Sad story Bob, and I wonder how many near misses occur due to similar circumstances with inexperienced instabuddies
Where did you solo dive today?
- Thread starter shoredivr
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Way too many ... which is one reason why we see so many inexperienced divers in this forum asking about solo diving.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
Had a really chilled out solo dive on Friday, my first dive of the day, at Martini Rock UAE.
Weather was a bit choppy, nothing serious, only four divers on the boat, DM + 2 others one of whom was doing her first post qualification dive.
As I was planning to do wide angle on the soft corals I dropped off first to get to the area I was looking for, found a nice spot and decided to hang there absorbing the scene for the first time in wide angle mode as I always shoot macro over here due to poor visibility and even when it is clear there is still so much cr@p in the water.
After about 10 minutes I suddenly heard "breathing" and it was like a steam train approaching me with the DM trying to keep the newbies away from the coral and when they saw me they swam up to me in a vertical position still finning and my beautiful scene disappeared in a sandstorm. 5 minutes after they passed, I had to move on as the colloidal water had not cleared enough for me to shoot what I was composing in my head.
I had a chat with them on the boat afterwards gently hinting that swimming horizontally is not only a better position but also uses less air and maintains the visibility for other divers behind them.
Fortunately I dived the same site again the next day but somehow it was not the same.
Weather was a bit choppy, nothing serious, only four divers on the boat, DM + 2 others one of whom was doing her first post qualification dive.
As I was planning to do wide angle on the soft corals I dropped off first to get to the area I was looking for, found a nice spot and decided to hang there absorbing the scene for the first time in wide angle mode as I always shoot macro over here due to poor visibility and even when it is clear there is still so much cr@p in the water.
After about 10 minutes I suddenly heard "breathing" and it was like a steam train approaching me with the DM trying to keep the newbies away from the coral and when they saw me they swam up to me in a vertical position still finning and my beautiful scene disappeared in a sandstorm. 5 minutes after they passed, I had to move on as the colloidal water had not cleared enough for me to shoot what I was composing in my head.
I had a chat with them on the boat afterwards gently hinting that swimming horizontally is not only a better position but also uses less air and maintains the visibility for other divers behind them.
Fortunately I dived the same site again the next day but somehow it was not the same.
r4e
Contributor
Last Tuesday I selected a less ambitious dive site for an evening dive after work. I loaded the dive gear on my 7.8m RIB boat and it took me less than an hour at 45 knot speed to arrive at a wreck site previously unknown to me. I soon located the freightship with my side-scan sonar and then threw my anchor to the port side of the wreck. I then let the slight stream settle the anchor and 100m of anchor line. Then I noticed that the anchor line lead into the water at a sharper angle than expected and had a different feel to it. Perhaps the anchorline had caught into the superstructure of the wreck.
In advance, I knew that the visibility might be very poor. At the surface, the visibility was 1-2 meters, good enough for me. I donned my dry suit and kitted up with a twinset and a stage tank. Whilst descending, the visibility was lost completely at 15m depth. The water was a thick milky fog. I could not even see the glow of my 2000 lumen lamp if I held my hand straight. I was not too concerned about this due to my cave training and earlier experiences of similar conditions. However, I could not read any of the gauges or my dive computer even if I placed them against my mask.
I felt relaxed and so I continued with my dive. I soon reached the bottom where my anchor line had jammed just under the bow of the freight ship. I released the anchor line and then followed the line to my anchor just to make sure it was secured and could be pulled away later. I then returned back to the wreck and wondered what next. I decided to explore the front section of the wreck by touch only. I followed the gunwale and drew a mental map of everything I could reach and feel. I was cautious in this exploration because I did not want to get entangled. Since I could not measure time nor check my gauges I hesitated to go too far and soon thumbed the dive.
I then followed the gunwale back to my anchor line. Visibility was still absolute zero, i.e. I could not see bubbles, particles or anything else in the water. Whilst ascending I would have no idea of the depth, so, I made myself slightly negatively buyoant and hanged from the anchorline. Then I slowly climbed the anchorline until I reached 15 meters depth with some visibility. Run time so far was 30 minutes, much less than planned. The remainder of the dive was uneventful.
Whilst stowing away my gear on the boat, I noticed how little I had consumed gas. I was a bit surprised that my calculated SAC rate was less than on an average dive. Well, this was a relaxing solo dive. I smiled happily as I drived my boat back home through calm and unpopulated seas. Apart from me and the coast guard vessel, there were no other boats in the growing darkness.
In advance, I knew that the visibility might be very poor. At the surface, the visibility was 1-2 meters, good enough for me. I donned my dry suit and kitted up with a twinset and a stage tank. Whilst descending, the visibility was lost completely at 15m depth. The water was a thick milky fog. I could not even see the glow of my 2000 lumen lamp if I held my hand straight. I was not too concerned about this due to my cave training and earlier experiences of similar conditions. However, I could not read any of the gauges or my dive computer even if I placed them against my mask.
I felt relaxed and so I continued with my dive. I soon reached the bottom where my anchor line had jammed just under the bow of the freight ship. I released the anchor line and then followed the line to my anchor just to make sure it was secured and could be pulled away later. I then returned back to the wreck and wondered what next. I decided to explore the front section of the wreck by touch only. I followed the gunwale and drew a mental map of everything I could reach and feel. I was cautious in this exploration because I did not want to get entangled. Since I could not measure time nor check my gauges I hesitated to go too far and soon thumbed the dive.
I then followed the gunwale back to my anchor line. Visibility was still absolute zero, i.e. I could not see bubbles, particles or anything else in the water. Whilst ascending I would have no idea of the depth, so, I made myself slightly negatively buyoant and hanged from the anchorline. Then I slowly climbed the anchorline until I reached 15 meters depth with some visibility. Run time so far was 30 minutes, much less than planned. The remainder of the dive was uneventful.
Whilst stowing away my gear on the boat, I noticed how little I had consumed gas. I was a bit surprised that my calculated SAC rate was less than on an average dive. Well, this was a relaxing solo dive. I smiled happily as I drived my boat back home through calm and unpopulated seas. Apart from me and the coast guard vessel, there were no other boats in the growing darkness.
Six solo dives at Casino Point yesterday. Plan for four more today and four on Friday to reach 80 for the month of August. Then I'll sleep over the weekend. Unfortunately I'll also do that solo. Sniff!
waterpirate
Contributor
Did 2 nice dives on the Cook, out at the jackspot yesterday. RT 60 minutes a 90fsw for each dive with 30' vis and 50 degrees on the bottom. It was a great day on the water!
Eric
Eric
Tigerman
Contributor
Just a 35-minute 14m max dive relaxing in the water today. Nothing to see really..
These two pictures pretty much sum up everything I saw (and the colors are fairly accurate too)
Both shot at 6ish meters..
These two pictures pretty much sum up everything I saw (and the colors are fairly accurate too)
Both shot at 6ish meters..
Dive Bug Bit Me
Contributor
Two great solo dives in Cape Town yesterday. Rockeater wreck at 36 meters. She is pretty well preserved. 24 mins of bottom time giving me just a little time to have a look around inside the crew's quarters for pajama sharks. None found unfortunately but plenty cold water soft coral and nudibranchs.
Second dive the Orotava wreck. No penetration (gas supply too limited) but that cargo hold beacons!
Conditions were about as good as it gets. Slight current, slight surge and visibility of 20 ft.
Water a warm 13 celcius.
Fantastic day of diving. Thanks to the crew from Pisces divers.
Second dive the Orotava wreck. No penetration (gas supply too limited) but that cargo hold beacons!
Conditions were about as good as it gets. Slight current, slight surge and visibility of 20 ft.
Water a warm 13 celcius.
Fantastic day of diving. Thanks to the crew from Pisces divers.
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