Diving alone

[bigtim6656]

DO any of you dive alone. IS it a no no. IF you do how to you get your rig on by yourself.

 

[Sas]

DO any of you dive alone. IS it a no no. IF you do how to you get your rig on by yourself.

I dive alone sometimes. So yes, I don't think it is a "no no" for myself. Other people have reasons why they will or won't solo dive, so to each their own.

I get my rig on myself quite easily. Most of the time I can lean it on something and slide into it that way. Otherwise I just lift it on myself. Even when diving with a buddy I often gear up completely myself... I haven't solo dived in a drysuit before though due to the fact I have a back zipper. I know there are ways to get one of these on yourself though so was going to look into it so I can dive solo in my drysuit if I want. One guy I know said he has a little hook on his car and hooks his drysuit zipper pull onto that and closes it that way.

 

[Coldwater_Canuck]

One day I'll probably get to the point where I'll occasionally solo dive. However, in your recreational classes, solo diving will be discussed as a big "no no". For that reason, solo diving is considered "technical" even if the rest of the dive is within recreational limits. There are actually courses and certifications you can take with at least one agency (not sure which - probably a techical one though) which teaches solo diving.

The thing is solo diving is appealing because 99% of the time, even for a relatively inexperienced diver, you'll survive without your buddy. However, it's that other 1% of the time that's the issue. You are generally always going to be safer with a buddy (or at least a competent buddy) and there are some situations that no matter how good of a diver you are, a buddy is the only way to possibly survive (if you have a heart attack or something knocks you unconscious, it doesn't much matter how good you are, you need another diver to pull you to the surface). All solo divers will accept these risks, but the difference between a new and experienced diver is an experienced one will be less likely to get into a bad situation and more likely to get out of one safely. They also will most likely have more and better quality gear.

Only you can decide what's safe for you, but until you are much more experienced (that solo diver course requires 100 logged dives to enroll) I would strongly recommend against it.

 

[Big Dick Dubloon]

It's certainly not optimum, but I think if someone is comfortable doing it and has enough experience, it is not a big deal.

BDD

 

[Wetsuit 4 life]

Over the head equipment donning but this is a somewhat advanced method of gearing up and you should really know your rig setup before trying it, it can lead to a back injury and arm entanglement, especially if using a weight integrated BCD.

Diving alone is something you might grow into, it takes time to become use to the idea that if something went wrong you would be on your own, that kind of self reliance takes time and experience

 

[TSandM]

If you're going to dive alone, you have to select things so that you can get into them by yourself, or figure out dodges (like people with back zip drysuits who clip things to the zipper and spin).

People do dive solo, but it's certainly not something one ought to consider until one has a significant amount of experience, and the ability to realistically assess risks.

 

[maged_mmh]

maybe a little bit off-topic; but how do you log these solo dives?? just curious!

 

[divad]

I think I only had two logged dives, and that log dissolved ten years ago.

 

[Sas]

maybe a little bit off-topic; but how do you log these solo dives?? just curious!

Like how I log dives with buddies, but with no name in the 'buddy' field

 

[tstormdiver]

I have dove alone only a couple of times. The times I did it was when I was preparing & practicing for my instructor course. I hadn't reviewed the skills in a while & was trying to keep from embarrassing myself & boring a buddy to death. Before I did it, I talked to & let the owner of the quarry know of my plans & that I needed the practice. We set the parameters of the dive. I was to stay in the shallow part of the quarry on a training platform (in about 18- 20 ft of water), the dive would be 30 min. The owner had someone there, on shore, as a spotter for me, just in case. I went in, dropped on the designated platform & started practicing. 30 min later I came back up, swam in & that's all she wrote. Pretty much a non event. I personally would not advocate solo diving for anyone else & there was a bit of planning that was done before I did anything. If someone else chooses to do it, then that's their thing, I will not condemn or condone. There is training available for those that are interested. It does & should involve extra planning & extra equipment for the "what if's" that might occur & the diver should be completely comfortable in the water & with their emergency skills. In my technical training, we are taught that though we will dive with a buddy or in a team, we must be prepared to do it alone if circumstances dictate that, being that there may not be direct access to the surface due to decompression obligations or possibly an overhead environment. As for getting into my gear by myself,.... I do it all the time. My recreational gear is quite simple. My technical equipment is not quite so simple, but I still must put it on & adjust things myself. The quarry is set up with some very nice gear tables that are the right height for most people (unless you're really short or really tall). You just assemble your equipment, make sure everything is working & good, unhook the holding string, then back into it, fasten everything & adjust it & away you go. As for logging the dives,.... I just fill in the log book the same as if I were diving with a buddy, just no name in that spot.