Solo diving in Coz....

[luscioman]

I cannot speak to Solo Diving in Cozumel. However in early June i scheduled a Thursday AM Spiegel Grove dive in the Keys with Horizon Divers. I couldn't find anyone to go with me so I showed up and signed in. They asked at the desk if I had a buddy and I said i was diving solo. They gave me a 2nd release form that was an additional 2 pages. I had to copy a full paragraph of text in my writing to the 2nd release basically saying i was going to kill myself. Next question was if i needed to rent a pony bottle. I happen to be on doubles so i was good. They teach the solo course so they allow it. Based on my experience I would check for shops that teach the SDI solo or Padi self-reliant course and see what suggest for the solo dives.

 

[JamesBon92007]

If someone showed me a shiny PADI "Self-Reliant Diver C-Card", I wouldn't quite know what to make of it. I wouldn't hold the certification against anyone (necessarily), but I would certainly worry about overconfidence by the holder.

The guy at 3Ps chuckled when I showed him my Master Diver card. That's what NAUI sent me when I asked for an AOW card to replace my card from the 60s that said Scuba Diver on it. I'm reasonably sure that I don't know everything about scuba diving so I don't take it too seriously. I do, however, expect to be treated like a G.O.D. (Grumpy Old Diver).

 

[nippurmagnum]

Same could be said about an instructor card. I wasn't at all suggesting that a PADI Self-Reliant card meant that one was a qualified and competent solo diver. Someone had mentioned that PADI doesn't offer a solo card and I was just saying that, while PADI does not use the term "solo" and continues to drill the buddy system, they have found a way to get that particular diver's dollar.

Totally agree, and I had interpreted your comment that way. Though they market the “Self Reliant” card as a kind of pseudo solo diver cert. as in: “You shouldn’t dive alone, but if you were going to do it, this is the cert you’d want to have.”

I actually think PADI should be embarrassed at their unintended but inescapable acknowledgment that OW divers are not self-reliant. Then again, last I heard, PADI was now owned by a Chinese holding company, so I’m not sure that they are given to much embarrassment over lax training standards.

 

[deepsea21]

Same could be said about an instructor card. I wasn't at all suggesting that a PADI Self-Reliant card meant that one was a qualified and competent solo diver. Someone had mentioned that PADI doesn't offer a solo card and I was just saying that, while PADI does not use the term "solo" and continues to drill the buddy system, they have found a way to get that particular diver's dollar.

Don't stop there...From the PADI website and its sales pitch to earn the Master Scuba Diver Certification... "Join the best of the best, the elite group of respected divers who have earned this rating through both significant experience and scuba training". Then read on... Any 12 year old with 50 dives logged can be certified as a MASTER SCUBA DIVER assuming they have taken OW, AOW, RD and 5 specialty courses. Can you say CHA-CHING, CHA-CHING, CHA-CHING? Who says it's not about $? So, a 12 year old with 50 dives logged and these courses taken is now a MASTER SCUBA DIVER? I don't think so. Does a 12 year old just need to take this "Solo Certification" course to be handed a tank and told "You're good to go"? Heck, let's start letting 12 year olds take their driver's test and start handing them drivers licenses. If that's the case there are gonna be a lot of dead 12 year olds littering the sea floor and the roads.

PADI Master Scuba Diver Rating

 

[deepsea21]

Yes, most divers have no business diving solo. But then again, consider the universe of PADI-certified divers. What percentage can competently assemble their own gear? What percentage have good buoyancy control? What percentage could navigate underwater to save their life? What percentage have dived in the last 12 months? What percentage would actually increase your safety if they were your buddies, as opposed to being a liability?

PADI drills into everyone that safety depends primarily on close proximity to a buddy. Given the dismal ratio of inexperienced to competent divers, over-reliance on the buddy system is just downright dangerous.

WELL SAID! Another posted earlier that the majority of divers are not comfortable diving solo and that it has nothing to do with their skill level or their level of confidence. Then just what the heck does it have to do with?

 

[scubadada]

Don't stop there...From the PADI website and its sales pitch to earn the Master Scuba Diver Certification... "Join the best of the best, the elite group of respected divers who have earned this rating through both significant experience and scuba training". Then read on... Any 12 year with 50 dives logged can be certified as a MASTER SCUBA DIVER assuming they have taken OW, AOW, RD, 5 specialty courses and the MSD course. Can you say CHA-CHING, CHA-CHING, CHA-CHING? Who says it's not about $? So, a 12 year old with 50 dives logged and a these courses taken is now a MASTER SCUBA DIVER? I don't think so. Does a 12 year old just need to take this "Solo Certification" course to be handed a tank and told "You're good to go"? Heck, let's start letting 12 year olds take their driver's test and start handing them drivers licenses. If that's the case there are gonna be a lot of dead 12 year olds littering the sea floor and the roads.

There is no MSD course, the rest of the training is accurate. I think the 12 year old might be a Junior Master Diver?

An SDI Solo Diver must be 21 years old, at least AOW, and have 100 dives. PADI requires 18 years old, AOW, 100 dives.

 

[ReefHound]

There is no MSD course, the rest of the training is accurate. I think the 12 year old might be a Junior Master Diver?

An SDI Solo Diver must be 21 years old, at least AOW, and have 100 dives. PADI requires 18 years old, AOW, 100 dives.

Whew! So no 12 yr old Course Directors for the moment.

 

[deepsea21]

There is no MSD course, the rest of the training is accurate. I think the 12 year old might be a Junior Master Diver?

An SDI Solo Diver must be 21 years old, at least AOW, and have 100 dives. PADI requires 18 years old, AOW, 100 dives.

Thank you for the clarification and thank God no one is certifying 12 year olds as solo divers.

 

[scubadada]

Whew! So no 12 yr old Course Directors for the moment.

Maybe a Jr Course Director

 

[deepsea21]

Buddy System? I remember one dive there was a family on board (Mom & Dad in their 40's probably and Brother and Sister in their mid teens). Mom and Dad buddy up and let the teens buddy up (not a wise move). The teens promptly separated from one another and the rest of the group started watching out for them. Mom and Dad surface, teens are still in the water, brother surfaces and sister is still hanging out fining around on the bottom giving the OK signal to those getting her attention and checking if she is OK. The DM decides to head down and finds her on the edge of NDL with 500 PSI left. Where do parents like that come from? What dive op certified them? The rest of the group was more focused on their kids than their parents were! Reminded me of that saying "Children having children" but these parents were still children in their 40's.