Solo diver course

[drrich2]

You need to be able to send the bag up from the bottom and then wind your way up to the surface with a reel or finger reel.

I, too, didn't get on the SMB wagon (so to speak) till I'd been diving awhile; started carrying one on my solo course, also. To me, whether diving solo or with a buddy, when on a charter boat op. the potential is there to surface far enough from the boat to need the marker to let them know where you are. I keep one crammed in a BCD pocket now. Even though I don't solo dive from boats.

Richard.

 

[fsardone]

Hi there,
I used to dive with a pony tank as IGS, now I dive with a 12+12 lt twin config with isolating manifold, in order to keep my tech and my solo config similar ...
I also came to the conclusion that I had to reverse mount the pony on the single in order to reach the valve. I ended up mounting a SPG on both tanks, this is because end of the dive I would switch to the IGS for safety stop or for the last 5 minutes of deco in order to use up the gas and recharge also the IGS.


Concerning the SMB, I usually prefer 2 (one orange one yellow) usually I brief one color (orange) just for deco or normal procedure coming back up the other yellow is out in case of emergency. One is in the pocket on my back on the steel mount of the twin and the other with a finger spool in my pocket.
Also I have the option of sending the second one on the same line of the already deployed one with a slate to communicate the surface I need some help (additional gas, issues ...) or use as additional buoyancy (I dive BCD single bladder and dry suit).

Enjoy the added confidence that self reliance will give you even when diving with a buddy!
Cheers

Fabio

 

[Foxfish]

Second and last day of the solo diving course. We went in a charter about 20 km offshore near an island.

First dive we did a little circuit with the instructor asking some questions like "Where is the boat?" after we'd swam for a while. He tried to scare us by pressing the purge valve on the regulator we were breathing from and also told me to change over to the IGS. All went well until I found no air coming from the IGS regulator. I'd previously turned the it off to check for leaks. I was able to reach back and turn the isolation valve back on with the instructor staring at me. At least I passed the panic test.

Next step was to ascend. I was able to locate and remove the SMB and reel from the BCD pocket. I'd watched a video last night on how it should be done and this proved helpful. I had a bit of trouble getting air from the regulator into the SMB. It seemed to want to go everywhere except into the SMB. Once it got a bit of air in it though it was off nearly dragging me with it. There is evidentl na bit of a knack to balancing the air in your BCD and the air in the SMB. As I stated winding my way up the chord the line went slack and then I saw the end fall back down with a clip attached. The SMB had unclipped itself and was now on its way to Indonesia. The first loss for the day.

By now the wind had picked up so we sheltered in a protected bay where we had lunch and did our second dive. This next one was a true solo dive. I jumped in and did a circuit around the reefs. Along the way I did some drills like disconnecting the BCD inflator hose and changing my mask over as well as doing some navigation.

We got back to the boat and by now the wind was cranking. We couldn't retrieve the anchor after trying for an hour. That was the second loss. The charter boat was about 25 m long so this was a big anchor. We had a bumpy trip home with winds up to 35 knots. Everyone passed the course.

 

[Searcaigh]

Try dumping your air from the BCD into your SMB via the LP inflator dump, you will maintain your buoyancy, then give it a blast with the LP inflater holding the dump open simultaneously and let it go as soon as you feel yourself ascending.

This was mentioned in a post last year, and I have used it successfully a couple of times now, works very well

 

[Colliam7]

Second and last day of the solo diving course. We went in a charter about 20 km offshore near an island. . . . Everyone passed the course.

Thinking back to some of your observations made in selecting the course, and reading your experiences regarding the confined water session and the open water dives: did you get what you wanted from the training? Was anything a surprise? Was anything a disappointment? Would you recommend the course / instructor to others?>

 

[WheelsUSN]

I started the solo diving course today. It started off with a two hour review session of the major topics raised in the course book. Two solo divers were doing the course with three divers doing a side mount course. Apparently there is some overlap in the courses.

We didn't go into a lot of detail on the topics covered in the book like gas planning and there was little time at this stage for detailed discussion on any of the topics. I did raise the question of solo diving in overhead environments.

So the instructor gave a very brief review of the academics with no time for discussion and didn't go into detail on major topics of the course. You mention that you raised the question of solo in overhead environments but did the instructor address your question or just say don't do it?

Then we were asked to practise drills like removing and reinstating our mask, changing over regulators and disconnecting and reconnecting our BCD hose. The instructor was apologetic that he couldn't spend much time supervising us at this stage. He had to spend a lot of time with the side mount guys setting up their rigs. No problem. We're solo divers! We spent the next hour or so practising various combinations of the drills. This one was interesting. Remove the mask, then change over the air supply after disconnecting your BCD hose. Get it all back together. I never took my spare mask but this is also part of the training which I'll do tomorrow. You need to be able to remove the mask, take the spare mask out of your BCD pocket or wherever and then put on the spare mask while holding buoyancy. I also tried removing my BCD but found that a bit more challenging with all the various hoses. Might be a good one for a solo diver to get used to though. Our instructor was observing from afar. No problems.

The confined water portion of your course consisted of randomly practicing drills by yourself while the instructor indirectly supervised.

We were told you need to be able to deploy an SMB as a solo diver. Never use one before. I bought one today with a finger reel and a pressure relief valve. You need to be able to send the bag up from the bottom and then wind your way up to the surface with a reel or finger reel. We'll be doing that drill tomorrow. Getting lost at sea while diving from a boat is more of a risk for solo divers so this is considered important. Ideally get one that seals off so it doesn't deflate if it gets blown over on the surface. It needs a pressure relief valve. It can also help if you lose your BCD buoyancy and don't have a dry suit.

Next step was to ascend. I was able to locate and remove the SMB and reel from the BCD pocket. I'd watched a video last night on how it should be done and this proved helpful. I had a bit of trouble getting air from the regulator into the SMB. It seemed to want to go everywhere except into the SMB. Once it got a bit of air in it though it was off nearly dragging me with it. There is evidentl na bit of a knack to balancing the air in your BCD and the air in the SMB. As I stated winding my way up the chord the line went slack and then I saw the end fall back down with a clip attached. The SMB had unclipped itself and was now on its way to Indonesia. The first loss for the day.

Your instructor told you that deploying an SMB was a necessary skill but didn't teach you to do it, instead he left you to learn it from watching videos.

First dive we did a little circuit with the instructor asking some questions like "Where is the boat?" after we'd swam for a while. He tried to scare us by pressing the purge valve on the regulator we were breathing from and also told me to change over to the IGS. All went well until I found no air coming from the IGS regulator. I'd previously turned the it off to check for leaks. I was able to reach back and turn the isolation valve back on with the instructor staring at me. At least I passed the panic test.

By now the wind had picked up so we sheltered in a protected bay where we had lunch and did our second dive. This next one was a true solo dive. I jumped in and did a circuit around the reefs. Along the way I did some drills like disconnecting the BCD inflator hose and changing my mask over as well as doing some navigation.

The first dive consisted of minimum skills and didn't include anything about air consumption. The second dive only had one evaluated skill, get back to the boat alive. Either you didn't do a very good job describing the course you took or it looks like it was only worth the money if it was really inexpensive. I don't know what the standards are for an SDI Solo Diver course but if it was really conducted the way you have stated, I would wonder if it met those standards.

 

[waterpirate]

Now that you have graduated, will you solo overhead? Danger snark alert! If you had a long hose rig and finger spool, deploying the smb would be a lot easier, and no big deal.
Eric

 

[Foxfish]

Thinking back to some of your observations made in selecting the course, and reading your experiences regarding the confined water session and the open water dives: did you get what you wanted from the training? Was anything a surprise? Was anything a disappointment? Would you recommend the course / instructor to others?>

Thanks for your interest. I was generally happy with the course though in some ways I felt it was something of a formality.

I'd never carried anything in my BCD pockets in the past mainly because I could never see into them and it was such a hassle to find anything. Now I had to be able to reach into the pocket to retrieve a mask or an SMB by touch. I had to be able to take my mask off, reach into the pocket to withdraw the spare mask while maintaining reasonable buoyancy. I had never sent up an SMB before. Now I had to reach into my BCD, find the SMB and send it up. In that sense I did learn something new.

We did little by way of gas planning and navigation. I think there were aspects like that which could have been given more attention on the course. That said, we don't normally use it on our dives, but there are circumstances and other areas where it could be useful.

Anyway, now that I'm a solo diver I can head down to the beach anytime and practise the drills and improve my navigation skills. I was glad to have the course book and intend to review it further in the future.

I liked the instructor. He was friendly and polite. His teaching was clear and well communicated and he seemed competent.

Would I recommend the course. Yes. While some aspects did get glossed over I do think it provides a good start to solo diving.

---------- Post added February 3rd, 2014 at 12:19 AM ----------

Now that you have graduated, will you solo overhead? Danger snark alert! If you had a long hose rig and finger spool, deploying the smb would be a lot easier, and no big deal.
Eric

Fair question. Frankly I'm in two minds on this but it seems likely I will.

 

[Colliam7]

I was generally happy with the course though in some ways I felt it was something of a formality.

I am interested - as an Instrucutor - in the experience of divers who pursue this type of training, irrespective of agency. While I teach an 'alternative', perhaps to some a 'competing' course - the PADI SRD - and I cannot claim specific familiarity with the SDI course, it is nonetheless very useful to learn about the broader student experience. And, YES, I am picking your brain, and NO, I won't send you a check for a consulting fee. But, if you are willing to share a few additional insights, it would be very much appreciated.

I'd never carried anything in my BCD pockets in the past mainly because I could never see into them and it was such a hassle to find anything. Now I had to be able to reach into the pocket to retrieve a mask or an SMB by touch. I had to be able to take my mask off, reach into the pocket to withdraw the spare mask while maintaining reasonable buoyancy.

This is an insightful comment. In the SRD course, as an example, we have the students complete a 'No Mask Swim', which I believe to be a useful training experience. But, your comment suggests to me that we might add a skill, perhaps at the end of the 'No Mask Swim,' which could even be a bit of a game - have the students put 3 objects in a BCD pocket beforehand, and then have them retrieve the objects (with their mask off), in a specific order, to show that they can, by touch, recognize and retrieve objects from a storage pocket (BCD, waist pocket, exposure suit thigh pocket - it doesn't matter). We do not have them do a 'No Mask' SMB deployment in our course at present. But, since they deploy their SMBs multiple times during the course, maybe one of them SHOULD be a 'No Mask' deployment. Thanks for mentioning this.

We did little by way of gas planning and navigation. I think there were aspects like that which could have been given more attention on the course. That said, we don't normally use it on our dives, but there are circumstances and other areas where it could be useful.

That may simply be a reflection of the standards for the SDI course - each agency / course stresses different aspects of the training. I am curious - did you calculate your SAC (surface air consumption) rate during the course, based on actual data? And, were there any specific compass exercises that you were required to complete during the course?

I liked the instructor. He was friendly and polite. His teaching was clear and well communicated and he seemed competent.

You made a point in the first post, about being impressed that the 'Instructor confirmed to have technical training and is supervised by tech diver instructor'. Did you see ways in which that background added to the content / value of your course?

 

[Foxfish]

I am interested - as an Instrucutor - in the experience of divers who pursue this type of training, irrespective of agency. While I teach an 'alternative', perhaps to some a 'competing' course - the PADI SRD - and I cannot claim specific familiarity with the SDI course, it is nonetheless very useful to learn about the broader student experience. And, YES, I am picking your brain, and NO, I won't send you a check for a consulting fee.

But, if you are willing to share a few additional insights, it would be very much appreciated.This is an insightful comment.

All in the name of a good cause.

In the SRD course, as an example, we have the students complete a 'No Mask Swim', which I believe to be a useful training experience. But, your comment suggests to me that we might add a skill, perhaps at the end of the 'No Mask Swim,' which could even be a bit of a game - have the students put 3 objects in a BCD pocket beforehand, and then have them retrieve the objects (with their mask off), in a specific order, to show that they can, by touch, recognize and retrieve objects from a storage pocket (BCD, waist pocket, exposure suit thigh pocket - it doesn't matter). We do not have them do a 'No Mask' SMB deployment in our course at present. But, since they deploy their SMBs multiple times during the course, maybe one of them SHOULD be a 'No Mask' deployment. Thanks for mentioning this.That may simply be a reflection of the standards for the SDI course - each agency / course stresses different aspects of the training.

I agree. Learning how to retrieve the mask and BCD from the BCD pocket was a useful drill and a big step for me. In retrospect, it would have been better to practise deploying the SMB in shallower depths and do this multiple times. The pool wasn't deep enough for this purpose.

I am curious - did you calculate your SAC (surface air consumption) rate during the course, based on actual data?

I did this at home by breathing off the tank while seated prior to the course. SDI differentiate between SAC and SRMV (surface respiratory minute volume). The first being what you do at rest at home in front of the TV, and the second what you do while swimming at depth converted to give a consumption rate of air that reflects your lung capacity. It's a similar rate to SAC but slightly higher due to a diver's activity. The SDI approach is to factor the SAC to account for the expected exertion rate on a dive rather than use the SRMV in the calculation. It would have been helpful for the instructor to go over a few examples like calculating the required size of the pony. Unfortunately I don't think most divers would have picked up how to do this just by doing the course. The instructor did emphasize the rule of thirds.

And, were there any specific compass exercises that you were required to complete during the course?

No we didn't apart from what I previously described. Again the SDI course book goes into some detail on the topic. It is a bit irrelevant for a lot of the diving we do but I don't think it would hurt to develop and practise this skill with some discussion on situations where it is important. I intend to go over some of this in the future myself.

You made a point in the first post, about being impressed that the 'Instructor confirmed to have technical training and is supervised by tech diver instructor'. Did you see ways in which that background added to the content / value of your course?

Yes and no. From my perspective the problem with inexperienced instructors with limited technical knowledge is that they tend to be inflexible and lack perspective on how best to apply what is taught in the text book. That may be because they are following an agency directive. Our instructor came across as being knowledgeable, flexible and mature.

I think he could have pushed us a little more. I don't know what the SDI instructors are required to do, but there was a significant amount of material in the course book we touched on only briefly.

I'd accept that an enthusiastic instructor that knew the course content well, was engaging, that presented the course content clearly and fully would have been equally helpful or better.