Solo Diving!!!

[kodo]

Hi!

Just back after a sh.. night dive experience which really has put me off and make me take the plunge to post a question on SB. I'm a 51 year old PADI OWSI with roughly 700+ dives, mostly drysuit diving in Sweden but also a fair amount of warm water diving. Recently I've been thinking more and more to seriously go the "solo road". Why? Because I'm tired of being dependent on a buddy!!! There are a number of factors:

1. tired of becoming a "backup guide/instructor/responsible" to the ordinary guide/instructor/responsible
2. photography - tired of having ALL divers swarm to a subject when the guide pinpoints!!! I want to, surprise, ENJOY photography and the underwater world
3. to diverse groups while diving abroad - don't want to "baby sit" - don't get me wrong, we have all been beginners and I will happily do this in the future but not ALWAYS
...

I think I could add to the list for at least 6-10 more reasons but the above are the most "irritating"...

Furthermore I'm not looking for a "black belt"/DIR/Hard Core/IYDDITWYF (If You Don't Do It This Way You'll Fail) approach to solo diving - more a common sense, best practice approach. I'm also about to seriously go the "vintage" road with double hose because it appeals to me - being a 51+ old (young???) diver - so a combination of solo diving/vintage would be very much appreciated.

Ok, I think I shoulkd stop ranting and stop sounding like a "grumpy old diver"

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease help me out here!!!

Cheers and safe diving

 

[oldschoolto]

As long as you're a good / safe diver with NAV skills and good gas management skills , It not rocket science.. Just add a 30 or 40 cu pony for your back-up gas and go and have fun... And I'll add my favorite saying... BABY STEPS... Take your time and add things slowly...

Jim....

 

[uncfnp]

Solo diving forum on Scubaboard. Start here...

http://www.scubaboard.com/community/forums/solo-divers.311/

 

[Tug]

As long as you're a good / safe diver with NAV skills and good gas management skills , It not rocket science.. Just add a 30 or 40 cu pony for your back-up gas and go and have fun... And I'll add my favorite saying... BABY STEPS... Take your time and add things slowly...

Jim....

I agree, it's really not rocket science for a good diver to branch into solo diving. Having a redundant breathing source (pony/doubles) and solid skills puts you right on track.

I'm also about to seriously go the "vintage" road with double hose because it appeals to me - being a 51+ old (young???) diver - so a combination of solo diving/vintage would be very much appreciated.

Aside from what Jim said, there is really nothing different to solo diving with "vintage" gear. I would suggest that you go with a modern double hose; such as the Kraken or a Phoenix, as that would allow you to use a modern second stage, inflation hose and SPG without any trouble. I'd pop over to the vintage section of SB as there are a bunch of knowledgeable divers over there. Another option would be to check out Vintage Double Hose as they are the manufacturer of the Kraken and Phoenix and can easily answer any of your questions.

 

[emoreira]

I should add that you should be quite conscious of how you (and your body) react to Narcosis. Being a solo diver and being prone to narcosis is not a good combination.

 

[TMHeimer]

I rarely go below 30' (10m) solo, but of course if you are deep take a pony. My biggest concern is staying well away from any entanglement (of course take the knife). I use a bungee cord to hold my primary in my mouth should I for any reason ever go unconscious. If in current I have Dive Alert & sausage.

 

[Bob DBF]

I started diving solo, the only time my "instructor" was on SCUBA with me was to practice buddy breathing because there was only one set of gear. The trick is to use good judgement on the dives you choose to make, and reading your posts over the years, I don't think you will have a problem with that. Just don't have your dive plan write a check your body can't cash.

These days I have a better understanding of what to stay away from, and carry a DSMB, line cutter, and shears in addition to my BFK. Depending on how deep, what the dive plan is, and what I might encounter, I might carry a pony. It sounds like you are more prepared than me.


Good Diving

Bob

 

[oldschoolto]

Well , Maybe I should not tell this story ? But, You guys know me already...

So it's the last day of the Bonaire trip and I'm washing gear and I'm missing a weight pocket... Well the last dive was a night dive on the Hilma hooker and it must have fallen out... So I go back to Dive friends and grab a tank and then head to the Hooker to find the weight pocket... The wife asked were her tank was and I told her it was just a fast dive and I'll just do it myself as I got a lot of ground to cover and SOLO is much faster for me, not having to worry about her.. So in the water I go.. Bubble check the kit and put it back on and swim out on the surface to give me max gas on the bottom in the wreck.. Drop down to the bottom on the bow and start my search moving in to the front cargo hold and following the path of the dive the night before... Out the rear cargo hold, Double back to the bridge and in to the lower rooms... Still No weight pocket... Go to the rear and in to the crew rooms and out the back... Under the stern and start moving up the reef... Total time in the wreck was 18 minutes at avg of 75' ... Swim back to shore following the same compass heading looking on the reef for it... No luck at all... Did a 2 minute stop at 20' and a 3 minute stop at 10'... Total run time of the dive was 37 minutes... tank pressure at start was 3450 psi .. ended at 1350 psi....

So I didn't find it... Go back to the house and start washing my gear and pick-up my wife's fins and there is the weight pocket... She said I did it so I could get a SOLO WRECK dive in...

Just a old school wreck dive....

Jim...

 

[markmud]

Hi!

Just back after a sh.. night dive experience which really has put me off and make me take the plunge to post a question on SB. I'm a 51 year old PADI OWSI with roughly 700+ dives, mostly drysuit diving in Sweden but also a fair amount of warm water diving. Recently I've been thinking more and more to seriously go the "solo road". Why? Because I'm tired of being dependent on a buddy!!! There are a number of factors:

1. tired of becoming a "backup guide/instructor/responsible" to the ordinary guide/instructor/responsible
2. photography - tired of having ALL divers swarm to a subject when the guide pinpoints!!! I want to, surprise, ENJOY photography and the underwater world
3. to diverse groups while diving abroad - don't want to "baby sit" - don't get me wrong, we have all been beginners and I will happily do this in the future but not ALWAYS
...

I think I could add to the list for at least 6-10 more reasons but the above are the most "irritating"...

Furthermore I'm not looking for a "black belt"/DIR/Hard Core/IYDDITWYF (If You Don't Do It This Way You'll Fail) approach to solo diving - more a common sense, best practice approach. I'm also about to seriously go the "vintage" road with double hose because it appeals to me - being a 51+ old (young???) diver - so a combination of solo diving/vintage would be very much appreciated.

Ok, I think I shoulkd stop ranting and stop sounding like a "grumpy old diver"

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease help me out here!!!

Cheers and safe diving

Hi Kodo,

Definitely!! Go for it. I have a PADI Self-Reliant Solo cert and am damn glad I got it.

Try to get the SDI cert as their cert is recognized by all to be a true solo cert. An internecine battle over which cert is or is not a solo cert has occurred. The SSI instructor I know says SSI does not have a Solo cert, but it is listed as an Independent Cert. SDI considers the PADI and SSI certs to be comparable to their Solo cert.

Here is a snip from SDIs newsletter:

SDI does recognize that the training regimens are slightly different, but solo none-the-less.

As far as pony bottles go, there is another internecine battle over minimum pony bottle requirements. Many consider it a necessity to return to the point of origin before ascending, which would increase your pony bottle size and would require you to follow the rule of thirds.

I was taught differently.

While solo, you don't do overheads and you abort directly to the surface. If you are diving in high current areas that require you to return to your point of origin, or in overheads (virtual or otherwise), you should be buddy diving and probably tec diving.

For a direct ascent to the surface, you don't need 40 cf of gas, unless you are a GE90 on a B777-300ER. In the decompression zone, many don't use a pony bottle while solo diving. Some consider a pony useless in depths that they free-dive to.

To iterate my opinion, a Solo cert and a Tec 40 cert are the only certs a self respecting recreational diver should have! Screw the rest (don't get butt-hurt; it is just my opinion; and yes I am prejudiced)!

markm

 

[lermontov]

ask your self honestly - go back over your diving career and see how many times you would have been screwed if you didnt have a buddy, is your doing style conservative- would you like diving solo without anyone to share the experience with? are you a risk taker? at 51 you probably dont have the driving ego you once had (?). Personally id love to dive solo but family wouldn't be happy about it so i dont.

good luck - keep us posted