Solo Diving

[eddie the pink]

I have noticed, many references to solo diving on this site, and as new divers we are always advised to always dive with a buddy, now I live smack bang in front of the med
and right in front of my house is a small cove with a flat bottom depth of 15 to 20 feet having very little current movement, nothing spectacular, but ideal for practice dives, I am pritty convinced and confident, that nothing could trouble me here, and should I have a problem, I could assend "ooa" with ease. so the big question would it be fool hardy to take such a chance alone, or is this something many people do ?

 

[Tigerman]

I suggest taking this over to the solo divers section of the board before you you catch fire..

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

This is really for you to decide. You evaluate the risks and take the consequences. Of course if you have not dove your cove before you do not know what you do not know. So taking a buddy to check things out first might be a good idea.

 

[eddie the pink]

Thanks so far, but with respect will the solo divers not say go for it ? I am looking for responses from both sides of the coin so that I can make a reasonabe decision.
And sorry but I forgot to mention I have snorkeled this cove many times.

 

[Tigerman]

Thanks so far, but with respect will the solo divers not say go for it ? I am looking for responses from both sides of the coin so that I can make a reasonabe decision.
And sorry but I forgot to mention I have snorkeled this cove many times.

As I said, you should take this over to the solo divers section of the board for several different reasons. The two most important being that this is not as simple a question as it sounds, plus the fact that this is a highly flamable topic that you might want to be able to speak a bit more freely about than what you usually can in the general sections of the board..

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/solo-divers/

 

[capt. dave]

Interesting--I am a licensed US Coast Guard Captain with two months OW certification and experience. I can speak more from a boating perspective than diving at this point. Never take for granted conditions that seem constant, easy and "nothing could trouble you". There is ALWAYS something that could happen, and I have seen it all. The advantage is with boating is that there are more people on top of the water that could help than below. That being said, my dive master told me many stories of close calls and paying the ultimate price. It made me think twice of what I can do vs. what I think I can do. You should read Diver Down and also the "Life Lessons" and get a feel for various situations that go south rather quickly. Many of these stories were just bad decisions.....

 

[DPJ]

Thanks so far, but with respect will the solo divers not say go for it ? I am looking for responses from both sides of the coin so that I can make a reasonabe decision.
And sorry but I forgot to mention I have snorkeled this cove many times.

As noted, that would be the best place for the question, as you will get many people with experience in the area responding.

That shallow of depth is probably safe, the risk is when you decide to go out a little farther and a little deeper.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Thanks so far, but with respect will the solo divers not say go for it ? I am looking for responses from both sides of the coin so that I can make a reasonabe decision.
And sorry but I forgot to mention I have snorkeled this cove many times.

They won't tell you to to go for it just because they solo dive. Most of the solo divers who post there carefully weighed the pros and cons and then got the training and equipment needed to to it safely.

Which IS what they will tell you - go for it if you have the skills, training and equipment to do it safely. If you do not, they can help you figure out what you need to do to get to that point.

PM me if you want me to move the thread. You really will get better responses there and you will not get burned at the stake for heresy as could occur here.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I have noticed, many references to solo diving on this site, and as new divers we are always advised to always dive with a buddy, now I live smack bang in front of the med
and right in front of my house is a small cove with a flat bottom depth of 15 to 20 feet having very little current movement, nothing spectacular, but ideal for practice dives, I am pritty convinced and confident, that nothing could trouble me here, and should I have a problem, I could assend "ooa" with ease. so the big question would it be fool hardy to take such a chance alone, or is this something many people do ?

Eddie ... as with any sort of diving, it's important to understand the risks and weigh them against the benefits of the dive.

Generally we advise against new divers solo diving, because it's so easy to not recognize a developing problem until it becomes an emergency ... due to a lack of experience and context that would enable you to understand what is happening.

To explain ... the vast majority of dive accidents occur due to a chain of events. Break the chain at any point and the accident doesn't happen. The trick is recognizing what the chain can lead to ... and what the appropriate response should be. And that comes with experience.

Confidence has little to do with it ... I've known a few very confident divers who were injured or killed doing dives they were quite comfortable doing.

Solo diving incurs greater risks than buddy diving ... and therefore requires more forethought and planning before you ever enter the water.

I've written an article that may help explain things in more detail. If you click on the link in my signature (at the bottom of this reply), click the Articles tab, and click the article titled "Oh, solo ... me? Oh!" you can read the article. It might give you some things to consider, or even trigger some more useful questions about the advisability of diving solo.

FWIW - I do occasionally solo dive. And I enjoy those dives quite a lot. The trick is to be prepared ... which involves proper equipment, skills, and mentality.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Eddie: The reason for taking this to the solo section is that you are more likely to get responses from divers who do solo dive on a regular basis. The answers may be similar, but you should get less of the "You are gonna die!" statements. You will get answers from divers who have had to answer the same questions for themselves that you are now thinking about, but more important, they may pose some questions for you to consider thay you have not thought about.

What ever you do, go slow, be careful, stay shallow, stay close to the entry/exit point when you are first starting.

Safe Diving!