SDI Solo Diver course

[zerogravity89]

What does this course involve? Has anyone taken it? How was the course?

[Steve, SDI/TDI HQ]

The course covers how to be equipped to dive independently and how to react to emergencies when diving independently. There is strong emphasis on dive planning... heavy emphasis on gas management.

It remains our most popular specialty among experienced divers (100 logged dives a prerequisite for the course) and the feedback we get at headquarters from graduates is very positive.

The skills (in dive planning, equipment selection and dive execution) while primarily intended to help experienced divers dive independently, are useful in many sport diving applications... diving with a camera, diving with a less experienced buddy, diving below 30 metres for example.

Important to note that this is a sport diving course and is not part of our technical diving curriculum.

Hope this helps

[DA Aquamaster]

I took it after I took Intro to Cave and took the class with another trimix certified cave diver. Consequently I did not learn anything, but I did get the card I needed to dive in a quarry all by myself. Whoohoo.

It makes planning a trip to the quarry a lot easier, although about half the time I end up kooking up with a buddy there anyway - I just don't have to gamble on it.

Much like most technical diving courses, it does teach a student how to think, act and configure in a manner that will allow them to avoid problems underwater or get them selves out of situations under water without reliance on a buddy. Good skills to have.

I think for many divers and for SDI the idea underlying the course is sort of lost buddy or bad buddy insurance - which is not a bad idea even if you don't ever plan on diving solo. That is again fairly similar to techical diving where you normally dive in a team but are fully redundant in terms of equipment and are your own primary resource if things start going wrong.

Skill wise, the course I took involved basic under water skills, compass navigation, deploying a lift bag/smb, and basic redudant gas planning and configuration. It is not overly hard for a experienced OW or AOW diver.

[awap]

The stimulus for the knowledge you need can be obtained from a number of available books, including the SDI solo manual. You will need to practice and master the use of that knowledge. What SDI gives you that no body else does is the C-card that is required by some operators to allow you to dive solo.

[FritzCat66]

There are a couple of detailed reviews of the course over in the Solo Diver section of ScubaBoard (which I think you have to sign up for to access).

The consensus seems to be that the course should be more of a validation and demonstration of good solo skills rather than an education on those skills to begin with.

That's how I'm treating it. I've found an SDI instructor and plan to take it with him early next year, since I do not have my minimum 100 logged dives just yet.

Meanwhile, as I'm logging more dives, knowing that I'm going for this Solo cert, I'm treating them as preparation, most notably getting used to a pony rig which is becoming a permanent part of my gear setup, but also practicing the techniques you should know as a solo diver (things like ascending on your pony, ascending with no mask, carrying three cutting tools in reach of both hands & knowing how to use them, doffing and donning your rig underwater, navigation, dealing with equipment failures, etc.)

I'm interested because I do a lot of photography, but in this area of the country the Solo cert also naturally appeals to a lot of the spearos - in fact, I think it's the large spearfisher market that my instructor feels makes it worthwhile (financially) for him to teach.

But again, I would advise treating the Solo certification more as a validation and demonstration of good dive practices than just having someone teach you how to dive solo to begin with. Solo diving is a big, big step and not for everyone. There's also a psychological component that I personally feel isn't even something that can be taught. I appreciate the minimum dive requirement and feel that's something I should work for, to earn it.

>*< Fritz

[uncleavi]

I took it and dive solo all the time and agree 100% about it validating good dive practices.
A lot of folks dive solo and it seems SDI wanted to make it safer and I enjoyed it.

[Steve, SDI/TDI HQ]

Solo diving is a big, big step and not for everyone. There's also a psychological component that I personally feel isn't even something that can be taught. I appreciate the minimum dive requirement and feel that's something I should work for, to earn it.

>*< Fritz


The way we sum this up in the office here sounds like a marketing aphorism but it's actually pretty apt: The skills developed in the Solo Diver course are useful to everyone, but not everyone should dive alone.

[ApexLongimanus]

The way we sum this up in the office here sounds like a marketing aphorism but it's actually pretty apt: The skills developed in the Solo Diver course are useful to everyone, but not everyone should dive alone.

i like that.

my instructor went above and beyond the course outline and i enjoyed it very much. the course does not make a solo diver at all and it puts emphasis on things you should already live and breath if you ever REALLY thought about going solo. nevertheless, there is always something to learn new or improve.