SDI Solo Dive Course - March 20th 2008

[Venus]

This report is of my experience only and by reading this it does not qualify you to dive by yourself, and I am not in any way suggesting that you should dive independently or take the SDI Solo Dive course unless you want to (please contact your SDI Solo Dive Instructor)

All through my PADI training the buddy system has been mandatory and imprinted into our brains. ‘if you don’t have a buddy … you don’t dive!’

Why I took the course
Over the last two years I have seen a few flaws in the buddy system:

- it has been quite rare that I have buddied someone with similar levels of diving or needs and wants when we are under the water
- the varying types of kit configuration confuses me no end during the buddy check
- I found that the Dom:Sub characteristics can exist outside of fetish clubs

A few events over the last two years had made me decide to do this SDI Solo course

First, (this is the main reason for the course, in my opinion) I realized that, like with anything, after you had done it for a while you get a little slack and lazy and I needed to relearn things about self preservation and making sure I knew how to get myself to the surface if anything negative happen to me while diving. This is the case if you have a buddy or not

Second, a few weeks ago my buddy called to cancel on me after I had reached the lake so I ended up going home and doing the vacuuming, because I had no-one to dive with

Third, I do a lot of traveling on liveaboards and I didn’t want to be buddied with someone who I was not suited …..
if they wanted to set their deep dive personal best, or
if they wanted to clock a world record in “time to fin around the wreck/ reef”, or
if I thought they were a danger to myself or themselves

On one trip I was the odd person on a boat full of couples and there was no buddy for me, I was at the mercy of the dive masters

Fourth, I have taken up photography and I didn’t want to p!55 off my buddy by making them wait while I took 15 pictures of the same shrimp
when all they were interested in were sharks

Fifth, I’m getting selfish in my old age and I don’t want to be ‘someone’s nursemaid, lifeguard and travel guide

The Course

After completing the paperwork we started to review the theory

Why do you want to take this course?
I answered this pretty much as above, and explained to my instructor, who I had met a few times before:
I am diver who is not interested in squeezing myself into a flooded tunnel for 7 hours or going down to 90 meters with 5 cylinders and a 2 hour deco time and will never dive doubles …. really, never! Not even twin 7s, no matter how comfy you tell me they are

All I wanted was to learn how to look after myself under water and use the ticket to dive the lake on a sunny Saturday when I had nothing planned and I had a couple of hours free or when I am on my trips overseas if the buddy I was assigned to did not work out

Personal requirements:
100 logged dives, over 18 years of age

Equipment requirements:
(this is not the complete list, please refer to your SDI Solo Diving Instructor) dsmb/ reel, redundancy air supply, cutting devices, lights, surface audible signaling device etc

Importance of:
(this is not the complete list, please refer to your SDI Solo Diving Instructor) control, overhead environments, dive planning, when not to solo dive, gas management, emergency situations etc

First dive:
we took a series of air consumption tests
Back in the class room we calculated my SAC at the various activities

Second dive:
navigation
Emergency situations
Gas switching
Buoyancy control
200 meter surface swim

Third dive:
I planned my dive to enter at the jetty at a specified time, navigate to five objects in the water to a maximum depth

I would release my DSMB at the fifth object, ascend to do my stop, ascend to the surface at an agreed dive time and surface swim back to the jetty

As soon as I entered the water I got this feeling of amazing independence and freedom. I looked around and there was no-one there, in fact I had the entire lake to myself, other than the swans
It was 6 degrees in the water and pouring with rain – so that may have had something to do with it – conditions were not ideal

I did not need to keep looking at someone to see if my buddy was still there, were they cold, did they want to get out, were they bored with swimming round and round the same little fishing boat that I found so fascinating

I could do what ever I wanted so long as I didn’t go into an overhead environment, kept to my depth limit and I came out of the water when I told the instructor that I would

Summary
I found this course really useful
I learned things that I had not known, there was re-enforcement/ revision of items that I had overlooked/ forgotten over the years and we discussed at length the risks associate with diving generally and independent diving

[Mal Bridgeman]

Interesting perspective .... not my cup of tea....but thanks for sharing.
Mal

[Sixsquid]

Nice succinct report

Originally Posted by Venus

I am diver who is not interested in squeezing myself into a flooded tunnel for 7 hours or going down to 90 meters with 5 cylinders and a 2 hour deco time and will never dive doubles …. really, never! Not even twin 7s, no matter how comfy you tell me they are

Right, I predict that within 2 years from now you'll be eating those words and I shall be sure to print them off, add tabasco and feed them to you

Originally Posted by Venus

- I found that the Dom:Sub characteristics can exist outside of fetish clubs

So you decided satisfying yourself was easiest
Reckon you might have a point

[Steve S]

Excellent report Venus I found my buddy/diving skills improved no end when I became self reliant.

Safe diving,
Steve

[Sipadan]

Nice report, I'm almost tempted and I promised myself no more courses

Green incoming.

Originally Posted by Venus

As soon as I entered the water I got this feeling of amazing independence and freedom. I looked around and there was no-one there, in fact I had the entire lake to myself, other than the swans...

I did not need to keep looking at someone to see if my buddy was still there, were they cold, did they want to get out, were they bored with swimming round and round the same little fishing boat that I found so fascinating

You've just reminded me how much I like diving solo

[Kev]

Very interesting stuff. I think diving solo would scare the life out of me!

[Sipadan]

Originally Posted by Kev

Very interesting stuff. I think diving solo would scare the life out of me!

not half as much as some of the people i've buddied with

[Mark Chase]

Nice report, well done for doing the course.

Solo and CCR dont mix well, but when I was doing OC I promised my self id do this course for life insurance reasions.

I loved diving solo, I found it both relaxing and liberating. Once I had developed a solo mentality, I found I quickly developed a level of confidance in the water miles above where I was before.

It is surprising at first to realise just how much faith your putting in your buddy and how complacent that makes you. Once your on your own you quickly develop a more cautious aproach to all aspects of diving. Preporation and exicution of the dive were instantly much more important. Why this is I have no idea? It shouldent be, it just is.

ATB

Mark

[Kev]

"not half as much as some of the people i've buddied with"

Well, I have been there, done that and know exactly what you mean. A bad buddy is a liability.

That said, experiences of crap buddies have driven me towards finding divers with better buddy skills rather than giving up on the buddy system. For me its not the answer to dive solo but to find and develop buddies that care instead. A good buddy is worth their weight in gold and I would not be without one.

[Ant P]

Originally Posted by Venus

Fourth, I have taken up photography and I didn’t want to p!55 off my buddy by making them wait while I took 15 pictures of the same shrimp
when all they were interested in were sharks

While this is true to an extent - having a good buddy is even better as they are able to point other things out to you while you are focused on your shot. Of course that relies on a buddy who is happy being a spotter. Dive guides are quite good at that to be fair. I think the worst combo are two photographers together, as you'll often look up and your buddy will be 30m away


Cheers, a