Solo dive - true confessions

[Boarderguy]

What are the odds of a total loss of gas (which is very unlikely) and an entanglement at the same time. Zero.

Solo diving is quite often done from the shore and with that brings a few additional potential risks. One of them being entanglements as you work your way back to the shore. At this point you're below half or 1/3 air and likely following the slope up to your stop or the surface because surface swims suck. This is where the monofilament line snag is a real hazard. Low on air, tired and ready to be done. Getting stuck here you need to address the snag and watch your air because you are in the potential for an ooa situation. I plan my dives to surface around 5-600 and that doesn't leave a lot of room for dicking around otw up. Better to have the pony and never need it than need 2 more breaths and not have it. But you do you, I'll dive with my back mounted pony and use 4 lbs less lead.

 

[Celt]

Solo diving is quite often done from the shore and with that brings a few additional potential risks. One of them being entanglements as you work your way back to the shore. At this point you're below half or 1/3 air and likely following the slope up to your stop or the surface because surface swims suck. This is where the monofilament line snag is a real hazard. Low on air, tired and ready to be done. Getting stuck here you need to address the snag and watch your air because you are in the potential for an ooa situation. I plan my dives to surface around 5-600 and that doesn't leave a lot of room for dicking around otw up. Better to have the pony and never need it than need 2 more breaths and not have it. But you do you, I'll dive with my back mounted pony and use 4 lbs less lead.

If a pony suits you then that's what you should bring. If I need extra air I'll bring a bigger tank. If I'm having problems with my main like a leak or freeflow I'll surface and switch to snorkel on the surface. Different people deal with stuff differently that's all.

 

[SlugLife]

What are the odds of a total loss of gas (which is very unlikely) and an entanglement at the same time. Zero.

You can make up all kinds of scenarios in your head. They have nothing to do with reality. With the surface available thats the best bailout.

You're approaching this like a debate. You're free to decide for yourself. You're hardly the only person who dives solo, who doesn't bring along redundant air.

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For everyone else in this thread: Hanging out in the "Accidents and Incidents" section most of scuba-accidents seem to follow a "3 strikes you're out" sort of rule; where the only reason the incident became a serious accident was because 3 things went wrong at the same time. One of those things going wrong often is ignoring some standard practice, safety measure, or redundancy. The other two are typically things out of their control, that are improbable but can happen.

As solo-divers, in a sense we "break" one of the common rules/redundancies. However, a self-reliant diver can be safer, by taking extra precautions and redundancies, whether that's redundant-air, monitoring physical/mental state, redundant cutting devices, etc. And of course, there's also what I call the "buddy hazard" which can often be seen any time two divers die on the same dive.

I like to remain at "zero strikes" myself. However, anyone who wishes to start their dive at "1-strike" will be at 2-strikes any time any incident happens.

 

[Celt]

You're approaching this like a debate. You're free to decide for yourself. You're hardly the only person who dives solo, who doesn't bring along redundant air.

--

For everyone else in this thread: Hanging out in the "Accidents and Incidents" section most of scuba-accidents seem to follow a "3 strikes you're out" sort of rule; where the only reason the incident became a serious accident was because 3 things went wrong at the same time. One of those things going wrong often is ignoring some standard practice, safety measure, or redundancy. The other two are typically things out of their control, that are improbable but can happen.

As solo-divers, in a sense we "break" one of the common rules/redundancies. However, a self-reliant diver can be safer, by taking extra precautions and redundancies, whether that's redundant-air, monitoring physical/mental state, redundant cutting devices, etc. And of course, there's also what I call the "buddy hazard" which can often be seen any time two divers die on the same dive.

I like to remain at "zero strikes" myself. However, anyone who wishes to start their dive at "1-strike" will be at 2-strikes any time any incident happens.

But sure that's all I said, I (personally) don't bother with redundant air if the surface is available to me . I can get all the air I need there.

 

[Ana]

Solo diving is quite often done from the shore

The issue is that we can't generalize when it comes to diving. Besides breathing compressed air, sometimes there's nothing in common between 2 dives.

I read your initial sentence above and suddenly realize that from my thousands of dives, I've only done a few shore dives and none of them were solo. All my solo dives are from a boat.
That's it meant that the rest of your post doesn't apply to me? Maybe, maybe not.

I think it is great that there's a way to be redundant, for air, for masks, for knives, for 2nd stages , for each and every piece of gear. Take a 2nd wet suit if that's what you feel you need.
It is the moment when one say "solo diving is not safe without redundant air" when the credibility is lost. Blind adherence to blanket rules are against the premises of "diving to your abilities". The result of that blindness are threads like this one, people sound like they are apologizing and coming out with excuses. Instead of saying I did this and loved it. And at no time was I at any risk, at least not anymore risk that having a solo shower.

 

[Wibble]

There's solo and there's solo. Someone driving alone to a dive site on Sunday to go diving from a deserted shore with nobody around is obviously a solo diver. Someone on a dive boat with other divers who jumps in with everyone but choosing to follow their own route is also diving solo.

There may well be a considerable difference between the two; the first has absolutely no backup available, the latter may well bump into other divers if they can't, for example, connect their drysuit hose that's caught up behind them.

It's always questionable whether a "buddy" is capable of helping or even noticing that someone's in trouble. Classic DiveMaster & novice; not really a matched buddy pair is it.

 

[Ana]

There's also the 2 people on a boat, one dives the other person navigates the boat. Then they switch , at the of the day 2 people made 1 or 2 solo dives each.

Again.... It isn't straight forward to nicely define how people dive with one or 2 sentences. Different people dive differently and so are their needs.

 

[SlugLife]

It is the moment when one say "solo diving is not safe without redundant air" when the credibility is lost. Blind adherence to blanket rules are against the premises of "diving to your abilities". The result of that blindness are threads like this one, people sound like they are apologizing and coming out with excuses. Instead of saying I did this and loved it. And at no time was I at any risk, at least not anymore risk that having a solo shower.

This appears to be a strawman. Most people who solo-dive probably aren't in the camp of blindly adhering to basic rules taught in one's initial open-water class. You appear to be ridiculing people who are making legitimate points about safety and thinking through these scenarios.

What people like myself and Boarderguy are saying is (I guess I'm repeating myself) if you choose to not have the redundancy of redundant air, there are some scenarios you'll be less prepared to deal with, like an entanglement at depth or a complete regulator failure. Perhaps awareness of that might encourage someone to ensure they stay at depths where they can handle these scenarios, avoid entanglements, or other measures.

My primary "dive buddy" (we solo-dive together) refuses to dive with redundant air, even though I have a full bottle and regs he can use any time he wants. Anyone who doesn't want to bring along redundant air .... you do you, that's fine. But it's also fine for people like me to encourage people who are solo-diving .... or even buddy diving (Afterall, buddy-hazards are a thing) ... to consider things redundant air, cutting devices, etc.

 

[Celt]

There's solo and there's solo. Someone driving alone to a dive site on Sunday to go diving from a deserted shore with nobody around is obviously a solo diver. Someone on a dive boat with other divers who jumps in with everyone but choosing to follow their own route is also diving solo.

There may well be a considerable difference between the two; the first has absolutely no backup available, the latter may well bump into other divers if they can't, for example, connect their drysuit hose that's caught up behind them.

It's always questionable whether a "buddy" is capable of helping or even noticing that someone's in trouble. Classic DiveMaster & novice; not really a matched buddy pair is it.

The very first thing you need to get out of your head if you plan to dive solo is that someone might help you. You're 100% on your own and if you get it wrong you'll just have to do the decent thing and drown. Try not to drift off and make it hard on searchers.

 

[Dark Wolf]

Deleted, I posted in the wrong damned thread.

DW