Entry Level Solo Diver

[Walter]

I'd rather pick Walter's brain to no end to learn, but it seems shameful he'd rather just talk about a person instead of offering sound advice like you just did. BTW, I hold no anger toward him still, just would rather he share input on a topic and not just snub his nose at somebody. By looking at his profile I saw he is an instructor, why not share knowledge then? That was my point about my comment on posting on this forum.

Fair enough. The only problem with your assessment is I already did discuss this topic with my comments directed at, not about, you in another thread about solo diving started by you.

What I said there was:

A new diver shouldn't even be thinking about diving solo. Solo diving is something many extremely skilled divers would never consider. Those who do have a few hundred logged dives and are considering solo diving should ask themselves a few questions before starting.

Have I ever had a diving emergency?

If the answer is no, you don't know how you'll react when you do. Wait until after you've experienced an emergency.

How calm were you during the emergency?

If you were anything other than calm, solo diving is not your thing.

Can I effectively deal with the simultaneous failure or loss of any two items (mask and 1 fin; regulator failure and loss of mask; 1 fin and stuck inflator hose; BC that won't hold air and mask; etc.) of gear?

If the answer is no, you are not yet ready for solo.

Do I know I can deal with the simultaneous failure or loss of any two items because I've practiced?

If you haven't practiced, you don't know.

SCUBA482, I believe you are trying to get into diving solo long before you're ready. Slow down, enjoy diving with a buddy. Don't lose your life because you are impatient.

I guess my point is I don't see where the #25 of dives comes into play I could still be a dumba$$ after 50 dives or even a 100 so why did you chose 25?.

I didn't choose 25. Your profile lists the number of dives you've logged at 0-24. There is no magic number. Most divers should never dive solo.

If I dove the rest of my dives with a buddy to 25 then SOLO'd would it be any better?

Nope.

I'd like to be clear that I encourage opposition on schools of thoughts, but I would like to ask for reasons for said opinion.

My opinion is you aren't concerned about safety. My reasons for that opinion are you have started solo diving after learning you should always dive with a buddy. You then decided you wanted to dive solo. You asked opinions from more experienced divers. You were told you needed more experience and to practice certain skills. Then you went out and dived solo. What did I miss?

To answer your earlier question, I don't have more than 15,000 dives, I'm over 2,000 (over 500 solo), but not even close to 15,000. I guess I'm a cyber diver.

 

[SCUBA482]

Walter,

Thanks for replying, and I apologize to you for taking the post wrong. Interestingly enough I have been thinking a lot about the thread and reconsidering where I stand to SOLO. I haven't experienced an emergency and honestly I hope I never have to. It would be pointless to rationalize why I did go other than I did so within my comfort level. I've done quite a bit more research on other websites and articles and a couple common denominators keep arising. One is the redundant air source and two is after taking a Rescue course, which implies after AOW and some specialty courses. All these combined will add to my experience level and all while under supervision. I will end up going SOLO during my diving career, but for now I'll look into more training and maybe hit up some dive boats for "insta-buddies" if that's any safer.

On a separate note, my son will be getting certified soon and I wanted a little more time on the tank before taking on being his buddy. Just so happened I found out a few of my work partners are Master Divers and a couple AOW's and Rescue. I'll see if we can tag along with them for now, but I'll still be asking SOLO questions as I do believe there is something to be said for being self-sufficient.

Thanks

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I will end up going SOLO during my diving career, but for now I'll look into more training and maybe hit up some dive boats for "insta-buddies" if that's any safer.

Insta-buddies won't teach you much ... and they may hold you back from developing good habits. They may be good divers, but more likely not ... good divers tend to avoid insta-buddy relationships.

I don't normally do this, but it seems appropriate. Go join this board ... it has a strong So Cal presence consisting of a lot of really good divers. Then go post in this thread that you are a new diver interested in learning and looking for an experienced mentor. With your desire to learn you'll find at least a couple of divers who are willing to take you out from time to time ... if not someone who you can dive with fairly regularly.

You have the right attitude ... find a mentor. Learn from them what it means to be a good dive buddy. This may sound strange, but the best way to prepare for solo diving is to learn how to be a good dive buddy ... because part of that learning involves developing the awareness skills that are so important to solo diving.

Experience is important ... but it needs to be the right kind of experience. Diving with insta-buddies is a crap shoot. Find a mentor ... you'll shorten your learning curve considerably.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[SCUBA482]

Thanks Bob...I'll look into it

 

[Walter]

I will end up going SOLO during my diving career, but for now I'll look into more training and maybe hit up some dive boats for "insta-buddies" if that's any safer.

An excellent outlook. Bob's advice is almost always spot on.

 

[tlt]

Are you implying So Ca divers are more plentiful and they are better divers. ha ha

 

[b1gcountry]

Insta-buddies won't teach you much ... and they may hold you back from developing good habits. They may be good divers, but more likely not ... good divers tend to avoid insta-buddy relationships.

Tell me about it, this one time I was up in Seattle, and buddied up with this guy at cove 2...

Another outlook on the # of dives question--When you start looking at the dive accident reports from DAN, etc, there starts to be a rather strong trend in some of the fatalities of something minor going wrong with a dive, and a group or individual continuing on in the dive instead of aborting. I would say the more dives you have under your belt, the less you are going to stress out about cutting one dive short, or canceling a dive. As a newer diver, you sometimes just don't know when it's best to cut your losses, and the "new car" excitement can tend to make you take more risks than you should.

As much as we practice skills in diving, I've never seen an accident report stating that "a diver couldn't maintain a fin pivot, and died today". Even a diver with great skills can do something really dumb, or continue a dive when they really shouldn't. With a team of divers, there is at least a better chance that one of the individuals will heed the little voice inside their head (peer pressure aside).

I would say that you shouldn't consider solo until you can cancel a dive without feeling like you're missing out on something. Someone without the experience may either get too wrapped up in excitement over the dive, or not be confident enough to trust the little voice that says something's wrong. Skills are important, but judgement seems to play a much more prominent role in most fatalities I read about.

Tom

 

[INFIDELxx]

I have found this post very interesting. There are a lot of opinions and some really good advice. One thing that encourages me to solo is the is the belief that "when it's my time that's it". Nothing anyone can do about it.:shocked2:

I started soloing at dive #2 and have not looked back.:shocked2: Of course I trained like I fight. I bought a bunch of vintage dive books and practiced all the skill sections while in a controlled environment. All of my dives are done with vintage double hose regulators a depth gauge, weight belt, and a watch. I use a tank with a j-rod and simple military harness (sometimes a horse collar) . That's it!

To me "every dive is solo whether someone else is there or not". It would be nice to think that someone would or could possibly risk their life to save mine. But I do not put any stock in that notion.

I live by this one simple rule......

Fear causes hesitation and hesitation causes your worst fears to come true!

So, train to overcome what you fear!

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Are you implying So Ca divers are more plentiful and they are better divers. ha ha

No ... I'm implying that since the OP lives in So Cal, he'll have an easier time finding a mentor near where he lives.

I happen to know, and have dived with, many of the divers I recommended ... so I know what their abilities are. That's why I recommended them.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Tell me about it, this one time I was up in Seattle, and buddied up with this guy at cove 2...

I remember that guy ... what a



... Bob (Grateful Diver)