Seeking the elusive SDI Solo Diver course...

[ClayJar]

ClayJar, combine an Australia dive trip with a solo class. I'll even show you my favorite local dive spots.

Hehe, well, I may be a solo diver, but if I'm flying all the way to Australia, I'm going to stop in Tokyo and pick up J. on the way. Since she won't have another big vacation opening until next summer (she's teaching high school over there), it looks like it might be too late to pick it up in Australia. :biggrin:

The BC offer, on the other hand, is still *really* tempting... ...give the drysuit some *real* diving.

 

[pnevai]

Other than the card, I don't think I need it, although I will of course glean every speck of new information the course may provide.

My reasons for wanting the card are plentiful: Flower Gardens (at least one charter there), Pennyroyal, Haigh, Gilboa, White Star (officially, at least... don't tell on me :biggrin, et cetera. It is the means by which many sites choose to limit their perceived liability, and if I want to dive solo at their facilities, they require I have the card.

(I truly love learning, but in this case, that's basically lagniappe -- I'm seeking the card primarily for the access it grants.)

In situations such as this I join the DM led group and convieniently drift away, 99.9% of the time my absence is never noticed.

 

[ClayJar]

In situations such as this I join the DM led group and conveniently drift away, 99.9% of the time my absence is never noticed.

Actually, when I'm diving with a group, I ride herd, keeping them from drifting away and watching out for any problems cropping up. My solo diving is certainly for the convenience of not having to conscript a buddy, but perhaps equally significant is that by solo diving, I am responsible for myself and myself only. I have not yet completed my DM certification, but that's a technicality -- I've had a DM-like mindset of a from the beginning.

In diving with a group (not *as* a group -- that leads to much confusion), I'm just not going to disappear unannounced (although there have been times when I've arranged beforehand that I have a task to accomplish). Anyway, it's not really that relevant to me, regardless. The places I dive that only allow solo with a card are almost all places like privately-run quarries.

There is no DM. There is no group. You show up, sign some forms, pay some cash, and dive. The problem is, the ones that permit solo diving only with a card want to know your buddy when you fill your forms and pay your money. You can't just waltz through and casually dive solo. Some of them even tag you, and some may stop solo divers to check their "papers" (no, not real paper...).

It's really annoying to me to have to walk around a quarry trying to find someone who would allow me to tag along with them. Frankly, I almost tend to suspect anyone who *will* let a random, unknown diver from hundreds of miles away dive with them out of the blue -- I've had too many bad experiences with that very thing. It doesn't seem polite to me to invite myself into someone else's dive, and rarely are we good matches, anyway. If they're highly skilled divers, they're likely to temper their profile due to an unknown coming along (which isn't fair to them), and if they're not, I'm likely to end up having an okay but not really satisfying dive.

Anyway, guess none of this was really on-topic, but since the topic is on hold until I hear back from Atlanta, I suppose it's fine. :biggrin: The long and short of it is that I want to dive solo at some places that permit it only with the card, that those places tend not to have "led" dives (rendering the suggestion of going AWOL moot), and that I am not the type to go AWOL on a led dive (probably because I've been the one to try to keep the cats together).

Oh, and by the way, I'd catch you.

 

[TheWetRookie]

Anyway, guess none of this was really on-topic, but since the topic is on hold until I hear back from Atlanta, I suppose it's fine. :biggrin:

Nothing like highjacking your own thread Hopefully SDI comes through for you or I think you will have to move near an ocean then you can dive anywhere anytime

 

[DPJ]

Closer to home, than Australia. Caribean Explorer, allows and certifies Solo Divers.

 

[Diveral]

I saw the SDI solo diver course listed on this guy's brochure http://www.betterdiver.com/index.html

I checked the web-site and I see the price listed there. I don't know if Huntsville, AL is any closer for you than Atlanta but it's an option if Atlanta falls through. He'll be teaching a few courses in Martha's Quarry next month. You may be able to work it out there.

BTW, I haven't ran across any ops that allow solo diving with the "SDI Solo" card. Anyone know of any?

AL

 

[ClayJar]

BTW, I haven't ran across any ops that allow solo diving with the "SDI Solo" card. Anyone know of any?

Well, Pennyroyal in Kentucky is one. Of course, they let me in anyway when I showed up. (Apparently, between my experience and the fact that I showed up alone on a weekday in this little white car with Louisiana plates and a virtual dive shop inside was enough to vouch for me, but I did agree not to do anything stupid :biggrin.

I was told when I was there that Haigh Quarry in Kankakee, IL, was another. I instabuddied there, although I would've had a much more complete day as a solo diver. (Being instabuddied with wetsuit divers and divers on plain tables isn't quite ideal for someone doing multilevel drysuit dives.)

White Star in the Sandusky, OH, parks district is another. The signs don't come right out an say "SDI Solo Diver card", but they seem rather clear about it. (I used a creative interpretation of the sign and dove there, as there was nobody else around on the scuba side that day.)

Those are three of the first to come to mind. Most of my "usual" sites, on the other hand, don't care too much about it. Some time ago, I asked one on the phone if I could solo there, and they avoided the question and said there are always people to buddy up with. When I got to that site, however, I just geared up and said good morning as I walked down to the water, and they had no problem with that at all.

 

[Darnold9999]

Both Mike Ball and Peter Hughes allow Solo diving and publish that they do; if you have a card, and the equipment. Others, in my experience, do but don't publish the fact.

 

[DiveNav]

Hi CJ,
I just started mine ... I think.

My "boss" gave me a book and told me to read it first.
Now I am looking to buy "extra safety" equipment.

Why am I taking this class?
Because I can.

If you are interested in taking a vacation here in SoCal I could convince the boss to include you too in the solo class .... wait a moment .. if we are in 2 ... then is not a solo class anymore?

I_AM

 

[derwoodwithasherwood]

The 100 logged dive requirement is well behind me. I've been diving with redundant air (pony or larger) for far longer than that.

Bearing in mind the thread about logging solo dives and the thread about people accepting logged solo dives:

Do logged solo dives count towards the 100 dive minimum to qualify for taking the solo cert course?