My FIRST Solo Dive (Non certified)

[Tigerpaw]

I recently returned from Key Largo where I did 38 dives over a 8 day period, however those dives were in my wet suit. Knowing I need experience with my dry suit I knew I need time in the water. (Prior to this post, only had 4 dry suit dives, 2 of those were certification) Working nights and having a unique work schedule, it is hard to find dive buddies. So I decided to take a leap of faith and just go for it and dive solo. I have done the majority of my training at the local lake, so I was familiar with it. I also limited myself to a max depth of 20ft and I stayed close to shore.
So I get there and get my kit set up, shore diving is so much different than boat diving, I struggled to get my gear on by myself but I eventually got it and away I went. With the recent rain we've had there was a constant flow of run off water into the lake which caused visibility to be about 1 - 2 feet. I was also over weighted so I rapidly sunk during my descent. I couldn't see where I was going and was sinking fast! I was getting concerned and began to second guess diving solo but I told myself, "Do You want to be a diver?", and calmed myself down. At that point I was going to add air to my drysuit. Well I hit the inflator button and nothing happened. Yep, you guessed it, I'd forgotten to attach the inflator hose. I calmly reached toward my first stage and felt for the inflator hose . I then rerouted it and attached it and slightly inflated my dry suit. I then took the time to check and neatly fix my gear. OF course by then the Cessna came into view and I landed on top of it. I swam around it, not wanting to stray to far due to the visibility.
After about 20 minutes I surfaced, floated did a 3 min surface interval and went back down. Second time was better. After 20 minutes I surfaced, then surfaced swam to shore. I thought about going back down for a 3rd dive but with being over weighted, I figured it would have been counter productive. That being said, I still need to work and practice diving with the drysuit. On the drive home I felt relief and a sense of accomplishment. So, do I plan to dive solo again, Yes! Do I plan to take self reliant/solo course, YES.
While I have a feeling of accomplishment, reality sunk in that I need more dry suit dives. I had just scheduled a Great Lakes dive trip to Lake Michigan and Lake Huron in July. Looking at my performance today, I ended up putting it off until next year. I did not want to be struggling while diving wrecks and currents.

Looking forward to your thoughts, concerns and criticisms.

 

[Marie13]

How many dives total do you currently have? If you have at least the 100 required for the solo class, I’d take it sooner rather than later.

If you knew you were overweighted, why didn’t you take some weight off after first dive? Yes, it would have required going back onto shore.

Hint: if the lake doesn’t have any picnic tables for you to use for gearing up, putting your BC on in the water is something to consider.

 

[MB NZ]

No criticism, you can do what you like, just observations! First off, it's good to hear that the universe didn't collapse because you did a solo dive. Congratulations. Second, I wouldn't be getting experience with a drysuit while doing my first solo dive, one or the other, baby steps. Third, I dive solo more than with a buddy, but always do a buddy check with myself (BWRAF is better than nothing). Lastly, does hanging around on the surface for three minutes count as a surface interval these days? I realise your dives were very shallow, but give yourself a break, sounds more like a yo-yo dive to me. A hint of conservatism is not a bad thing for a solo diver.

 

[Tigerpaw]

How many dives total do you currently have? If you have at least the 100 required for the solo class, I’d take it sooner rather than later.

If you knew you were overweighted, why didn’t you take some weight off after first dive? Yes, it would have required going back onto shore.

Hint: if the lake doesn’t have any picnic tables for you to use for gearing up, putting your BC on in the water is something to consider.

To date I have 73 dives, so yes at 100 I'm taking it, I've already talked to my dive shop prior to this dive.

I didn't know I was overweighted, my prior dives I had 24 pounds and didn't sink like a rock. The one thing I didn't take into consideration is that I lost about 10 pounds from my last dry suit dive in Feb, which made a difference. So on my next dive, I'll have to do a weight check at my new weight. With it being my first time solo I was being cautious, so I didn't want to chance swimming back to shore, removing weight, then swimming back out and possibly getting fatigue. Yes I wasn't far from shore, but from the start I'd decided to err on the side of caution.

I did gear up in the water about chest deep, I have shoulder issues which make it difficult, even in water. The lake does have picnic tables but the ground is very uneven to try to gear up and walk to the water.

 

[Tigerpaw]

No criticism, you can do what you like, just observations! First off, it's good to hear that the universe didn't collapse because you did a solo dive. Congratulations. Second, I wouldn't be getting experience with a drysuit while doing my first solo dive, one or the other, baby steps. Third, I dive solo more than with a buddy, but always do a buddy check with myself (BWRAF is better than nothing). Lastly, does hanging around on the surface for three minutes count as a surface interval these days? I realise your dives were very shallow, but give yourself a break, sounds more like a yo-yo dive to me. A hint of conservatism is not a bad thing for a solo diver.

All comments are appreciated and welcomed, so thank you for your input. I needed more time and experience in a dry suit and it would have been weeks before I could have dove with someone. I wanted to get as much dry suit diving as possible so I went for it. That being said, yes it was difficult.

When I did my checks, I did them as if I had the wetsuit, hence was why I'd forgotten the inflator hose. Which is another reason I'm wanting to drysuit dive more.

For the last question, I'm still figuring things out. I was wanting to surface, to practice the ascent as well as allow myself time to think about what I've done. I did not want to swim back and then back out again. While I wasn't tired, I wanted to err on the side of caution and not chance getting over exerted alone. After the 3 minutes on the surface I felt fine physically, which is why I went back down.

 

[Marie13]

I’ve got a lot of Great Lakes experience and definitely agree you need more drysuit experience before doing the trip.

 

[lexvil]

May I ask, what is the point of 20 minute dive, floating for 3 min. And back down? Is it just to get your dive count up?

 

[Trailboss123]

May I ask, what is the point of 20 minute dive, floating for 3 min. And back down? Is it just to get your dive count up?

He said it was to practice safe ascents and descents in the drysuit.

 

[OMyMyOHellYes]

I recently returned from Key Largo where I did 38 dives over a 8 day period, however those dives were in my wet suit. Knowing I need experience with my dry suit I knew I need time in the water. (Prior to this post, only had 4 dry suit dives, 2 of those were certification) Working nights and having a unique work schedule, it is hard to find dive buddies. So I decided to take a leap of faith and just go for it and dive solo. I have done the majority of my training at the local lake, so I was familiar with it. I also limited myself to a max depth of 20ft and I stayed close to shore.

OF course by then the Cessna came into view and I landed on top of it. I swam around it, not wanting to stray to far due to the visibility.

Looking forward to your thoughts, concerns and criticisms.

Was that there the Scooba Ranch or the Athens Scooba park?

 

[Tigerpaw]

I’ve got a lot of Great Lakes experience and definitely agree you need more drysuit experience before doing the trip.

Believe it or not I learned that while trying to ice dive in Lake Superior in Feb. There was no current and my avg depth was 20ft and I was all over the place and exhausted. It's part of my learning curve of being a diver. LOL Having the struggles this weekend brought those memories back.