What Troubles?

[Rick Inman]

Pug,

Seems "just going to get a couple of crabs" is often sighted in many local diving accidents. Maybe mother nature getting even?

I think there is this notion that, the easier the dive, the less prepared the diver needs to be.

From reading DAN accident reports, apparently accidents happen at all different depths in various conditions.

I have a pair of EMT shears in my DS pocket, but I'd hate to have to try to cut myself out of a gill net.

 

[cmcloughlin]

Just curious :06:

Being an Eagle Scout... our Motto is "Be Prepared" which goes right along with the old attage "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"

Safety seems to be a popular subject on this board, prep/gear/attitude/ect, which beggs my question... What kind of troubles HAVE you run into SOLO DIVING (I.E. no one to pull you out, no one to swim to your aid, no surface support... ect.) And perhaps what you did prior and post of the dive to prevent the occurance.

jP

The one problem I have had after more then 20 years solo diving, was being caught by a fisherman. Iwas diving along a rock jetty looking for lobster about 30 ft deep. Apparrently the fisherman was working the jetty for Blackfish.
All of a sudden I encountered a strong current that I could not seem to make headway againist. I didn't take long to realize I was hooked somewhere on the rear of my BC.
I couldn't reach it with my knife, and the BC was new and I didn't want it damaged, so I let the fisherman slowly haul me to the surface. I will never forget the look on his face when I broke the surface and yelled at him for not knowing the meaning of a dive flag. I wonder if anyone ever believed his story?

 

[Jeff=Dive]

Thanx everyone for the input, I really appreciate it. As for gillnets, I haven't seen any, and hope I never have the unfortunate chance of getting caught up in one, that or fishing line.

Ironicly I was just talking with a guy that is painting our house, about his diving experiences; He was telling me about how he ran out of air once, about 110ft down in Califorina. He had just speared a big fish and was really excited and going through the air, then the next thing he knew, he was out of air. Had a buddy 15ft away and was able to make it to the top ok, with a deco, even though his buddy was running on fumes. Said he just didn't pay attention. If his buddy wasn't there, he probably whouldn't be here today. He also said he had done this dive more than 50 times.

Except for this board, pretty much everybody I've talked to about solo diving including the painter, had said it's not a good idea to dive by yourself, even though many of them have. The potential risk is too high. I suppose I'd compare it to skiing. I've done a tremendous amount of skiing, done a bunch by myself (in bounds) but would never condone anyone doing any backcountry skiing by themselves. Many ski resorts prohibit it, because the potential risk is just too high. If you do, you have to have a buddy, each must have a working radio and a working transceiver, a shovel and a pick. Still, each has their own decision to make, solo or not. My purpose for this thread was to find out what kind of trouble solo divers have run into out there.

Thankyou all for the input. It's been very helpful, especially for a noob.

jP

 

[jtivat]

Thanx everyone for the input, I really appreciate it. As for gillnets, I haven't seen any, and hope I never have the unfortunate chance of getting caught up in one, that or fishing line.

Ironicly I was just talking with a guy that is painting our house, about his diving experiences; He was telling me about how he ran out of air once, about 110ft down in Califorina. He had just speared a big fish and was really excited and going through the air, then the next thing he knew, he was out of air. Had a buddy 15ft away and was able to make it to the top ok, with a deco, even though his buddy was running on fumes. Said he just didn't pay attention. If his buddy wasn't there, he probably whouldn't be here today. He also said he had done this dive more than 50 times.

Except for this board, pretty much everybody I've talked to about solo diving including the painter, had said it's not a good idea to dive by yourself, even though many of them have. The potential risk is too high. I suppose I'd compare it to skiing. I've done a tremendous amount of skiing, done a bunch by myself (in bounds) but would never condone anyone doing any backcountry skiing by themselves. Many ski resorts prohibit it, because the potential risk is just too high. If you do, you have to have a buddy, each must have a working radio and a working transceiver, a shovel and a pick. Still, each has their own decision to make, solo or not. My purpose for this thread was to find out what kind of trouble solo divers have run into out there.

Thankyou all for the input. It's been very helpful, especially for a noob.

jP

First if you are going to dive Solo you need to pay attention to your gauges and B carry a second source of air I bet you even get to it before you get to your buddy.

 

[Nemrod]

"pretty much everybody I've talked to about solo diving including the painter, had said it's not a good idea to dive by yourself, even though many of them have. The potential risk is too high."

Obviously some people will not agree with that statement. I thought this was the solo diver forum, not the solo bashing forum? N