Ginnie Springs Solo Dive?

[Michael Kane]

I know the answer to this question, it's one I beat into my own head upon completion of the text book. However a situation has occurred and wanted some 3rd party input from experienced divers personally. I was planning a trip to ginnie springs and everyone hopped on board. My dive buddy than canceled, and pretty much everyone I am going with is a cave diver with years upon years experience. I just got certified last month (open water ) and these are my first dives since certification, and it was suggested I bring a pony and just go solo being it's 30 feet of water. If my peers think I can do it, I have the confidence to do it, but my intellectual side is signaling this proves I'm a newbie. I was probably top of class and took to it all pretty fast and accurately but training isn't real world experience either. So my question is A) Do you think solo diving with someone at my level very stupid? B) Is there great risk if you adhere to your training and don't be bold? C) I'm showing immaturity and not ready to even dive yet? D) Is it easy to hook up with a stranger when diving as your partner? E) Is diving with an unknown person more dangerous than solo?

Thanks in advance for reading this being polite and hopefully granting me their two cents.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

Definitely not a good idea. I wouldn't solo dive even in open water with that little experience.

Your cave diver friends are not giving you good advice. Cave cert doesnt mean they are very smart.

My suggestion is get 200 dives then come back here and answer your own question. There are ways to kill yourself underwater that you can't even begin to fathom a month after your open water class, especially in overhead environments.

 

[chrpai]

Oh heck no. Now here's a better question to ask.

I'll be visiting Ginnie Springs on XXXXXX. Would anyone here like to be my buddy?

 

[Michael Kane]

lol I am not cave diving or attempting, I guess Im going down the shallow river?

These forums provide a medium on meeting dive buddies? This thread or is there a specific place to post?

Ill be there 10/18-10/22 diving.

 

[tstormdiver]

Certainly would not suggest it, especially as new as you are. That little "intellectual voice" you're hearing is your common sense trying to help keep you alive. I would suggest you listen to it. Although it isn't rocket science, do you even know how to use a pony bottle? More & new equipment is more task loading. Now,... try to figure out how to use under the stress of no air. Not as easy as one may think. The learning to use new equipment should be done at the least in small increments & in a controlled environment. I agree with chrpai's suggestion. See if you can advertise & find a buddy.

ScubaBoard - Scuba Diving Forum - Diving Social Network - Find a Dive Buddy

 

[chrpai]

I don't know that the matrix will help here. Ginnie Springs is more of a destination so the search parameters would be difficult. Probably best to just head over to the Cave Country sub forum and post there. Maybe someone will read this thread and make it easy by replying here.

 

[tstormdiver]

Could always search in the area of Lake City or High Springs, FL.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Solo diving requires a bit more than just a pony bottle ... at 0-24 dives, it's highly unlikely that you even suspect most of what you'd need to know in order to mitigate the potential risks.

Don't be fooled into thinking "it's just a shallow dive" ... complacency and ignorance can kill you easily in shallow water if you don't know how to deal with a problem ... and at your level you're not yet even aware of some of the problems you can encounter on a shallow river dive, much less know how to deal with them.

One of the world's most renowned cave divers died not too long ago on a simple reef dive that most OW divers could handle ... he got complacent. Don't be that person.

There's nothing wrong with learning to solo dive ... but don't take shortcuts. There's a reason the agency that introduced it to the recreational world requires 100 dives as a prerequisite ... and it has everything to do with getting enough experience to be comfortable with your basic skills and capable of handling a task-loading situation.

Here's an article that will give you some clues what you should know before you attempt it. I wrote this just for folks like you ...

NWGratefulDiver.com

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[spectrum]

I concur with all have discouraged sol diving at this time. return to post 8.

Pete

 

[bpotkin]

Bad Idea. When I had less than 20 dives, my dive buddy missed the boat to
Catalina. I almost had myself convinced that I would solo dive just this 1 time.
I got lucky and found a dive buddy at the dive park. That day we rescued
2 divers. One diver had his tank fall out of his BCD. The other diver had
his BCD flood at the surface and needed us to tell him to drop his weights
and help him back to the steps. You never know what can happen.