Solo diving

[MXGratefulDiver]

Ok I still consider myself a newbie to diving. 49 dives at the moment. I can see how solo diving can be relaxing. Sort of the same as a long lonley walk in the forest or along the beach. I don't think I'd really consider it for sometime yet until I feel 100% ready for it.

Good decision. I am at the point where maybe half my dives are solo, and I enjoy it immensely. But it still worries me when I see new divers talking about solo diving. It's not something one should take lightly. I think the most important skill for solo diving is the ability to make good decisions ... and for most people that comes from lots of hours of real-world experience.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[ianr33]

<hijack>

Open-water deco dives are "virtual" overhead dives, requiring the use of the strict rule of thirds just like cave dives.

</hijack>

If I am using one deco gas then I plan the dive so I can do deco on backgas in the event of a problem with the deco tank.

I prefer to plan with numbers and SAC rates rather than totally arbitrary "thirds"

 

[Coldwater_Canuck]

I don't dive solo yet, but I plan to in easy locations once I'm more confident in my abilities.

While I don't really buy people saying they are "safer without a buddy" (although there are valid arguments for this, I'm not sure they outweigh those against), I think a competent diver solo in easy conditions is relatively safe.

 

[Walter]

I don't really buy people saying they are "safer without a buddy"

Most dive accidents are the result of human error. Everyone makes mistakes, but very experienced divers with a cautious mindset make fewer than other divers. If such a diver is diving with another such diver, they are the safest it's possible to be while diving. If he's diving with a typical diver, he's more likely to be involved in a diving accident (probably as a rescuer) than if he were diving alone. When you are involved in an accident (even as a rescuer), you are less safe than if you are not involved in an accident. I can see where a select group of divers (assuming excellent health) are safer diving solo than diving with most buddies.

 

[Soggy_Diver]

One consideration in solo diving is life insurance policy. The life insurance that I have through work allows scuba diving, with no extra cost. But there is a list of activities that policy holders are not to participate in, so that we are basically limited to ordinary recreational diving. As I recall off-hand, these are: no solo diving, no cave diving, no decompression diving, and a depth limit, 120 feet I think. I don't know whether they offer some alternative for divers who are specifically qualified for these activities.

 

[Walter]

Most insurance policies have limitations for the first year they are in force. In fact, most life insurance policies will even pay for suicide after the first year.

 

[Byte Me]

I solo in the lake we live on "often" and am totally comfortable doing so. However, if it were someplace new that I hadn't been to before and didn't know my way around that would change my mind or limit the amount of exploring I'd do. Last year my wife (who doesn't dive) and I were trying to figure out where to go on a dive trip. Narrowed it to a few spots including Bonaire and CoCo View in Roatan. Ended up at CCV because of what I had read about Bonaire's diving being a lot of shore dive and my (possibly totally unfounded) concern that I may have trouble finding a buddy and not knowing the areas down there - never having been there before. By the 2nd day at CCV I had become familiar enough with the "front yard" that I would have had no issue at all going to the Prince Albert, Newman's or CoCo View wall completely on my own and finding my way back home. So I guess for me, I'm comfortable enough in my abilities that I'd happily further explore an area that I'm pretty familiar with or where I've assessed the risks to be manageable given my experience.

But in a situation where I haven't been to that site before or if it's a drift dive or where I've got to find a boat I'd rather concentrate on enjoying the dive and leave the "guiding" to a DM or someone who is familiar with the site.

By the way - CCV was awesome!!

 

[Smiling Armina]

is so nice, though.

 

[tropitan]

I was surprised to learn nearly 40% of you prefer to dive solo. I love my solo dives, but sharing is a big part of the attraction for me.

 

[farsidefan1]

My second dive trip was to CCV. I was single at the time and on the drop off dives although I was part of a "group" I was really diving solo. after several days of this I decided to do a night dive on the PA. I had been there with Doc(roatan man) the night before but by the time I was ready to go he was already back. Off I went - probably dive #30. had a great time but as I was looking under the wreck the thought occured to me I was 64 feet down, alone and at night, what the he,, was I doing? I finished up in the shallower water but the next day I was at it again. I do my diving in tropical areas and I'm not overly aggressive. Since then I married a great dive buddy but sometimes I need a dive when she is doing something else (like going to Japan to visit her daughter). I am simply very comfortable diving tropical waters - day or night alone. I do not have a pony bottle but my gear is in excellent condition and I get it serviced regularly. And after service I always dive it in a pool since I have heard that most failures occur immediately after servicing. I dive a more conservative profile when alone than when following a DM. I prefer diving with my wife. We have about 50 dives together now and she is getting very comfortable underwater as well. We know what the other is thinking most of the time (yeah, I'm thinking about sex a lot lol). We are to the point where it is no burden to keep track of each other. Before we dive we know where we are heading and what the objective is. It is just easy. But when she can't make it I'll make some effort to get a buddy but if it isn't easy I'm just not worried about it.