MichaelMc
Working toward Cenotes
Mark,
I'm sorry for the delay. They were thoughtful questions. I composed a response at the time, but did not post, as it was wayyy too long. It still is, but maybe, putting it below is still best. I've tried to shorten it... I've had two more solo's, along the pipe at Breakwater Monterey, so my perspective is the barest bit more mixed.
Mostly I now have three dive modes: as part of our staff with students, with one of our other TAs mentoring a bit, or just me. I like a view that solo gives me the chance to work on my stuff, play in shallows, fiddle with gear, or just wander a site alone. Then I get to dive with a buddy, with my stuff more solid and happy. That leaves we free to work on buddy stuff, or just share the site. Finally when I dive as staff, all my little kinks are worked out.
# Psychological
I'd split psychological into a) I'm feeling safe under and above and b) what's my day/dive like.
Solo underwater, I feel *mostly* as safe as with a good buddy. There are things that can happen to totally take me out, but they're rare. I chose a rather large pony, LP27, so if something like entanglement happens underwater, I can stay down a long time to solve it. I also have low profile D rings on my weight belt so I can transfer gear there if I have to ditch my rig.
When I shadow students, I get small moments to look at the kelp next to me, while tracking the students. My first solo dives felt similar, but my only help was my pony and the whole dive I was free to look at stuff. Not quite the same feeling of exposure, but close. There's definitely still an 'its just me down here' overlay on my mind.
Above water when solo, the connection to help is more tenuous. I dive Monterey where there's strong land based support, if you can get someone to dial 911. With a buddy, you can believe they can get someone to make that call. Injured solo, you have to get to where you can do that yourself. I have the physical signaling aids, but not electronic ones. That might be a gear change I could use.
I thought of the risk tradeoff of Lovers -- quiet residential -- vs Breakwater -- center of diving and some activity, the conditions, and my readiness. Once I decided I was not at appreciably greater risk at Lovers, psychologically the dive was close to me getting in the water as normal.
The first dive, I had a moment of apprehensive thought once on the bottom, of it just being me down here. My feet were cold from a thinner bottom and the vis being lower than I had had recently, which all added up. But just a thought, as I knew I was well prepared for the conservative dive I planned and the water was calm with no surge. Solo dives 3 and 4, at the breakwater, I felt rushed getting to the shallows I wanted with still generous air in my primary tank for my safety stop. It was not so much a solo thing, just on most dives my SAC means I have plenty of air relative to others, while on my two Breakwater solo's I used most of my tank. Planning that exquisitely is not yet a skill.
I think I was less aware of my surroundings. With a buddy I am constantly turning to check on them, solo I did not have the built in environment scans those checks produce. While working on various issues, eg. restoring pony or fixing my pencil, I did check myself and mentally back up and reacquire my environment. Puttering about exploring may not seem subject to task fixation, but regularly pulling back and checking the whole area is likely a prudent habit I need to re-enforce.
# vs. Buddy
I don't have much pure buddy experience to compare to. All my buddies are well trained graduates of our program, but I'm still more experienced so am usually lead diver. Half the staff is more experienced than me, but we rarely get to dive as buddies and two are instructors and Diving Officers at their institutions so are far more experienced.
I had a great buddy dive in 20'+ vis off Catalina with a woman, Hannah, from a Canadian environmental department. I believe she has far more experience yet did not want to be lead. I had no worry about her, nor, I think, she of me. We knocked around a kelp covered slope checking out various bits of it. As it happens, shadowed by one of our junior staff and they observed by our Diving Officer. Ignoring our shadows, our coordination in the water was fluid and did not impede the dive, we felt a good team, plus she is a hoot.
Thinking of that dive -- 46' 32 min, some current, kelp forest, Channel islands -- I'm not comfortable doing that solo, especially without a radio on me. If something small physical happened to me, she could help. If something big happened, she could tow me back to beach and visibility to others and raise some help, though it could be rough odds for me.
Thinking of a shallow sheltered local reef, like Breakwater, with people ashore, I don't think I have apprehension summoning surface aid; divers entering the water is even likely. I don't want to be selfish by being irresponsible in the water and relying on that.
I think most of my solo routine was like me getting in the water with students, just no students and an extra tank and mask. In turning to do my buddy check, I did so conscious that no one was around to help if I messed it up. But I realize I left parts out of my most thorough version, such as condition of all hoses, and did not do any of it twice. I had just been diving that gear for a week.
# Peaceful
Solo at Lovers was very peaceful. Just me looking at sea life at whatever pace I wanted. I think a great buddy dive might be more fun v.s. peaceful.
Solo along the pipe at Breakwater varied from far calmer than tracking a buddy in <2' vis to very, very, cool under a layer of jelly fish just above me in 20' vis, just for me to see.
# Other
I wouldn't claim cathartic. But freeing, yes. I used to train in master and competitive level ballroom dances; but you need a good parter. Recently I resurrected my scuba; but you need a buddy to do it responsibly, and a good one. Recently, SB seems accepting that *properly trained and equipped* solo diving is responsible. With that, I started preparing for solo. Then I busted my knee.... So the week of training in SoCal and then solo diving from the rental house in Monterey was a freeing reemergence, on Easter no less. Still much to learn, but it felt good.
Technically, I feel on uncertain ground in *claiming* solo readiness. I'm not solo ready to a standard of *solo trained* and equipped. Yet, for three years I've helped teach, and the extras we cover are many of the solo skills. In those years, I've been internalizing the tech view that the surface is not the immediate solution. I developed and teach our classroom buoyancy and trim section because those are my 'thing' in the water. My scuba 'day' job has been shadowing our students in northern California kelp, low vis, and surge. So I am trained and experienced at being on my own watching over students in tough waters. Though I'm not *certified* to be in that same spot without being responsible for others as well as me.
# Is it selfish?
Maybe a little. Solo, I'm at higher risk than buddied with any of my *well trained* pool of dive buddies. I might, might, be at lower risk solo than shadowing two of our students early on. But me diving is important to me, and just-me is sometimes important. I'm not at 1000 dives, not even close. But I'm well trained for my 130 ish dives, with wide experience! My first two solos were while with my brother's family on vacation. The consequences of an incident were considered very carefully in my mind, weighed against the risk, and my state. With my nephews expecting me for breakfast, I considered the risk acceptable for me, that day, with that sea state.
Michael
The lake like conditions of my two Breakwater solo dives. That pipe goes out to ~47' to near a field of metridiums, which I reached on my forth solo dive, and where I had the overhead cover of sea nettles. I'd been on that pipe several times before with students, and to the fields once before, but never had overhead sea nettle company when I got there.
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