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Is limited solo diving completely insane for a new diver?

Discussion in 'Solo Divers' started by HeliMech, Feb 5, 2018.

  1. tursiops

    tursiops Marine Scientist and Master Instructor ScubaBoard Supporter

    # of Dives: 2,500 - 4,999
    Location: U.S. East Coast
    Perfect. Tell your Deep instructor you want to use a pony.
    ScubaWithTurk likes this.
  2. HeliMech

    HeliMech Nassau Grouper

    # of Dives: 50 - 99
    Location: Whitehorse, Yukon - land of very little diving
    Great idea. I'm embarrassed that I didn't think of the obvious. Thank you. I'll do that for sure.
  3. northernone

    northernone Great White Rest in Peace

    # of Dives: 1,000 - 2,499
    Location: Currently: Cozumel, from Canada
    Glad to hear it!
  4. markmud

    markmud Self Reliant Diver--On All Dives. ScubaBoard Supporter

    # of Dives: 200 - 499
    Location: South Lebanon, Ohio
    Hi OP,

    You should never solo dive unless you have 100 logged dives and a Solo/Self-Reliant/Independent diver cert!!

    However, my second dive from OW was a solo dive. I think my 3rd and 4th dives were solo dives. They were in a benign lake with a hard bottom at 35 ffw. 40 feet of visibility and 65 degree water temp.

    I practiced skills trained in my OW class.

    Start gradually in benign conditions and work your way to more difficult diving.

    Get more training as you alluded to above (deep diver cert.)

    Don't let the SCUBA police catch you!

    I hope you enjoy this sport as much as I have.

    T Mogle and Jordan Trotter like this.
  5. mdax

    mdax Solo Diver

    # of Dives: 500 - 999
    Location: High Springs, FL
    The advice to get 100 dives before solo is pretty good.
    You can accelerate this learning by paying for instruction, find a solo friendly instructor, pay them to learn.

    You need a redundant gas supply.
    I'd recommend starting with a 40cu ft stage, pay someone to train you on slinging and utilization.

    imo solo divers need to have a spare mask, shears, redundant gas supply and do at least an hour of cardio a week.
    Even still, if you dive alone you need to be ok with dying alone.
    You need to have proper life insurance for those you'll leave behind.

    I've been solo diving primarily for 30 years. Things are way less spicy nowadays, proper equipment and instruction help, experience also helps...but there have been some damn close calls along the way that shape my advice.
    You can choose to take or leave it. Have fun, good luck.
    Jordan Trotter and Blindsided like this.
  6. divad

    divad Solo Diver


    Everyone dies alone......no matter how many people are around.
  7. drbill

    drbill The Lorax for the Kelp Forest Scuba Legend

    # of Dives: 2,500 - 4,999
    Location: Santa Catalina Island, CA
    Hard to make a well-informed response even given your OP. For me one of the most important qualifications is how you respond to emergency situations. If you panic, I'd say no. If you face them with a clear head and address the issue, I'd say possibly.

    Most of my dives from the very start back in the early 1960s have been solo. Initially it was because we only had one kit and had to share it. Later it was largely due to my film work underwater.
    markmud, Bob DBF and JamesBon92007 like this.
  8. divad

    divad Solo Diver

    If you're prone to panic, you should do yourself, your potential buddy, your family etc. a favor and STOP diving.
    rjack321, Bierstadt and markmud like this.
  9. Jayfarmlaw

    Jayfarmlaw Divemaster

    # of Dives: 200 - 499
    Location: Tuttle, Ok
    I'm a firm believer that everyone dives alone as well, even with most buddies.

  10. Landstander

    Landstander Solo Diver

    While it's likely too early to be an option in your case, one of the instructors (who was absolutely fantastic, by the way) from my local dive shop let me audit the PADI Self Reliant course when I was somewhere in the 55-60 dive range. As you speculated, they held off issuing the card until I reached the requirement of 100 logged dives. So this may well be an option once you'e got more dives under your belt.

    The impression I got was that it's entirely at the instructor's discretion whether or not they'll allow someone to audit the course. I was fairly well known to the shop/instructors by that point, and had recently completed a class with that specific instructor, both of which may well have improved my chances.

    I'm speculating a bit here, but it's likely also at the instructors discretion whether they simply hold your card, or require you to take the class again "for real" after you reach 100 dives... especially if the initial performance wasn't completely satisfactory. I'd recommend inquiring about that before you make the commitment, just to ensure that you aren't caught by surprise later.

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