a couple-hundred dives, I do practice-dives the first of every season, and any time I make a major equipment change. I've even practiced a few skills in standing-height water.
• Local dive parks are a good place to find insta-dive buddies. Facebook dive groups in your area (as much as I hate FB) is another good place to find dive-buddies.

Fully agree. I have a AL40, and plan to use it, but my "permanent" regs are still waiting on parts to come in and I wanted to get in the water. The whole dive was essentially a practice dive in shallow, sheltered waters that I am familiar with from snorkeling and development work on underwater camera rigs, and at depths I could easily make a CESA from.

I've talked to a dozen or more divers but the answer I always get is "It's too cold around here. I only dive on vacation in warmer places.". There are some clubs around, but I think they tend to stick to the more popular spots. My strategy is to publish the stuff I do and see who that attracts that wants to do the same sorts of things.