My 63 Meter Solo Dive - Cebu, Philippines

[Cave Diver]

BTW to answer someones earlier post my "tech" position a similar style to when I do wreck diving. I am most comfortable in this position to be able to monitor all my data. The position is similar to skydiving. I avoid diving like I am standing like many do.

So you're saying that your "tech" position is horizontal and that you waited til 30m mark to move into this position from a vertical position?

 

[master00sniper]

Andygoiii, craziness aside congrats on reaching a personal goal. Me personally, I have not set any specific goals for my diving, I imagine they might start to take shape as I get more dives and figure out how serious I want to take this. It sounds like you fully recognize that it was a goal (more actually the way you obtained the goal) that was much much more likely to get you on the A&I thread. If it left you with a feeling of accomplishment, which it sounds like it did very much so, then I'm happy for you. Not to many feelings better than that of accomplishment.

I have mixed feelings about your dive in general. I have done a few dives which some people on here were not happy to hear about. I was basically always within cesa depth though, and in an environment I knew to be simple (nothing to get tangled on or stuck in, for example). Maybe I missed it, but I didn't read anything about redundant air, backup equipment, etc. Would a freeflowing reg at the bottom of your dive killed you? Did you have some plan to compensate for any equipment failures? If you didn't, it obviously makes your dive a lot more lethal if anything were to go wrong. Like you mentioned though, does every climber climb with ropes? Does every skydiver dive with a parachute? (OK bad example )

 

[DaleC]

I don't care how deep someone dives if that's what they want to do (to each their own I say) but I can't let this statement go without comment: "I already blew past my non-deco dive so I knew I had to make some mandatory decompression stops along the way".
Doing that on a single tank is simply stupid. I don't think it matters to you what I think but others reading should know that that it is a huge violation of basic gas management and leaves a diver completely relying on luck instead of skill. Don't expect common sense divers to congratulate that concept.

 

[DevonDiver]

I think that's what people are objecting to.

Diving solo, with 200+ dives, isn't that terrible - although the OP still does show little regard for precise planning and equipment needs.

Decompression diving, with no training, understanding or adequate equipment is idiotic.

I've worked at dive centers that perma-banned divers who did stuff like this....

 

[Rhone Man]

Maybe I'm missing it, but I don't think the OP said that in his post.... he did say he stopped at 50m, then continued to 62.3m, then said future dives would be in the 50m range?

Sorry, you're right. I had mis-read something as indicating that the 62.3m dive was done with the air left in the tank after the 50m dive, but looking again, that was my error.

 

[DevonDiver]

Yeah... that was the detailed and comprehensive 'planning'... drop down to 50m like a stone, without looking around. Glance at the SPG...still 2/3rd of a tank...so drop down to the bottom wherever that is.... ah ha...it's at 63.2m. FBack up to the surface, doing whatever the computer says...and using the Hogarthian 'zog zag' technique to maintain correct ascent speed....

 

[vladimir]

Great post, Andygoiii. I have to go to the toilet now and assume the modified tech position, but I look forward to further tales of your exploits.

 

[Matthew]

Let's be fair here ... it sounds like this fellow's put some thought into what he's doing, recognizes the risks, and is willing to accept them.

Who are any of us to tell him he's wrong? Point out safer choices, maybe ... but there's right and wrong ways to go about even that.

When I see someone fresh out of OW jumping into solo diving without much of a clue, I'll say something. Most responsible people would. But this fellow is hardly inexperienced. And it seems as though he has put some thought into what he's doing ... even if it's something I would consider completely crazy-risky.

That's his choice ... even if it makes me shake my head and ask myself what can he be thinking.

If he kills himself doing it, that's the consequence of his choice. But he may consider it worth the risk. The way I read it above, he does.

Hey, give the dude some credit for at least being honest with himself ... and with us.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Exactly my thoughts, thanks.

I think he made his objectives and motivations very clear in his post. I would not consider him a scuba diver in the same way as most of us, to me he is more of a daredevil who happened to be on scuba, but he could as well been on a race car, motorcycle, plane or whatever. This is more of a stunt than a dive. As such, IMO all these usual calls for more training, experience, equipment, safetey procedures, etc etc. are pointless given his mindset. And when I come to think of it, he will even be more scary if he does get more training and equipment.

So to me, this is just a very interesting scuba story which I enjoyed reading. I feel no responsibility to help or give advice and I would just let fate deal with him.

But as Bob pointed out, he did have a plan (however flawed), followed it, got, lucky, and was able to make it work. He prepared (poorly) for certain eventualities,anticipated and dealt with narcosis :shocked2:, was totally focused - he had a method to his madness. A complete idiot could not have pulled off that stunt. On the other hand, I often see divers at 60 ft with nary a clue of what they are doing, much less of what's happening around them, who are just as likely to get killed, but are generally overlooked, just because they stay within depth limits. These are the divers that can be helped, and most of them are willing to be helped, and I'm sure none of us on SB will hesitate to help within our abilities, given such opportunity.

 

[Ursus]

I read this when it first posted and just sat back and let more seasoned divers weigh in. It reminds me of a divetrip in the Caymans a few years back. A group of us had been diving together on the same boat for several days. Mid-week a new diver showed up to the resort (Cobalt Cove) and joined us. Everyone was recreational diving. On his first dive he abandoned his assigned dive buddies to drop down and kiss 160'. The interesting part was that his entire plan was based on a wrist computer, which was the only piece of equipment that he owned. All of remaining gear (BC, REG, etc) was rental gear that he had never even dove before. The second dive of the morning included more antics on the boat. Suicidal tendencies don't mix well with good diving. After urging from a number of divers we had him booted from the resort

By no means am I a daredevil, but my comfort zone is more than most. From the very beginning I realized that I needed to take it slow and seek out quality training to offset the risk. I believe in being trained and prepared to handle the problems. It is not a matter of "If" but rather "When" it will happen. On the days that I dive solo, regardless of depths or complexity I bring a second tank.

Despite your planning and cautious approach, you got Lucky. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. At that depth bad things happen fast and there is no emergency ascent option. I would urge you to seek out a deep diver course(s) and be prepared to make some additional investment in gear...think of it as Life Support.

Death & Darwin are unbiased...they are not concerned with race, gender, age or what college team you root for....

 

[Graeme Tolton]

To the OP... What was your reasoning for posting this? You likely weren't expecting the type of responses you got, which I agree with most of. With deeper diving, there always will come more equipment, training, redundancies.. What would you have done if your computer had failed?

Also, what have you learned from the replies to your post?

Nobody will think that you are a hero for dying on such a dive. The limits of SCUBA have long since been established and it has been proven again and again that appropriate training, equipment and experience are absolutely necessary for deeper dives.