Views on solo diving?

[frosty the snowman]

I have no problems with it and have done many times providing I knew I had the right equipment, the right conditions, the right experience and most importantly the right frame of mind.

[Cussy]

Underwater photographer - need I say anymore?

[Steve Summers]

I dive solo on occasions and love the freedom of only having to be responsible for myself, that said it is as much a mindset as it is equipment.

A lot of it is common sense but if you are going to do it go through every possible scenario you can think of and plan for that, you have to be able to sort out any difficulties yourself [stating the bleeding obvious ] so if you have any doubts don't do it, AIUI TDI do a solo diver course, which should cover you insurance wise. I did my first solo dive on the Vera at Cley next the sea Norfolk at the giddy depth of 5.5m and it was stunning.

Be aware though inland sites like Stoney will ban you if they catch you solo so you won't be able to 'practice' there.

Good luck.

Safe diving,
Steve

[Digger]

If you're just buying you first cylinder then yes, go ahead and solo dive. Maximum depth 1m so you can stand up if you have a problem. Deeper than that and you are entering a load of risks you probably haven't considered.

To solo dive you need a completely different mindset to a typical single tank diver. You need to plan your gear, your dive, your surface support, your problem solving potential.

Basically there's a course to do it. Unless you are much further down the road than you are now I would do the course.

If your problem is being short of a buddy, post on here. You'll never have the problem again. If you want to be on your own on a dive, then practice with someone else until you are completely confident of being able to complete a dive safely despite all of the common failures. Anyone who has had a freeflow will tell you it is not fun, and takes a bit of effort to survive. Others will tell you they had one and relied ona buddy at some stage, even for moral support!

Either that or dive with me and Juz. We'll happily piss off and leave you and each other at the bottom of the shot

Digs.

[pieater]

To see if you like it, go and dive Trefor pier (or similar) first.

I'm going to do it this year. Yes, 4 hours under Trefor pier on a rebreather. I will photograph absolutely everything. Twice. Without feeling guilty about spoiling someone else's dive.

Bliss.

[deepbull]

i never dive solo as the is always someone else in the sea somewhere



ada

[Colin Marriott]

Yeah . . .

There doesn't seem to be a solo divers club anywhere,

Y'know, where solo divers could meet up and dive togeth.......

oh yeah, I see . . .



ColinM

[colinicky]

Originally Posted by Digger

If you're just buying you first cylinder then yes, go ahead and solo dive. Maximum depth 1m so you can stand up if you have a problem. Deeper than that and you are entering a load of risks you probably haven't considered.

To solo dive you need a completely different mindset to a typical single tank diver. You need to plan your gear, your dive, your surface support, your problem solving potential.

Basically there's a course to do it. Unless you are much further down the road than you are now I would do the course.

If your problem is being short of a buddy, post on here. You'll never have the problem again. If you want to be on your own on a dive, then practice with someone else until you are completely confident of being able to complete a dive safely despite all of the common failures. Anyone who has had a freeflow will tell you it is not fun, and takes a bit of effort to survive. Others will tell you they had one and relied ona buddy at some stage, even for moral support!

Either that or dive with me and Juz. We'll happily piss off and leave you and each other at the bottom of the shot

Digs.

One of his best posts ! As he said though 100% agree .

[stevechesh]

Originally Posted by The Duck

Solo diving? Don't do it you'll die horribly

Really, only an idiot would dive solo.





Ok the above maybe not quite true - I dive more often solo than with a buddy (and no that is not an invitations for posts saying that confirms the bit about an idiot! )

You solo this weekend Paul ?









yeah, me too

[Arfie]

I personally think it's a bad idea unles you are a very experienced and proficient diver (rules me out then!).

Having said that, I though the report Venus did of her solo course was interesting HERE and could make you a better diver all round.

Arfie