Solo diving?

[Kwbyron]

No, it wasn't in jest it actually happened to me. All the information said the dam was not generating, just about the time I realized it was and I was in the suction current along comes a dragging boat anchor,hits me on my forearm. Luckly it didn't hit my head. Once I recovered from the surprise I swam 90 degrees to the current until I got out of it. I was on the bottom in about 20 feet and 3 to 4 foot vis.

wow, that'a an amazing story. They fired up the genereators while I was doing my deep dive for my AO/W, creepy sound.

Hey guys, thanks for all the advice, I don't think that I am quite experianced enough yet, what agencies offer the solo diver cert.? My PADI instructor was not fond of the buddie system, I think his exact words were "Padi requires me to tell you that the buddy system is vital, never go diving without a buddy...seesh, if you're salvage diving in a cave, and one runs out of air, the guy with the bigger knife is the one that emerges...I don't know what happened officer, we got seperated."
As far as equipment failures, my primary light is the only thing that has failed so far, my buddy said I handled it very well though, didn't panic and my air concumption didn't plummit...I was a little nervous though and didn't feel I did the best job venting my suit as we acended. I will definately pick up those books, been looking for some good reads outside of my bio texts anyways.

 

[homo maris]

... what agencies offer the solo diver cert.?

To my knowledge only SDI
Here is the link: http://www.tdisdi.com/sdi/sdicourses.html#Solo

Good luck and let us know how you make it.
JL

 

[captain]

Hey N that was at the vintage dive at Toledo Bend a few years ago. It was one of those same lake buddy dives. Vis was so bad I had lost site of Dick and the other diver and I was looking for an old coffer dam built during construction of the dam. While I was down a thunderstorm came up and caused a party barge to drag anchor. Bryan was still in on Dicks party barge and it was starting to drag anchor too when I surfaced. I sure didn,t want to get a close up look at the bar grates on the intake to the turbine.

 

[Nemrod]

Of all the places I have considered diving in I have to admit that Toledo Bend is not one that ever made the list. I did once or twice or more times during college get talked into doing a salavge job on the Ouachita River. Some fellow had lost his outboard, a Johnson 90, just at the confluence of Darrabonne and the Ouachita. I attempted to recover it. While down a barge decided to come up the river. Those things in a narrow river with the big screws trying to turn the barge really whipped up the water. A cypress log laying on the bottom was lifted up and smashed me in the face and then rolled me over. The water was around 50 feet deep or more and of course zero viz. I did not know up from down and not much else. The next thing I knew the current picked me up and threw me up to the surface. My face bloody from the log must have been a sight to the workman on the barge who hauled me in with a fright. They asked me if I thought diving in the river was a smart thing, I asked them if running over a diver was a smart thing, I suppose my flag was wound around their props. Oh, well, I lived, as far as I know the Johnson is still in the river. I showed up for class, I had an important test, all wet and my face bleeding and my dive watch hanging out of my pocket, broken, and flip flops, my future wife to be who I hardly knew (but who had caught my eye) was giving me that you idiot look---fast forwad 26 years, nothing has changed. My current hero of diving is that golf ball diver who was attacked by a gator, way to go fella. N

 

[Cacia]

Nemrod, could you write a regular column?

 

[drbill]

No, it wasn't in jest it actually happened to me. All the information said the dam was not generating, just about the time I realized it was and I was in the suction current along comes a dragging boat anchor,hits me on my forearm. Luckly it didn't hit my head. Once I recovered from the surprise I swam 90 degrees to the current until I got out of it. I was on the bottom in about 20 feet and 3 to 4 foot vis.

Didn't intend to suggest it didn't happen, just that in my mind it seemed to suggest that assessing one's reaction to such incidents wasn't an important part of determining whether a diver was "ready" to go solo.

Quite an incident! One reason I prefer salt water... even during a tsunami! Another reason is that I'm a marine biologist rather than a freshwater aquatic biologist! I've had a boat drop anchor almost on top of me and power boats cut across just 10 ft above me (while I've been IN our roped off dive park). Crazy things happen!

When I look at the number of divers who have panicked while with buddies in our relatively safe dive park, and a number of them suffered the ultimate consequences, I know these people (the ones that survived) are definitely not ready to solo dive. No question that good training and continual skills practice can prepare you for such events, but you still need real world incidents to determine your reaction to them.

 

[captain]

Didn't intend to suggest it didn't happen, just that in my mind it seemed to suggest that assessing one's reaction to such incidents wasn't an important part of determining whether a diver was "ready" to go solo.

Quite an incident! One reason I prefer salt water... even during a tsunami! Another reason is that I'm a marine biologist rather than a freshwater aquatic biologist! I've had a boat drop anchor almost on top of me and power boats cut across just 10 ft above me (while I've been IN our roped off dive park). Crazy things happen!

When I look at the number of divers who have panicked while with buddies in our relatively safe dive park, and a number of them suffered the ultimate consequences, I know these people (the ones that survived) are definitely not ready to solo dive. No question that good training and continual skills practice can prepare you for such events, but you still need real world incidents to determine your reaction to them.

I wasn't implying that previous incidents weren't important in determineing how someone will react to a situation. Exactly the opposit it was 40+ years of experience in different situations is what determined how I reacted to that situation.

 

[drbill]

I wasn't implying that previous incidents weren't important in determineing how someone will react to a situation. Exactly the opposit it was 40+ years of experience in different situations is what determined how I reacted to that situation.

Ah, I do understand what you were saying now. Glad I don't have any such tales to tell from my history. Yikes!

 

[Timeliner]

While I fully understand the importance of the buddy system, is there anytime ya'll go solo diving? The reason I ask is I am very interested in animal behavior, so sitting and watching a small school of fish interact in 30' of water for 15min would be a good time for me....but I think most buddies would grab me by the octo and drag me off elsewhere. So I am thinking that under certain conditions, shalower then 40feet, no currents, ext... it might be ok. What's the general census?

Sometimes you just need to be by yourself. I like to sit down there and look at a big old calm feeding for 10 minutes or just hang and wait to see the fish come back and get used to me. Some times I just Buda at about 40-50 feet and look at the submerged trees in a lake. I'm a very social person and one of the reasons I can exist well with people is the time I spend by myself.
We drive by ourselves, fly planes by ourselves, ride motorcycles alone, Write by ourselves,ect. Yes write ! Thousands of people die each year that choke to death on the caps off of Ball Point Pens. Where is the public out cry for pony bottles and certification from the literary community ?? Then there are dangers of Glass shower doors... :06: Don't get me going now...

Think, Train, Plan, Think, Repeat....then go have fun.

When confronted :
Show them the "single diver hand sign" and just go be yourself :14:

 

[Timeliner]

Actually, you would probably be better prepared for solo diving if you HAD an incident or two before trying it. It gives you a chance to test how cool you are under stressful conditions. To me this is a big factor in determining a person's readiness for solo diving... and you never know how you will really react until you have to react to an unanticipated incident.

No doubt... I think being exposed to the "Freek Factor" is critical. Even with a buddy you can get trapped in a bad stuation ( especially sometimes)
A little black water diving, 80 feet, 3 feet of vis. , cold, trees, fishing line, can't find a buddy, get trapped in a pile of expanded metal, light failure ( happened on the same dive of course) and such would be a good experience to live through and understand before you venture out on your own. While it's not a mandate the freek factor is a rush I think people should go through from time to time. It keeps you sharp ! The question is when it happens what do you do ?? Sure you freek a bit but then what ? Do you slow your breathing in comfort and say... " this would be a stupid place to die " ... then laugh Or~ do you bolt for the top :06: I hope the former not the latter. You can't train for the freek factor in a classroom setting or even a staged course setting. It has to be a surprise. Freek Dives turn out to be some of the best dive actually sometimes !! Adventure !!! Thats what life is all about.

Then again, maybe it would be good to know what it feels like diving by yourself before that sort of thing ever happens . ( that's me )



I think about each dive I do as if it was going to end as a solo dive weather it starts that way or not because some of them do.

Ohh BTW DrBill... I never really intended to do that underwater paintball thing it was just silly talk