How long did you wait before you started Solo Diving?

[SeaYoda]

SDI ask for 100 dives and 'advanced diver' rating. If PADI were to ever run the course, I would hope the prerequisites were 'rescue diver + 100'.

The PADI recreational wreck, ice and cavern courses all require AOW certification before entry.

The entry-level DSAT tech programme asks for rescue, nitrox and deep certifications with 50 dives. Full tech certification (Tech 50) requires 100 dives.

TDI Extended Range diver demands 100 dives (25 deeper than 30msw).

I believe that it needs to be more skill based than how many dives or prerequisite courses you have. I never took AOW because I was already doing those dives with others who were experienced but not instructors. They were mentors and that is how I learned. I don't have the money to waste on instruction that does not benefit me beyond what I can get through mentors and experience. AOW is that kind of class for me. I would like to take rescue, I have been impeded in the past by not taking AOW. The same thing happened for solo. I had the comfort level in the water of someone having 100 dives during OW class. I practiced buoyancy and got comfortable with my gear before being confident that I could perform solo diving. I was ready to learn far earlier than 100 dives and so the SDI course was out of the question. I would have rather seen skill based learning so that arbitrary numbers or courses that are not needed would not have kept me from taking the classes that I needed. It would have been a waste of time to take the SDI course when I hit 100 dives because at least 25% of my dives had already been solo and I had done exhaustive research before even trying to solo intentionally. It would have thrilled me to be able to have the instruction when I needed it - alas it was out of reach.

... The ability to 'directly ascend to the surface' is a critical determining factor when describing recreational diving. The fact that a diver can always immediately head for the surface makes things very safe indeed. Coupled with recreational diving depth limits, it makes most problems easily survivable.

The ability to ascend directly to the surface always provides a chance of living. With Tech or Cave, there is no direct ascent to the surface.

Only in the sense that your body would be easier to snatch and try to revive. If you died on your way up in OW (from a failure while solo) you would still be dead. Slim difference and not one that I think should be a defining factor between the two.

I'd rather CESA from 95' than blow 2 hours of deco by surfacing from 20'.

I'm thinking more on the lines of no deco, less than 130' linear foot cave dives. What if that is compared to 130' OW solo diving - how do the risks stack up?

For fear of completely hijacking the thread...shall we start that as a new discussion?

I'd love to see info on the subject - in this thread or another. Our whole discussion pretty much hijacked the OP's original intent ---- OOPS, Sorry

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I would like to take rescue, I have been impeded in the past by not taking AOW.

That is easily remedied. Go find yourself a good NAUI facility and sign up for Rescue. It's a great class, and NAUI doesn't make AOW a prerequisite ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[scuba=dude]

I for one only come to these froums that have a "solo" bord so as to get more info about how other SOLO divers are doing there dives......NOT to get told how it's not safe or how it is not this or that. Not one thred can I find of SB that any one is saying How They Dive, rather that they dive solo.
I have posted on other scuba froums the way's and informtion links only to have the therd "locked" So it would seem that there is just way to much frear from non Solo divers to be able to share the info.......Funny tho Cuz it's out there all over the net.......I for one am glad that I was able to find all the info I needed to safly solo dive, however that in it's self never stoped me from diving solo.
If you belive what DAN puts in there trade Mag, then solo divers are less likly to die then bubby divers and here's another one to think about.....Dan states that the highest % of deaths are DM and higher in ratings and this is becuse the higher rate people Feel as thow they are far above the new-be's so really nothing is going to get them.


Let's face it, we as divers KNOW that we can die diving. Dose it really matter if there's some there to see it happen? If you are one of those that think you need to have some one there cuz they mite be able to save you then cool for you, thow you mite never drive your car alone as some in the car with you may see somthing coming that you don't and save you there as well. But really your not going to only drive your car if you have somone with are you?

 

[captain]

I have said this more than once in the solo section when threads like this and similar ones about when and how to solo. This is my concept of the solo forum.

Here is your input. I believe the only things solo divers should offer to those who ask are they or when will they be ready to solo dive is to state how and when they started, what equipment they use, what type of environment they dive in (warm/cold, clear/low vis, inland/ocean, overhead,etc) and what limitations they put on themselves. The do I have enough experience, what equipment should I use question shoud be answered by the diver himself after evaluating the responses. Just like beginning anything new it should be a progression.
I don't believe we as solo divers should say someone needs X number of dives, Y type of equipment or Z limitations.

I'll start.
My first solo was also my first dive about 52 years ago. I wasn't certified there was no such thing at that time.
I still use the same basic open water equipment I started with, no form of redundancy other than cutting tools. I dive mostly warm water both inland and ocean both clear and low vis, some limited overhead always in sight of the exit. Limitations are no deco, no overhead in low vis, recreational depth limits. I also realize that if I should decide to dive beyond what I have stated equipment requirements may need to be changed.
__________________

 

[Dive-aholic]

I would like to take rescue, I have been impeded in the past by not taking AOW.

Or take an SDI Rescue course...or find an independent PADI instructor who knows how to read the instructor manual and understands the standards.


As for the SDI Solo course, in and of itself, it's not a very thorough course. It is basically just a recreational solo diving specialty. IANTD has a course called Self-Sufficient Diver which encompasses much more and truly prepares the diver for being self sufficient. Whether I'm teaching SDI Solo or IANTD Self-Sufficient, I teach the same course, minimum of 2 days and 4 dives. SDI only requires 1 day, 2 dives for Solo.

 

[scuba=dude]

I was all ready doing everything in the SDI solo diving manual before I ever read it, be that as it may this was only after a long road of hunting down info by myself. I have read quite a bit of Tec manuals and Navy dive manuls and taking what would work for me and putting it use.

Now just reading is be no means "Knowing how" It takes alot of "dry-runs" and then working in shallow water, over and over till your body will just acted on it's own.

I now dive with 2 computers and a depth gauge, and set a timer on decent, Take a compass reading and make notes of all info on a slate, always have a 13cf pony on me (no matter how shallow a dive) never dive bellow 130' Always carrie a lift bag and a reel, my light has a back-up bulb biult in, 3 cutters in diffent places on me. carrie a dive planner in a pocket, My dive-flote has a tank hanging at 15 feet with 5lbs of lead with a bolt clip.

Now I never had any of this set-up till later in my diving life and I had to come up with this Safe way of solo diving on my own as no-one was willing to talk about solo diving. All of the set-up I use came from Tec and Navy manuals But the most disapointing of all is the amount of solo bashing that go's on from people that if you asked them in privet they will tell you they indeed do solo dive, Like instructors and Master dives as well as captins.

If over 92% of all people that get a C-card never dive after there last open water - cheek out- dive then that means that only 8% or so are real divers, of that 8% the one's that buy all there gear, I'll just bet that More then less dive at some point solo. Now if they talk about it ,,,now that's another story.
I don't care if solo diving is called tec/diving or not, the only thing that matters in the end is can the guy that's doing it, do it safly.

 

[scuba=dude]

Scubaboard reflects that... here is the disclaimer for the solo-diving forum (this forum!)...



Anyone not qualified as a solo diver, please put their hands up.....



It was kind of a waste of money for him to do a scuba course then, huh?

This is poppycock. I teach scuba... and find that 99.9% of divers respect the advice and direction given to them during courses. Likewise, I am sure that instructors, mentors, teachers and coaches in a myriad of activities find that their adult students respond well to direction.



Yep.... and that's exactly what happened when he took the Open Water course. What I am drawing attention to is the fact that he then chose to make an unintelligent decision, based on that information.

I'm not doing it for his benefit. As you say, he makes his own stupid choices. I am doing it for the benefit of expressing a clear opinion and reason, why others shouldn't do it.



That's crap. 99% of newly qualified divers do listen and apply what they've learned. I don't know of any of my ex-students that solo dived.

To be honest, I think this whole inexperienced solo diving issue is an American thing. Perhaps it's cultural? I've never seen or heard of it elsewhere in the world.

oh ya we yanks are just so Do it the way we want that's the reson we kicked you Brits out of here 200 years ago what with your kingly ways and all. If you wish to bring up that. How about the way us yanks pulled your butts out of hitler grip, you brits would likely be speacking german if not for us. Stuck up prig!

 

[master00sniper]

oh ya we yanks are just so Do it the way we want that's the reson we kicked you Brits out of here 200 years ago what with your kingly ways and all. If you wish to bring up that. How about the way us yanks pulled your butts out of hitler grip, you brits would likely be speacking german if not for us. Stuck up prig!

lol. True. But this doesn't apply to scuba me thinks.

 

[Thalassamania]

I rather agree with DD, the newbie diver going solo is kinda unique to Americans.

 

[scuba=dude]

there are small island all over the earth that the fishermen use home made "Hookas" and dive for all manner of sea food and they have never had any training for diving and are quite solo in there diving.....they are not from the USA