Where did you solo dive today?

[MichaelMc]

My first solo dive was 8am Sunday, Easter, at Lovers Point near Monterey.

I've been effectively solo many times shadowing students, and at this point I'm a little north of 130 dives, mostly northern or southern California, including Lovers Point. But this was my first no-divers-in-the-area truly-on-my-own solo dive, done with slung LP27 pony, spare mask, single tank with primary and necklaced secondary, and complete ocean safety gear.

My brother had rented a house 200 yards from Lovers Cove for their kids spring break and I was joining them for a few days after doing leadership training dives in SoCal over my spring break. If conditions were favorable, I figured I'd dive either Breakwater, for more people around, or Lovers, by the house.

The ocean was perfectly calm, with maybe 3 inches of breaking wavelets at Lovers. Gearing up on the back stoop, walking 200 yards to the sand, and returning to derig into a tub placed under a hot outdoor spigot and shower was too much to pass up.

After two OOA drills to switch to and re-stow my pony, I had a great dive hovering around two small pinnacles at 17', between beaches 1 and 2, exploring sea life. Following the sand channel and exploring out deeper seemed the less prudent choice for an inaugural solo dive. Visibility was good, maybe 15-20', and a new DGX600 lit up what I wanted to see.

I saw a clam, a Sea Hare, Keyhole limpets, a large squashed anemone, normal sea stars and urchins, some small pink oval 1.5" plated and frilled chiton, some baby trumpet fish(?), only a few Macrocystis, some Sargassum, Not many fish near the pinnacles, just some small 4-6" orange Wrasse, but more types and bigger as I went shallower to exit.

Walking into the water and descending truly solo was a different experience after the training I've helped do that emphasizes being attentive buddies. No apprehension, but I know you need to constantly do risk analysis during the dive, more so than when you have extra brains and hands nearby to help. 130 dives is not a lot, but most of it has been very good training or helping lead very good training in reasonably tough conditions. So, for me, it felt acceptably safe.

I did the same dive Monday morning, with a tad more surge, but called it shorter, as my legs were getting cold in just a 5mm farmer john, under my 10mm top. There was a nice family sitting on the steps as I got out whose little twin daughters wanted to hear about what I was seeing under there. I told them about the orange fish and some little hermit crabs that sometimes got knocked over but then righted themselves.

Sunday 19' 46 minutes 56-57 degrees 15' vis 8:00 AM 14' avg AL63 2900-1500
Monday 16' 36 minutes 55-56 degrees 15' vis 7:20 AM 12' avg AL63 2900-1900

The cove Monday for the pre-dive conditions check; no underwater camera, sorry.

 

[markmud]

My first solo dive was 8am Sunday, Easter, at Lovers Point near Monterey.

I've been effectively solo many times shadowing students, and at this point I'm a little north of 130 dives, mostly northern or southern California, including Lovers Point. But this was my first no-divers-in-the-area truly-on-my-own solo dive, done with slung LP27 pony, spare mask, single tank with primary and necklaced secondary, and complete ocean safety gear.

My brother had rented a house 200 yards from Lovers Cove for their kids spring break and I was joining them for a few days after doing leadership training dives in SoCal over my spring break. If conditions were favorable, I figured I'd dive either Breakwater, for more people around, or Lovers, by the house.

The ocean was perfectly calm, with maybe 3 inches of breaking wavelets at Lovers. Gearing up on the back stoop, walking 200 yards to the sand, and returning to derig into a tub placed under a hot outdoor spigot and shower was too much to pass up.

After two OOA drills to switch to and re-stow my pony, I had a great dive hovering around two small pinnacles at 17', between beaches 1 and 2, exploring sea life. Following the sand channel and exploring out deeper seemed the less prudent choice for an inaugural solo dive. Visibility was good, maybe 15-20', and a new DGX600 lit up what I wanted to see.

I saw a clam, a Sea Hare, Keyhole limpets, a large squashed anemone, normal sea stars and urchins, some small pink oval 1.5" plated and frilled chiton, some baby trumpet fish(?), only a few Macrocystis, some Sargassum, Not many fish near the pinnacles, just some small 4-6" orange Wrasse, but more types and bigger as I went shallower to exit.

Walking into the water and descending truly solo was a different experience after the training I've helped do that emphasizes being attentive buddies. No apprehension, but I know you need to constantly do risk analysis during the dive, more so than when you have extra brains and hands nearby to help. 130 dives is not a lot, but most of it has been very good training or helping lead very good training in reasonably tough conditions. So, for me, it felt acceptably safe.

I did the same dive Monday morning, with a tad more surge, but called it shorter, as my legs were getting cold in just a 5mm farmer john, under my 10mm top. There was a nice family sitting on the steps as I got out whose little twin daughters wanted to hear about what I was seeing under there. I told them about the orange fish and some little hermit crabs that sometimes got knocked over but then righted themselves.

Sunday 19' 46 minutes 56-57 degrees 15' vis 8:00 AM 14' avg AL63 2900-1500
Monday 16' 36 minutes 55-56 degrees 15' vis 7:20 AM 12' avg AL63 2900-1900

The cove Monday for the pre-dive conditions check; no underwater camera, sorry.View attachment 453956

Hi Michaelmc,

I liked your post. Many of us solo divers will tell you, in different ways, that solo diving can be cathartic, calming, and even selfish. Selfish because the dive becomes all about you (and that is a good thing as doing something for yourself is important, now and then).

What are your thoughts about the psychological aspects of the dive itself?

Was it a different experience than buddy diving?

Was it peaceful in a different way than buddy diving?

thanks,

markm

 

[shoredivr]

Well now I can add Manitoba to my list of Canadian provinces that I’ve dived. Divercity Dive shop in Winnipeg was wonderfully adult about renting me two steel 100s for sidemounting. I went to West Hawk Lake, which is a meteorite crater. Very relaxing dive, no zebra mussels either. Not my photo, it’s from the web, but it gives you an idea of the drop off.

 

[lowviz]

...//... What are your thoughts about the psychological aspects of the dive itself?

Was it a different experience than buddy diving?

Was it peaceful in a different way than buddy diving? ...

I don't know how to best say this without 'dissing' a dive buddy. But I will try.

Have you ever just headed out into the woods with your soul at peace?

 

[Kevrumbo]

. . .Many of us solo divers will tell you, in different ways, that solo diving can be cathartic, calming, and even selfish. Selfish because the dive becomes all about you (and that is a good thing as doing something for yourself is important, now and then).

What are your thoughts about the psychological aspects of the dive itself?

Was it a different experience than buddy diving?

Was it peaceful in a different way than buddy diving?

thanks,

markm

. . .To step from a daily life that is carefully bounded by laws and safety locks and guardrails into a predicament where your life hinges on your own ability to assess a dangerous situation can be both disconcerting and exhilarating. . . there is a profound desire for this kind of self-reliance among many people who live in an era when, in the Western world anyway, there is very little opportunity for it. In a difficult or risky situation in the wilderness, the total reliance on oneself . . .and the need for total focus -whether climbing a rock face, skiing a steep chute, or paddling a whitewater canyon- brings a crystalline awareness of the world around . . . One hears it again and again: that at moments like this the participant feels acutely alive.

There are risks of course -risks of all sizes- and sometimes the participant pays the ultimate price for them. . . there are no sure answers, no solid black lines to demarcate caution from boldness, and boldness from foolishness, or rather that those lines constantly shift depending on circumstance and the individual . . . So why go in the first place? -->It is here where you must utterly rely on your own judgment:

. . .Ultimately, each person who ventures out must make his or her own decisions about how far to go and what point to turn back. There's an old saying among prospectors who comb the hills for gold here in the American West: "Gold is where you find it". You can say the same about adventure. For that matter, you can say it about risk, about death, and about being acutely alive. . .

(Abridged, from the Introduction in the book, Last Breath: Cautionary Tales From The Limits of Human Endurance by Peter Stark)

 

[markmud]

I don't know how to best say this without 'dissing' a dive buddy. But I will try.

Have you ever just headed out into the woods with your soul at peace?

Hi Lowviz,

Who were you dissing? I did not feel dissed.

Yes, I have headed into the woods with my soul at peace. I have headed into the woods with my soul at peace while hunting for deer, while being wary of grizz, rattlesnakes, wolves, and cougars, OH MY!

My post was in response to MichaelMc's post. I was hoping to start a dialogue with him about his seemingly newfound experience.

markm

 

[markmud]

. . .To step from a daily life that is carefully bounded by laws and safety locks and guardrails into a predicament where your life hinges on your own ability to assess a dangerous situation can be both disconcerting and exhilarating. . . there is a profound desire for this kind of self-reliance among many people who live in an era when, in the Western world anyway, there is very little opportunity for it. In a difficult or risky situation in the wilderness, the total reliance on oneself . . .and the need for total focus -whether climbing a rock face, skiing a steep chute, or paddling a whitewater canyon- brings a crystalline awareness of the world around . . . One hears it again and again: that at moments like this the participant feels acutely alive.

There are risks of course -risks of all sizes- and sometimes the participant pays the ultimate price for them. . . there are no sure answers, no solid black lines to demarcate caution from boldness, and boldness from foolishness, or rather that those lines constantly shift depending on circumstance and the individual . . . So why go in the first place? -->It is here where you must utterly rely on your own judgment:

. . .Ultimately, each person who ventures out must make his or her own decisions about how far to go and what point to turn back. There's an old saying among prospectors who comb the hills for gold here in the American West: "Gold is where you find it". You can say the same about adventure. For that matter, you can say it about risk, about death, and about being acutely alive. . .

(Abridged, from the Introduction in the book, Last Breath: Cautionary Tales From The Limits of Human Endurance by Peter Stark)

Hi Kevrumbo,

Nice! I enjoyed that.

markm

 

[lowviz]

Hi Lowviz,

Who were you dissing? I did not feel dissed. ...//...

My wording was unclear. It is popular for solo divers to 'dis' any and all dive buddies for their added burdens and distractions. The dive buddy I was referring to was a stereotype, not a person.

 

[markmud]

My wording was unclear. It is popular for solo divers to 'dis' any and all dive buddies for their added burdens and distractions. The dive buddy I was referring to was a stereotype, not a person.

Well now I am dissed because I am a stereotype combined with anachronistic tendencies.

markm

 

[lowviz]

Solo diving solves all these issues before they even arise.