Is limited solo diving completely insane for a new diver?
- Thread starter HeliMech
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OP
HeliMech
Contributor
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markmud
Self Reliant Diver--On All Dives.
Hi OP,
You should never solo dive unless you have 100 logged dives and a Solo/Self-Reliant/Independent diver cert!!
However, my second dive from OW was a solo dive. I think my 3rd and 4th dives were solo dives. They were in a benign lake with a hard bottom at 35 ffw. 40 feet of visibility and 65 degree water temp.
I practiced skills trained in my OW class.
Start gradually in benign conditions and work your way to more difficult diving.
Get more training as you alluded to above (deep diver cert.)
Don't let the SCUBA police catch you!
I hope you enjoy this sport as much as I have.
markm
You should never solo dive unless you have 100 logged dives and a Solo/Self-Reliant/Independent diver cert!!
However, my second dive from OW was a solo dive. I think my 3rd and 4th dives were solo dives. They were in a benign lake with a hard bottom at 35 ffw. 40 feet of visibility and 65 degree water temp.
I practiced skills trained in my OW class.
Start gradually in benign conditions and work your way to more difficult diving.
Get more training as you alluded to above (deep diver cert.)
Don't let the SCUBA police catch you!
I hope you enjoy this sport as much as I have.
markm
mdax
Contributor
The advice to get 100 dives before solo is pretty good.
You can accelerate this learning by paying for instruction, find a solo friendly instructor, pay them to learn.
You need a redundant gas supply.
I'd recommend starting with a 40cu ft stage, pay someone to train you on slinging and utilization.
imo solo divers need to have a spare mask, shears, redundant gas supply and do at least an hour of cardio a week.
Even still, if you dive alone you need to be ok with dying alone.
You need to have proper life insurance for those you'll leave behind.
I've been solo diving primarily for 30 years. Things are way less spicy nowadays, proper equipment and instruction help, experience also helps...but there have been some damn close calls along the way that shape my advice.
You can choose to take or leave it. Have fun, good luck.
You can accelerate this learning by paying for instruction, find a solo friendly instructor, pay them to learn.
You need a redundant gas supply.
I'd recommend starting with a 40cu ft stage, pay someone to train you on slinging and utilization.
imo solo divers need to have a spare mask, shears, redundant gas supply and do at least an hour of cardio a week.
Even still, if you dive alone you need to be ok with dying alone.
You need to have proper life insurance for those you'll leave behind.
I've been solo diving primarily for 30 years. Things are way less spicy nowadays, proper equipment and instruction help, experience also helps...but there have been some damn close calls along the way that shape my advice.
You can choose to take or leave it. Have fun, good luck.
Hard to make a well-informed response even given your OP. For me one of the most important qualifications is how you respond to emergency situations. If you panic, I'd say no. If you face them with a clear head and address the issue, I'd say possibly.
Most of my dives from the very start back in the early 1960s have been solo. Initially it was because we only had one kit and had to share it. Later it was largely due to my film work underwater.
Most of my dives from the very start back in the early 1960s have been solo. Initially it was because we only had one kit and had to share it. Later it was largely due to my film work underwater.
I'm a firm believer that everyone dives alone as well, even with most buddies.
Jay
Jay
Landstander
Contributor
While it's likely too early to be an option in your case, one of the instructors (who was absolutely fantastic, by the way) from my local dive shop let me audit the PADI Self Reliant course when I was somewhere in the 55-60 dive range. As you speculated, they held off issuing the card until I reached the requirement of 100 logged dives. So this may well be an option once you'e got more dives under your belt.
The impression I got was that it's entirely at the instructor's discretion whether or not they'll allow someone to audit the course. I was fairly well known to the shop/instructors by that point, and had recently completed a class with that specific instructor, both of which may well have improved my chances.
I'm speculating a bit here, but it's likely also at the instructors discretion whether they simply hold your card, or require you to take the class again "for real" after you reach 100 dives... especially if the initial performance wasn't completely satisfactory. I'd recommend inquiring about that before you make the commitment, just to ensure that you aren't caught by surprise later.
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