Why I should Not be Solo Diving?

[captain]

My first post. How does a BC fail? Doesn't that answer the question of whether or not solo diving is appropriate? I will tell you how my BC failed. I took my first OW class 22 years ago. I just finished my second OW class this past weekend. (I can't resist a little digression. The class I took in 1985 was significantly longer and taught at a University, but I can’t say that I was any better trained.) Anyway, the weekend after we finished our class, we headed down to John Pennycamp and got on a cattle boat with 20 or 30 other divers. We jumped into 20 or 25 feet of water and swam off. In no time at all I was down to 500 pounds of air. So we surfaced. My BC was leaking; a BC full of water doesn’t provide much flotation and we weren’t wearing wet suits in the warm water. We were probably 25 yards from our boat, but I was quickly becoming exhausted from trying to keep myself afloat and bobbing in 2 foot swells. Fortunately we were in John Pennycamp because there was a boat every 25 yards or so and we got on the first one we made it to over the objections of the captain.

A good Samaritan dive instructor had an inner tube and he swam us over to our boat. That was my last dive for 22 years.

I just finished my second OW class and hope that 22 years more maturity and the financial resources to afford better gear will lead to a more successful experience.

Sounds like you were a we bit overweighted if you couldn't stay on the surface with an empty tank and swim 25 yards

 

[Cacia]

Well, since this is a highjacker orgin thread, allow me to highjack a bit,

The other day I broke my own no deeper that 80 ft solo rule and felt pretty guilty. But...I felt something was "off" but couldn't be even partially decisive about it and my three partners were heading into some fairly stiff current to another sister wreck, maybe 25 yards away. I decided to stay on the line and just take shots peering into the wreck I was on...

later it was decided some of us had some bad air. I think I probably did the right thing.
I know you are supposed to "call the dive", I had 2000 pounds when they were back, so in a way I did, just delayed a bit. ...is this BS?

 

[grazie42]

I dont think I asked for anyones opinion in this thread?
I stated some observations and thoughts tho (in what might be considered a provocative way)

Umm...the title of the thread is "Why I should not be solo diving?"
If that isn´t a request for opinions, please explain to me what is...

 

[SNorman]

Individuals who have frequent accidents and mishaps are at higher risk for accidents in the future

So..if you have never wrecked your car, your motorcycle, fallen down in the ice, broken your arm skiing, overdosed, had DUI's, shot yourself accidently while hunting, been mugged, been bent, etc, etc...then you can probably solo dive earlier and more safely than sombody who, for "whatever reason" has had many mishaps.

Some individuals display a history of making bad calls, being clumsy, even being unlucky.

If you have a history of "being unlucky" don't solo.

Ask anybody in ER medicine. There are intangibles involved.

Hehe, I think I just posted to another thread about something similar. In the motorcycle world we call those guys who seem to keep having accidents "fallers"

 

[Tigerman]

Hehe, I think I just posted to another thread about something similar. In the motorcycle world we call those guys who seem to keep having accidents "fallers"

If you keep having MC accidents, wouldnt it be a good start to look at WHY you keep having them? If you keep driving off the road in curves, maybe you should consider driving a bit slower and more controlled?

Of course, if you keep getting into vehicular accidents, you migh just not realize that you should consider the possibility that youre a bit reckless.. I know some people id call it a natural death for if they died going off the road because they where speeding..

 

[Cacia]

In the motorcycle world we call those guys who seem to keep having accidents "fallers"

lol...my son scarfed a Costco sized bottle of grape Tylenol as a two year old...the ER doctor said to me "now, I am warning you...these kids are repeat offenders..." My first child would never have done that...you can spot these *types* early. I think the OP should just ask his mother!

consider the possibility that youre a bit reckless

well, I have the opposite problem, it would never enter my mind because I haven't and thats a problem too.