diving solo

Yeah, I did it twice, the first time I got stood up and it was a long drive out there so I went anyway it was very nice. Then I did it again last nite. I was stitting around all day I just had to do it. I recovered a realy nice anchor too ( I dont think a bc should be used to recover anchors)! I feel so ashamed.
I'am a new diver but I am very comfortable in the water, should I be doing this? Probly not right. I always take extra care on all dives. I never go to deep, last nite I stayed around twenty feet for 30 min.
I think I'll do it again. I see alot of peaple here doing it. Anything specal I should be doing?

Carry redundant air supply
Know your stuff, know the risks (which many of the members on here will say "You don't know what you don't know")




This probably shouldn't be in the basic forum either.

I've done solo dives also, but in maybe 10 feet of water, as a shore dive.

It's honestly not as fun because you could see a whale shark but not have anyone to share it with

It is a call only you get to make. In the future, you probably will go deeper. Just be prepared for what may happen. And enjoy.

krispykritter:

Yeah, I did it twice, the first time I got stood up and it was a long drive out there so I went anyway it was very nice. Then I did it again last nite. I was stitting around all day I just had to do it. I recovered a realy nice anchor too ( I dont think a bc should be used to recover anchors)! I feel so ashamed.
I'am a new diver but I am very comfortable in the water, should I be doing this? Probly not right. I always take extra care on all dives. I never go to deep, last nite I stayed around twenty feet for 30 min.
I think I'll do it again. I see alot of peaple here doing it. Anything specal I should be doing?

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OK, I'm going to be a Devil's Advocate here. No ... I certainly do not think you should be doing this.

You can be perfectly comfortable as you're putting yourself into a very dangerous situation without even realizing that you're doing it. Ignorance is bliiss ... and in scuba diving what you don't know can, in fact, hurt you.

There's way more to solo diving than just carrying a redundant air source and staying shallow ... you'd better be both practiced at self-rescue AND experienced enough to make decisions that'll reduce the potential that you'll have to. At a minimum, you should have taken a Rescue class and done enough diving to KNOW that you shouldn't be using a BC to recover anchors.

Shallow is a false sense of security ... as long as your head's underwater you're in an environment that can kill you in a matter of seconds if you make the wrong decision.

I'm not trying to talk you out of diving solo ... I'm trying to talk you into keeping yourself alive long enough to learn how to do it properly. Start with a LOT more diving than you currently have. Take a Rescue class. Learn something about gas management. Find a mentor and figure out what it takes to make and stick to a dive plan.

You'll find some additional things to consider in this article.

Forget about who else is doing it ... the most significant thing to learn about scuba diving is that only you are responsible for your safety. It starts with making good decisions. A very good decision is to get some practice with the basics before deciding to go solo ... and I have yet to meet the diver who, at less than 25 dives, has adequate knowledge and experience to solo anywhere close to safely.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

know the risks...period!
your life is in your hands only,but...
who's elses does it affect????
enjoy diving but choose to do it safely!
for yourself and loved ones/rescue personel
...of course sometimes culling the herd.....!
have fun
yaeg

I wouldn't go solo with so few dives. A matter of getting used to all the basic stuff so everything is smooth. Maybe you are at that point? I limit solo dives to 30' and rarely break my self-imposed rule--35 maybe on occasion. A CESA is easily doable--not that that is the only concern. I also phone my wife after the dive. And am particularly wary of entanglements. I limit it to familiar sites or very very benign ones after getting local input. I do not forsee ever solo diving in deeper/other conditions than those, though many do.

krispykritter:

I think I'll do it again. I see alot of peaple here doing it. Anything specal I should be doing?

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Given your inexperience I would suggest keeping it shallow. Also, if you make a habit of diving solo then I would suggest you invest in some kind of bail-out system like a small stage cylinder or a pony bottle.

To my way of thinking solo diving isn't a big shame as long as you're taking the necessary precautions.

R..

SDI has a manual for their solo diver course that gives some coverage of considerations important to solo diving. I 2'nd the recommendation for taking a Rescue certification course first!

Richard.

NWGratefulDiver:

There's way more to solo diving than just carrying a redundant aird source and staying shallow ...

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LOL... this seems to contradict what I was saying... let me explain why....

I read it differently, Bob. I read that this is someone who cannot be persuaded to NOT dive solo.... so then the question is no longer a yes/no question... It's not a question of *IF* it should be done... it's a question of *how* someone who has already made the decision should go about it....

Assuming he can't be convinced to abstain,.. what would your advice be then...?

R..

Diver0001:

LOL... this seems to contradict what I was saying... let me explain why....

I read it differently, Bob. I read that this is someone who cannot be persuaded to NOT dive solo.... so then the question is no longer a yes/no question... It's not a question of *IF* it should be done... it's a question of *how* someone who has already made the decision should go about it....

Assuming he can't be convinced to abstain,.. what would your advice be then...?

R..

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The same as I gave ... learn the risks ... make the effort to go into it with your eyes open.

If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right ... in the original context of that term. As a self-taught solo diver, I don't believe that someone with very little experience CAN solo dive safely ... he'll probably be fine as long as nothing goes wrong. But when (not if) something does go wrong, there's simply no context around which to frame a response.

Panic is the biggest potential risk ... people panic when faced with a problem for which they don't see a solution. Above water, that instinct is designed to keep you alive (fight or flight). Below water, it can make you dead in a hurry. Lack of experience is a probably the number one cause of panic in all of diving.

There's just no getting around that issue ... no matter how "comfortable" one feels. Before making the decision to go solo, you should have tested your ability to self-rescue under a variety of circumstances ... to develop a confidence that you could do it when you have to ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)