Solo Diving

[MikeFerrara]

Every Instuctor has at one time or another solo dives.
If he's with a student he has to not only has to save himself but the student as well. Solo divers are surpose to have the right gear for it. The only differance is where the gear is located.
For that fact Solo divers don't have to worry about swimming to the gear because it's already where he can reach it.

This is not accurate at all. I don't dive with any one unless I think they can perform the basic functions of a buddy and that includes students.

If you look through the small number od posts in this forum it will quickly become clear that not all solo divers have redundant equipment.

 

[The Chairman]

Perhaps I have spoken too soon... if there is anything you feel needs to be considered in the "sticky" please PM ME about it. Thanks in advance! (again)

 

[stingray1]

Stingray... please refer to post #13 in this thread.

THANK YOU!!! :monkeydan

 

[cornfed]

Perhaps I have spoken too soon... if there is anything you feel needs to be considered in the "sticky" please PM ME about it. Thanks in advance! (again)

I like the new version much better. I'll leave you guys alone now. (pun intended)

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I find it interesting that solo diving discussions are "allowed". Regardless of which side of the fence you're own, unless you hold an SDI Solo card you are exceeding your training agency limits and recommendations by diving solo. Discussions about wreck penentration, 'mix diving and other topics are closed when it is obvious someone is trying to avoid taking the proper classes. Why then are we allowed to discuss solo diving?

It's a lot like driving. Most people learn to drive as a teenager, get a license, then drive all their lives. Very few ever take additional driving courses. We learn by doing. The more you do something, the better you get and the more you learn to handle situations that may not have come up in Driver's Ed. If a diver is satisfied with diving within their limits, there is little need for tech courses. Most solo divers I know, including myself, don't do anything different when diving solo or with a buddy. I use the same gear so that I don't have to think about where my valves are, where my backup reg is or anything else that may arise. I don't take additional gear down in anticipation of problems. If I can't solve problems with the gear I use on every dive, I'm using the wrong gear. The only time I have gear with me that doesn't come with me on every dive are deco bottle(s) for multi-stop decompression dives, which are well planned and always with a like-minded buddy or two.

 

[IslandHopper]

I went diving today.
By myself.
With the same equipment I use when I go with buddies.
I lived through it.
In fact, I felt more comfortable than I do with buddies.

My personal limits for solo require a hard floor underneath me at a reasonable depth (for now, 45 feet or so is plenty, though my favorite solo dives have hard bottoms at 35' and 20'.)
I dive locations I am familiar with and my redundant air source is the atmosphere at the surface (hence the shallow depths.)

ALL my diving is done as a self-sufficient dive... I don't EVER go into the water with the thought that I would NEED a buddy to handle an emergency. A buddy might make an emergency easier to handle, or less stressfull, but it's not required. When a buddy IS there, we dive as a team... I keep an eye on him and I expect him to keep an eye on me, but we both have the ability for self rescue.
Solo diving is more relaxing, because I don't have the responsibility of another diver's life. When I'm part of a team, we are responsible for each other.

That said, I'm open to suggestions and comments from others who dive solo ... I believe that's the whole point of this forum

 

[fun2chase]

Redundancy was mentioned but not thoroughly. I did my first solo dive last week and found it to be not much different than diving with a buddy. There were other divers in the water (this time) knowing it was my first time. Was I relying on them? No. I brought a 19 cubic foot pony clipped to my BC with a separate first stage, second stage, and pressure gage. REDUNDANCY! There was another guy solo diving off the boat. He used his regular equipment and I noticed he did not have the redundancy. The problem that I see with people solo diving is not spending the money necessary to have the redundancy. Remember the Rouses (read the book “The Last Dive” if you have not done so yet) and learn from their mistakes. Spend the money necessary to have the proper equipment and training for the dive you are attempting to do. Running out of air is certainly fatal if you are solo diving. Without a second tank if there are any unresolvable problems with your tank, o-rings, first stage, second stage, hoses, etc. you are dead.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Redundancy was mentioned but not thoroughly. I did my first solo dive last week and found it to be not much different than diving with a buddy. There were other divers in the water (this time) knowing it was my first time. Was I relying on them? No. I brought a 19 cubic foot pony clipped to my BC with a separate first stage, second stage, and pressure gage. REDUNDANCY! There was another guy solo diving off the boat. He used his regular equipment and I noticed he did not have the redundancy. The problem that I see with people solo diving is not spending the money necessary to have the redundancy. Remember the Rouses (read the book “The Last Dive” if you have not done so yet) and learn from their mistakes. Spend the money necessary to have the proper equipment and training for the dive you are attempting to do. Running out of air is certainly fatal if you are solo diving. Without a second tank if there are any unresolvable problems with your tank, o-rings, first stage, second stage, hoses, etc. you are dead.

I don't see how what happened to the Rouses has anything to do with what you're talking about here.

 

[DEEPLOU]

I don't see how what happened to the Rouses has anything to do with what you're talking about here.

Bernie seemed to think that had Rouses' not skimped and used Trimix instead of air, that they would have had a different result.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Bernie seemed to think that had Rouses' not skimped and used Trimix instead of air, that they would have had a different result.

I agree that trimix would have been better. Less narcosis is always better but I don't see what that has to do with solo diving.

I also think it was a mistake for them to split up. Another diver may have seen the problem comming and prevented it (the rack falling on the other diver).

Also, they may still have recovered the situation if they hadn't abandoned their decompression gas.

This incident and many of the other wreck diving acidents probably speak volumes about solo diving in general. Reference all the divers who apparantly just fell asleep, used all their gas or dropped their regs and drowned. More appropriate gasses may have helped as well as another diver to haul the afflicted diver up.

Bernies own accident...staying too long, getting lost, confused and swimming laps around the wreck resulting in him to getting severely bent again speaks to the value of a redundant brain. The other guy down there if I remember right (not his buddy) saw he was screwing up but didn't have the time or the gas to chase him down and streighten him out.

Along with talking about the value of full face masks and comms Bernie should have mentioned the value of another brain when yours is all hosed up.