Last month I went solo diving for the very first time and had quite the experience. To recap, the reason I went solo diving was I needed time in the water to become proficient diving in my drysuit. Buoyancy wise I was just all over the place and getting frustrated. I work nights and I have a unique schedule so it has been difficult to find a dive buddy on my off days. After much thought I decided to solo dive in a lake about an hour away. I have done all of my certification training in that lake and was very familiar with it. There are no entanglements, currents or any other hazards. I then set up parameters for myself:
- I would be close to shore (15-20 yards)
- I would not dive deeper than 20 feet
- I also set 1500psi as my turn point, meaning I would finish up my dive, ascend and head to shore.
I would dive for 15-20 minutes, practice ascent float for a bit then descend back down. This was NOT to pad dive count but to practice my ascents and as you will read further down, that practice came in handy.
So this past week, I went out again and kept the same parameters. I've had difficulties with shore diving, I normally would put my gear on in the water but this time I decided to put my gear on prior to entry then wade to the water,.....................it worked like a charm. I was able to check myself and my gear with no issues. Afterwards once I got out deep enough, I slipped on my fins. It was the best shore entry I've had and it was a validation for me that repetitive diving works. I surface swam out to the buoy that marked a Cessna plane 20 ft below. I looked around and down I went, I came to rest on top of the plane and after settling in began to adjust my buoyancy. I'm happy to report that I'm beginning to get more comfortable but I am still working out some quirks. So for this series of dives I had two miscues that I was able to learn from. The first one I had inadvertently hit my inflator button on my bcd and began to shoot upwards. I instinctively flared my body out to slow my ascent then I hit my dump valves to go back down. Even though I had induced it and got it under control, I disconnected the inflator hoses just to get the practice of disconnecting it and reattaching.
On my last dive, I hit the 1500 psi mark which was my self imposed end of dive limit so I began my ascent. As I went up I felt like I was tangled in something. A quick look I saw I had gotten tangled up in the buoy line, it got wrapped around my tank and regulator hoses. I was like how,....but I remained calm, looked at how I was entangled and got out. Yes I did have a cutting tool with me so I could have cut the line but I felt like I could get out and I did. I had lost track of where it was. Once out I surfaced and swam to shore. This outing I was very happy with my progress but more importantly with the lessons learned from my miscues. Above all else stay calm. I still have plenty work to do to become proficient with my dry suit. While I am enjoying these solo outings and lessons learned, I think I'm going to hire a Divemaster to go with me for a weekend and help me dial in my buoyancy and then I can continue to solo to get practice. I'm thinking that even once dialed in I'll still dive solo as I am seeing the benefit of repetitive diving. Oh and in case you're wondering I do plan on eventually taking the reliant/solo diver course.
- I would be close to shore (15-20 yards)
- I would not dive deeper than 20 feet
- I also set 1500psi as my turn point, meaning I would finish up my dive, ascend and head to shore.
I would dive for 15-20 minutes, practice ascent float for a bit then descend back down. This was NOT to pad dive count but to practice my ascents and as you will read further down, that practice came in handy.
So this past week, I went out again and kept the same parameters. I've had difficulties with shore diving, I normally would put my gear on in the water but this time I decided to put my gear on prior to entry then wade to the water,.....................it worked like a charm. I was able to check myself and my gear with no issues. Afterwards once I got out deep enough, I slipped on my fins. It was the best shore entry I've had and it was a validation for me that repetitive diving works. I surface swam out to the buoy that marked a Cessna plane 20 ft below. I looked around and down I went, I came to rest on top of the plane and after settling in began to adjust my buoyancy. I'm happy to report that I'm beginning to get more comfortable but I am still working out some quirks. So for this series of dives I had two miscues that I was able to learn from. The first one I had inadvertently hit my inflator button on my bcd and began to shoot upwards. I instinctively flared my body out to slow my ascent then I hit my dump valves to go back down. Even though I had induced it and got it under control, I disconnected the inflator hoses just to get the practice of disconnecting it and reattaching.
On my last dive, I hit the 1500 psi mark which was my self imposed end of dive limit so I began my ascent. As I went up I felt like I was tangled in something. A quick look I saw I had gotten tangled up in the buoy line, it got wrapped around my tank and regulator hoses. I was like how,....but I remained calm, looked at how I was entangled and got out. Yes I did have a cutting tool with me so I could have cut the line but I felt like I could get out and I did. I had lost track of where it was. Once out I surfaced and swam to shore. This outing I was very happy with my progress but more importantly with the lessons learned from my miscues. Above all else stay calm. I still have plenty work to do to become proficient with my dry suit. While I am enjoying these solo outings and lessons learned, I think I'm going to hire a Divemaster to go with me for a weekend and help me dial in my buoyancy and then I can continue to solo to get practice. I'm thinking that even once dialed in I'll still dive solo as I am seeing the benefit of repetitive diving. Oh and in case you're wondering I do plan on eventually taking the reliant/solo diver course.
