Solo or not?

[lamont]

I currently have 22 dives and an AOW certification.

IMO, that's not enough experience.

I did some solo diving around dive #60 or so, and in retrospect it wasn't the best idea because I didn't know what I didn't know.

Around here I can think of at least two fatalities that should concern you in your situation thinking about solo diving. The first is just a new diver who went solo diving and ran out of gas and drowned. I expect that he simply ran out of gas due to inattention, but it might have been due to a free flowing regulator failure. Entanglement in that case doesn't seem to have been an issue. Are you prepared to deal with that? Do you manage your gas well? Do you know how much gas you need to get back safely from depth?

Another fatality involved a diver that relied on their pony bottle and when they ran out of gas in their main tank the regulator for their pony bottle was trapped in their gear and they drowned. Just adding redundant gas to your gear is insufficient to be able to solo dive, unless you know how to protect the avilability of that gas. If you leave the valve on when you enter the water you need to be able to manipulate it underwater, if you leave the valve off when you enter the water, you need to be able to detect that regulator is free flowing. Do you know if you should have the valve for your redundant gas on or off? You need to be able to check the SPG on your redundant gas, and you need to be able to deploy the regulator efficiently.

 

[Van Isle]

Maybe ask the dive center if they have a buddy list? I know ours does, there could be another diver out there looking to go.

Ogden Point Dive Centre does indeed have a buddy list on their wall as soon as you enter the dive shop. Frank White's Dive Store also has a buddy list on their counter.

Enjoy!

VI

 

[TheWetRookie]

There are free DM -led dives every Saturday from Frank White's Dive Store (meet at 0930), and every Sunday from Beyond Deep Diving (meet at 0900). I'm going camping this weekend or I'd buddy with you. Call ahead to reserve gear if you need to rent.

Drop in dives are a GREAT way to meet new buddies, even if they're very temporary. I would not recommend solo diving to a new diver, especially in 48F water with <3ft visibility. At a new site. I think if you need to ask if you're ready, you're not.

Are you in town for a while? Try posting in the local forum

VI

Ditto

 

[Hatul]

Which boat is this? I have dove a few boats here in SoCal and it was always a bring your own buddy type of diving.

I'm also in SoCal and have gone by myself many times. If you don't come with a buddy it's easy to get buddied up on a boat. In the worst case I've joined a buddy team to go as a threesome.

Most of the time if you ask on the boat you'll get a buddy.

Having said that, one time I was buddied up with someone irresponsible and we got separated from the get go.

Adam

 

[Jax]

Guys, this has been an excellent discussion! Thank you all for your input . . .

I intend to get my solo diver this summer, at about 100 dives. I do so due to a 'same ocean', 'trust me' dive buddy.

How many dives would you say is a good number to actually dive solo? 300? 500? Assume only in an area well-known to the diver.

 

[fire_diver]

Guys, this has been an excellent discussion! Thank you all for your input . . .

I intend to get my solo diver this summer, at about 100 dives. I do so due to a 'same ocean', 'trust me' dive buddy.

How many dives would you say is a good number to actually dive solo? 300? 500? Assume only in an area well-known to the diver.

That really depends on the individual diver. Comfort level, knowledge of the dive site, specific risks for that dive site, your own training, your redundencies, your rehersals, all come into play when asking that question.

Some are ready to solo by 100, some would never be ready.

What I typically tell people is that they need to have experienced several minor emergencies while diving with buddies. Then they can look back and answer if they were able to keep a calm head, fix thierr problem, and suface without panic. If the answer was "no", then solo isn't for them.

 

[DaleC]

Guys, this has been an excellent discussion! Thank you all for your input . . .

I intend to get my solo diver this summer, at about 100 dives. I do so due to a 'same ocean', 'trust me' dive buddy.

How many dives would you say is a good number to actually dive solo? 300? 500? Assume only in an area well-known to the diver.

who can tell you a number?

If you ask instructors from agencies that discourage solo diving you will get one range.
If you ask self taught divers who are used to doing for themselves you'll get another.

Dive 21 for me and I don't regret it. But I think Mike Boswell hit the nail on the head when he stated that solo diving, in this case, was the wrong solution for the OP's problem. What the OP needs to do is to get better at building and maintaining diver relationships. It's a skill like a lot of other dive skills. As suggested, shop sponsored/club dives, buddy boards, the Western Canada forum here on SB and email lists are all tools that a new diver needs to learn to use if they don't come with a built in buddy.

Solo diving should be a decision, not a reaction.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Solo diving should be a decision, not a reaction.

If forums could have slogans, that there should be the slogan for the solo forum.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[jvevea]

Guys, this has been an excellent discussion! Thank you all for your input . . .

I intend to get my solo diver this summer, at about 100 dives. I do so due to a 'same ocean', 'trust me' dive buddy.

How many dives would you say is a good number to actually dive solo? 300? 500? Assume only in an area well-known to the diver.

It's a couple of years old now, but you would probably find the following thread informative:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/solo-divers/126887-how-many-dives-did-you-have.html .
It contains a variety of very intelligent discussion of the fact that you are probably asking the wrong question (as well as information on what questions you should be asking).

 

[aquaregia]

Forum's restricted to solo divers