solo diving advice?

[TMHeimer]

Yes, different situations call for different actions. I never use a dive flag because boat traffic is 99% non existent where I solo (in NS). At times in CT & NJ I have used it because it was the law and/or prudent. In some cases I did plant it to the bottom and navigate away and back to it. Other times I have carried it. Just use logic. Yes, stuff can happen when you're shallow, but I would think the risks of going solo increase a lot when an easy CESA is not possible. I too found myself in a position of either solo diving or no diving (probably with fewer dives than I should have had). And I agree that although you don't have the comraderie, etc., solo diving lets you do what you want on your own timetable.

 

[Hatul]

Some of the advice given here is ridiculous, and obviously given by people who either don't solo dive or have a phobia about it. I don't carry any dive flag here as there is little boat traffic and the big problem is surge, surf and kelp and towing a flag here is just not practical. Also having a shore person is not practical and negates some of the advantage of diving solo, which is to be independent and not having someone with you. The bottom line is if you're that terrified of solo diving just don't do it. To dive effectively you have to be relaxed. But if you want to dive solo just start easy and build up your confidence.

Besides a redundant air source I also take a safety sausage (I use the Zeagle with a finger spool), a light, and a Dive Alert in case I'm injured and need to call for help, but then I take this stuff buddy diving as well.

Adam

 

[KJBond]

diving is a social sport even though there is limited communication underwater still much more fun when you have a buddy

 

[Togalive]

Simple, dont do it.

I tend to look at the Scientific and Commercial diving community standards. If they aren't allowed to dive solo without surface support AND voice communication as a MINIMUM, why in the world should a recreational diver do it? Keep in mind that even then, most of those divers are still required to carry a full tank on their back just in case.

Your in a beautiful part of the country, with no doubt a large population of divers all waiting to get in the water. Go find a quality buddy and explore together!

Some of the advice given here is ridiculous, and obviously given by people who either don't solo dive or have a phobia about it. I don't carry any dive flag here as there is little boat traffic and the big problem is surge, surf and kelp and towing a flag here is just not practical. Also having a shore person is not practical and negates some of the advantage of diving solo, which is to be independent and not having someone with you. The bottom line is if you're that terrified of solo diving just don't do it. To dive effectively you have to be relaxed. But if you want to dive solo just start easy and build up your confidence.

Besides a redundant air source I also take a safety sausage (I use the Zeagle with a finger spool), a light, and a Dive Alert in case I'm injured and need to call for help, but then I take this stuff buddy diving as well.

Adam

As for this, while I respect your opinion, I think it is nowhere near helpful (maybe even potentially dangerous) to a diver such as the OP who has less than 50 dives, let alone 100+. Diving solo is exceptionally dangerous without the proper provisions, whether those who do it want to admit it or not, the numbers speak for themselves. Confidence is important in any diving matter, but too much of it is far more likely to kill you then help you. Without proper surface support if something goes wrong while you are at depth you are in a far worse position than if you had either a buddy or proper surface support.

A simple question would be to ask what you would do if you were at a modest depth, say 60ft, and loss consciousness. What would you do then? No DiveAlert or safety sausage would save you. What about if your first stage malfunctioned and you had to make a CESA. Add in a little DCS and your looking at being limp as a rag doll by the time you reach the surface counting on someone to see you and suspect something is wrong. These were all at only 60ft, what happens when you "build your confidence" and try to go deeper and something goes wrong? A little Gas Narcosis can go a long way when your in cold water (you and I are both CA divers), and all it takes is for your gauge to all of a sudden read "2700 PSI" and your a happy camper sucking up air from a tank that might only have 300 lbs once you get past the hallucinations.

Plan your dive, dive your plan, and always plan for the sh%t to hit the fan. Its not about being "phobic" as you wrote, but about being smart. Over confidence breeds complacency, and complacency kills.

 

[DevonDiver]

Some of the advice given here is ridiculous, and obviously given by people who either don't solo dive or have a phobia about it.

I think you'll find that most of the contributors here are solo divers, do a greater or lesser degree.

I don't carry any dive flag here as there is little boat traffic and the big problem is surge, surf and kelp and towing a flag here is just not practical.

As I, and others, have stated - it is locationally dependent. However, it is wrong to think of a surface float as being 'only to identify yourself to boaters'. If you had a problem underwater, a deployed float would mean instant retrival. Without the float, any rescuers would have to search for you. If they found you at all, then it'd be too late for you. A float can mean the difference between a rescue and body recovery.

That said, if the float itself posed hazards (entanglement in kelp), then you'd carry/use a DSMB.... just as you would in regular/buddied diving. The drawback to that, is that you have to deploy it - which might not be possible in some scenarios.

Also having a shore person is not practical

Why not? How is it 'impractical'?

and negates some of the advantage of diving solo, which is to be independent and not having someone with you.

I thought the 'advantage' was not having someone with you underwater. I am failing to see how having some surface cover is in any way detrimental or inconvenient to the solo diver...

There's a blurry line between independance and convenience. In this case, I think your comments seem to reflect a desire for convenience rather than safe independance.

The bottom line is if you're that [-]terrified[/-] apprehensive of solo diving just don't do it.

Edited to reflect the reality of considering stress management within the overal risk assessment of the dive. If a diver is at, or near, a psychological stress threshold before they encounter a problem, then it is highly likely that they won't be effective to respond when further external stress stimulae are placed upon them.

To dive effectively you have to be relaxed. But if you want to dive solo just start easy and build up your confidence.

Any dive is 'easy' until something goes wrong. Go solo and drop down to 250ft on a bounce dive.... easy.

Any dive only becomes 'hard' when something goes wrong. In that respect, a solo shore dive to 10' is 'easy', but minor issue, such as entanglement, can immediately shift the technical complexity and stress factor of the dive beyond the divers' competence level.

Some dives are more, or less, survivable in the event of a problem occuring. The difference is determined by the likelihood of something going wrong, the psychological impact of that event and the skill/experience/knowledge needed to overcome that emergency.

Solo dives are always going to be less survivable than a buddy dive. Deep dives are less survivable. Overhead dives are less survivable. Deco dives are less survivable etc etc

Let's be realistic about those risks... and use intelligence to mitigate them... rather than pretend they don't exist.

Is true confidence built from enjoying dives where nothing goes wrong?

Or is it built from a developed assurance that you have dealt with, and overcome, the sort of problems that are reasonably likely to occur on the dives you do?

IMHO, too many divers have a false confidence, based on a lack of experience. Confidence has to be based on proven capacity in worst case scenarios.

I also take a safety sausage, a light, and a Dive Alert in case I'm injured and need to call for help,...

To whom are you calling for help? I didn't think you agreed with the need for surface support? Are you assuming that there will always be a ready supply of eager rescuers who can be trusted to leap into action on your behalf if you have a problem?

That's a very idealised, and perhaps naive, expectation to have of strangers...

 

[Togalive]

Thank You DevonDiver for pointing out and elaborating on some things there. It is nice to have an experienced solo diver replying and bringing up a few issues there

 

[DaleC]

Now for another reality check.

If you become unconscious underwater you are most likely dead whether you have a buddy or not. The successful rescue of divers in this condition is limited as suggested by post accident analysis. If you can't accept this sad truth you probably shouldn't dive period.

If you go OOA you are most likely on your own unless your buddy is a few feet away from you. A majority of the buddy teams I see do not dive this way (unfortunately). If a diver were to go OOA without understanding what is happening they would most likely take a quick look around and in a split second decide to either go for an available air source or bolt for the surface (probably embolizing on the way).

If you have someone on the surface they will be able to effect a quicker recovery perhaps but will most likely not be able to effect a rescue of any sort. Someone depending on that is either foolish or has a rope tied around them. Is surface support suited up and ready to dive? Are there two or will they also dive solo to rescue the soloist? How long does an emergency last UW usually?
On the surface they may be able to tow a tired diver but a single surface tender will probably not recusitate a collapsed or embolized diver even if they can get them into the boat. How strong is your surface tender? If one is shorediving does the tender have an exposure suit and fins or will they too succumb to exhaustion or hypothermia?
On the rare occasions I have surface support they are only there to effect a quicker recovery - I have no expectation of a rescue. This same recovery can also be effected by leaving a detailed dive plan in my car, though it may take a few hours longer.

Convenience is not a bad word in my books. I dive mid week in many places other divers don't want to go. It is convenient for me to solo. A surface tender must be a diver with gear in order to effect an UW rescue and if that were the case I probably wouldn't be diving solo. Finding someone who wants to go sit alone every week at a desolate lake in the cold rain for about 2 - 2 1/2 hours is inconvenient, mostly.

Reality is that both solo and buddy diving carry risks that can be largely mitigated by proper planning, equipment, knowledge and expectations. Believing that simply having a buddy solves all ones problems is another idealized form of thinking that keeps the A&I sub forum full of tragic threads.

Reality is also that there are some risks in diving that cannot be mitigated and must simply be accepted.

 

[BDSC]

i have dove the spot 6 time at least. im pretty level headed and stay calm under pressure.

Then go for it! I did my first solo dive around #50 or so off the coast of Grand Cayman. I kept my depth to about 25-30 ft. and loved every minute of it. I still dive solo from time to time when given the chance. Every time you dip below the surface it's not a life or death decision. Have fun and enjoy your dive.

 

[Scuba Nettie]

Been diving solo for quite some time now in controlled situations. I did not start until I had completed 100 dives and had read the SDI/TDI course book for solo diving. I also acquired an H2Odyssey bailout system (6 CF). I recommend that you consider a rescue class if you have not yet taken one. Rescue classes will raise your awareness of possible problems. Then you need to assess your own temperament (and tendency to "forget" stuff like turning on air, etc and to be reckless) and the conditions you will dive under. I only solo dive in situations with excellent (40+ foot) visibility in locations with minimal or no current, warm water, no kelp or other entanglements and where there are others around -- e.g. snorkelers or other divers. I always use a dive flag. I am quite conservative in my approach.

 

[Hatul]

Simple, dont do it.

I tend to look at the Scientific and Commercial diving community standards. If they aren't allowed to dive solo without surface support AND voice communication as a MINIMUM, why in the world should a recreational diver do it? Keep in mind that even then, most of those divers are still required to carry a full tank on their back just in case.

Your in a beautiful part of the country, with no doubt a large population of divers all waiting to get in the water. Go find a quality buddy and explore together!

....

A simple question would be to ask what you would do if you were at a modest depth, say 60ft, and loss consciousness. What would you do then? No DiveAlert or safety sausage would save you. What about if your first stage malfunctioned and you had to make a CESA. Add in a little DCS and your looking at being limp as a rag doll by the time you reach the surface counting on someone to see you and suspect something is wrong. These were all at only 60ft, what happens when you "build your confidence" and try to go deeper and something goes wrong? A little Gas Narcosis can go a long way when your in cold water (you and I are both CA divers), and all it takes is for your gauge to all of a sudden read "2700 PSI" and your a happy camper sucking up air from a tank that might only have 300 lbs once you get past the hallucinations.

Plan your dive, dive your plan, and always plan for the sh%t to hit the fan. Its not about being "phobic" as you wrote, but about being smart. Over confidence breeds complacency, and complacency kills.

Commercial and Scientific divers are in a totally different setting. It would be nice to have support divers and a safety officer on my dives but it's a funny fantasy.

Passing out underwater is bad news, you may have a slightly better chance of surviving if you have a good buddy, but if you're concerned about this you should not be diving. It's also bad news if it happens while driving. You just have to assess the risk and decide. Passing out from a simple vasovagal is less likely underwater but there are risks from trauma, DCI or bad air. There are monitors available to check for CO in the air.

A more likely event is losing your buddy and putting yourself into a risky situation if you have to surface quickly to look for your buddy. Also most buddy divers use no redundant air supply and it's not uncommon to not be aware what you're buddy is doing for a minute or two. In a loss of air situation I'd rather be solo with my pony bottle than diving with a so so buddy.

Failing to check your gear properly and forget to turn on the tank valve is more likely to happen in a setting with many divers around. Here you can easily distracted or feel pressed for time--you see this all the time on boats. A solo diver has no time pressure or distraction and thoroughly checks out his gear before going in. I'd argue that with all the vigilance a solo diver takes, on the average he/she is a safer diver than the average buddy diver.

Re: the comment that this is a beautiful part of the country, that is true, but only a very small percentage of people scuba dive and only a small percent of those dive locally in the cold water of California. With different work schedules and other commitments it's hard to find dive buddies that mesh. It's more fun to dive with someone, aside from the shifts in risks, but diving solo opens up chances for a quick dive after work, and it should not stop someone from diving.

Adam