Are the solo diver certifications any good?

CAPTAIN SINBAD

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• Jan 15, 2014

• #1

This is about the Self Reliant Diver / Solo Diver certifications that are now being offered. I was wondering, do dive boats need this to let people dive solo? Or do they let you dive solo anyways if you show up with a pony bottle? Thanks.

 

Colliam7

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• Jan 15, 2014

• #2

CAPTAIN SINBAD:

I was wondering, do dive boats need this to let people dive solo? Or do they let you dive solo anyways if you show up with a pony bottle?.

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The answer depends entirely on the operation. Some do not allow 'solo' diving under any circumstances. Many fall into this category. Some allow anyone who shows up with a pony bottle to dive solo. Very few (competent operators) fall into this category. Some allow 'solo' diving a) with appropriate certification, or b) because they know you. Of these two subsets, the latter group is probably at least equal to and possibly larger than the former group.

Don't take such a course simply for the certification. Or, if you do, do your homework first, with dive operators you might foreseeably use. Take the course for the training you seek, and hopefully will receive.

 

Steve_C

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• Jan 15, 2014

• #3

Got blown out in Key Largo last week on Sunday. Decided I would go mess around in Jules and try and shoot some macro. Only a couple student divers and instructors. Jules accepted my solo card. Had two nice slow dives. Even found a sargassum fish. Without the card I might have gotten only one dive and then would not have been able to poke in corners like I want to and go at my own pace with both dives at an hour.

Agree with Colliam7. I took it for the training. It has been useful a couple times.

 

tursiops

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• Jan 15, 2014

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There are operators that will accept the SDI Solo card, but not the PADI Self-Reliant Diver card. Perhaps because the latter never mentions the word solo....?

 

OP

CAPTAIN SINBAD

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• Jan 15, 2014

• #5

tursiops:

There are operators that will accept the SDI Solo card, but not the PADI Self-Reliant Diver card. Perhaps because the latter never mentions the word solo....?

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So Self Reliant diver certification is not meant to train you to dive by yourself?

 

BDSC

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• Jan 15, 2014

• #6

I've been diving solo for a number of years and never had a course. Learned what I know from more experienced friends. But the boats that let me do it already know me. I suspect most others would likely say no without the cert.

 

knotical

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• Jan 15, 2014

• #7

CAPTAIN SINBAD:

So Self Reliant diver certification is not meant to train you to dive by yourself?

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It's more like tursiops said - the term "solo" isn't used by PADI - perhaps because it has negative connotations in some circles.
I took the SDI course, and later taught the PADI course. For a comparison of the two, see:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ad...di-lacking-solo-diver-course.html#post5912881

 

James R

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• Jan 15, 2014

• #8

I used my solo card once in Mexico and once in Bonaire. To be fair neither checked anyone or anything for shore diving...both were total free-for-all dive ops.

FWIW: I took the SDI course. I can teach the padi course, and have a handful of times. The Padi course requires a lot more.

 

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• Jan 16, 2014

• #9

I was on a charter in S.C. and my buddy got cold. The DM lets me do #2 dive solo because it looked to him that I knew what I was doing. Maybe because I had discussed my current (at the time) DMT experiences with him? I dive solo most of the time but rarely much below 30'. If I were to regularly go deeper I would want to take the course (I know, stuff can happen in 30', etc.)--If I could find a place to take it....

 

Colliam7

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• Jan 16, 2014

• #10

CAPTAIN SINBAD:

So Self Reliant diver certification is not meant to train you to dive by yourself?

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No, that is not true. In fact, in the SRD Instructor Guide, two reasons for an experienced diver to take the course are stated, the first being, 'To develop the skills of planning and carrying out dives without a partner when preferred or necessary.'

The course is intended to train divers to be self-reliant, whether they are diving alone or with a buddy. That is more than simply a solo diver course. That was a hard concept for me to understand at first, and I, too, thought PADI was simply trying to avoid the word 'solo'. Subsequently, I have come to appreciate a broader meaning of 'self-reliant'.

 

Last edited: Jan 16, 2014