Arrogance and humility among divers

[stuartv]

... there will be nothing in the solo class that is new for you.

My SDI Solo instructor told me, "I'm not going to teach you how to dive solo. I'm just going to make sure you already know how to dive solo safely. If you don't already know that, then you are not ready to dive solo."

At least from his perspective, I guess there SHOULD not be anything new in a solo class.

 

[boulderjohn]

At least from his perspective, I guess there SHOULD not be anything new in a solo class.

Most OW divers have never carried a second air source, so that will be new to most.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

The solo diving courses--at least the PADI one I know--takes key ideas from certain advanced courses and puts them together in one package for the diver who has not taken those classes and is interested in solo diving. If you have already taken those advanced classes and done the associated dives, there will be nothing in the solo class that is new for you.

... and that was me ... by the time I was interested in solo I had already taken a half dozen or so tech classes, and there was nothing in the book (which I still felt was pretty well presented) for me to learn ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[gypsyjim]

The solo diving courses--at least the PADI one I know--takes key ideas from certain advanced courses and puts them together in one package for the diver who has not taken those classes and is interested in solo diving. If you have already taken those advanced classes and done the associated dives, there will be nothing in the solo class that is new for you.

It is true that the solo class pretty much covers or refreshes a great deal of what a diver may already know.

I was invited by a PADI Course Director to a presentation when PADI introduced their Self Reliant Diver Program.
Other than the redundant gas their is not too much that would be new in either it, or the SDI Solo.

I opted for the SDI training because their C Card says Solo, and if somebody does ever require me to show a card for Solo, I want a card that has that word clearly stated on it, which the PADI card does not.

Most OW divers have never carried a second air source, so that will be new to most.

Before the SDI Solo class I had minimal experience with redundant gas. I have dived doubles, and dived where rules required a 30c.f. minimum pony if on a single tank, but no way can I claim to be proficient with either, and with my bad leg wearing doubles on land has always made for a risky exercise.
The Solo class has awoke a semi dormant interest in SM, so I have a hunch that sometime in the next year I will do some followup training with the same SDI Instructor that I did Solo with. When John reviewed the gear I have on hand he was surprised that I already own nearly everything I would need to set up a nice, though basic SM rig.

 

[stuartv]

Most OW divers have never carried a second air source, so that will be new to most.

And...?

The instructor I had for Solo might say "and those that have never carried redundant gas should not be doing so for the first time on a solo dive. Go practice diving with redundant gas and a buddy and then come back and we'll see about a solo certification."

 

[Steve_C]

It is hard for me to keep track of this because I dive some with the instructor as a dive buddy but there are dives as part of solo. I sling my pony on the left. Not sure what I need to practice. About as much work as swapping regs. Even then you are not really solo on your first solo dive. You are showing you can plan and carry out a solo dive. So your first truely solo dive, if that makes sense, will be after you have shown you can handle the redundant air.

It does depend on your redundancy. If you are diving doubles that is a bit more complicated and I agree more. But I do not need the extra weight of doubles (I am missing a disk already) and have some limited mobility in my shoulders (bad rotator cuffs), so I like all the emergency regs and valves up close and personal.

 

[boulderjohn]

And...?

The instructor I had for Solo might say "and those that have never carried redundant gas should not be doing so for the first time on a solo dive. Go practice diving with redundant gas and a buddy and then come back and we'll see about a solo certification."

I am trying to understand this. It sure sounds like the instructor is saying, "Go out and learn the skills for this course on your own so that I don't have to teach you how to do it when you take the class, because you won't be able to learn it from me."

 

[DavidFL]

I'm "taking" the SDI class right now. Signed up at my local LDS about ten days ago; got the book; read it. My open water check is upcoming on Saturday. My primary motivation is to get the card, as I have been in several situations where a boat/ operator accepts/requires it (the first time I heard it on a live aboard was from Mel and Frank). Nothing in the book is new to me, and nothing that was described to me for the check is anything I haven't done, but the whole "take the solo class" discussion at the LDS did bring up a lot of information about the size and configuration and location/method for a pony that I found useful. The focused review, discussion and the card make the class worth it for me; will post again if I get any more new information or insight from the check dive(s).

 

[stuartv]

I am trying to understand this. It sure sounds like the instructor is saying, "Go out and learn the skills for this course on your own so that I don't have to teach you how to do it when you take the class, because you won't be able to learn it from me."

I interpreted it as, there are skills (in the water and out) that you should have in order to dive solo. You should have those skills down cold before you ever start diving solo. Your dive planning, your management of redundant gas sources, how you choose to provide redundant buoyancy and how you deploy and use it when needed, etc.. All those things are things you should be totally facile with from practice in a buddy diving context before you start diving solo. Anything he has to teach you would mean that you have just learned a new "skill" and you should not be certified to go out and dive solo where you would be relying on any skill that you just learned.

He could teach a student how to carry a pony bottle and use it. His position seems (to me) to be that, while he could teach someone that, he would not certify someone to dive solo who has no more experience in carrying and using a pony than just what they got in a solo class. He wants them to have more (and real-world) experience with it than that. And, I guess, he doesn't want his solo class to last a month and have a whole bunch of OW dives just to get his student the experience he thinks they should have.

 

[boulderjohn]

I interpreted it as, there are skills (in the water and out) that you should have in order to dive solo. You should have those skills down cold before you ever start diving solo. Your dive planning, your management of redundant gas sources, how you choose to provide redundant buoyancy and how you deploy and use it when needed, etc.. All those things are things you should be totally facile with from practice in a buddy diving context before you start diving solo. Anything he has to teach you would mean that you have just learned a new "skill" and you should not be certified to go out and dive solo where you would be relying on any skill that you just learned.

He could teach a student how to carry a pony bottle and use it. His position seems (to me) to be that, while he could teach someone that, he would not certify someone to dive solo who has no more experience in carrying and using a pony than just what they got in a solo class. He wants them to have more (and real-world) experience with it than that. And, I guess, he doesn't want his solo class to last a month and have a whole bunch of OW dives just to get his student the experience he thinks they should have.

Exactly how I understood it. Don't come to me to take a class until you don't need it, because I am not competent enough to teach it to you in the allotted time. Make sure you pay me well for all the instruction you got on your own.