Demystifing Solo Diving

[@ALwinDigital]

Most of the dives I do these days are solo dives. I don't have time to find buddies or share the same schedule with other divers, so it's just convenient for me to go do a dive on my own. Plus, I can dive my own plan and focus on the things I want to do during a dive.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello @ALwinDigital, that is the main reason we enjoy solo diving as well. We can run our own dives.

[@jonnieinbangkok]

Unless you're always diving with the same close friend, with similar levels of skill and experience, you're always solo diving. My dive buddy is a 2.7 liter pony bottle!

[@CorrupteddSanity]

Depending on how deep your dives are - the 30 cu. ft (4.3 liter) is not much bigger than your 2.7. I know, because I had a 2.7.

[@jonnieinbangkok]

@@CorrupteddSanity You're point being...other than stating the obvious?

[@CorrupteddSanity]

@@jonnieinbangkok consider moving to a 30cu ft because the gains massively outweigh the added size.

[@jonnieinbangkok]

@@CorrupteddSanity I'm a solo certified recreational diver...never deeper than 35m. The 2.7L/19 cubic ft. size of my second cylinder is the perfect size pony bottle for me; it allows me to reach the surface from the deepest point of any dive with a safety stop. It gives me a completely redundant air source should anything happen to my primary one. But thanks for the input and keep on diving 😁

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello Jonnie Bangkok, you make a great point, and a legitimate reason to always carry redundant gas with you.

[@Standingbear56]

NE wreck diving is mostly same day, same ocean, so you need to be a self sufficient diver to maximize your and your buddy's safety. That being said, it's also a good idea to dive any site with a buddy until you are totally familiar with it before attempting to solo dive it, as you were with this location.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

All very true statements @Standingbear56.

[@davewme]

I got my solo for added safety, as well, as to be allowed on “cattle boats” when i am not traveling with a dive buddy. Not diving alone, just by myself. I always find people to hang with on the ride out.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello davewme, a lot of our solo students here in the area do it for the same reason.

[@CorrupteddSanity]

For me, solo diving was analogous to pilot training. Before I started solo diving, I had about 500 dives - of which 200 were in the past 2.5 years. Diving with a buddy was akin to a pilot training and being test on a simulator. In the back of your mind, you can reset the simulator and start over. The first time that pilot flies in the skies was like the first time you dive solo. No joke. Theres no reset button. Just you. Since then, I have approximately 100 solo dives. Along with my spare mask, 30 cu.ft of 40% nitrox. I have called 3 solo dives - no malfunctions or anything. Things were of. Either unexpected tide or we were dropped off slightly away from where we usually descend. I have also decided not to solo dives half a dozen times because either I wasn't feeling it or the dive site was new to me. I am generally weary of open-ocean and/or deep dives (where the floor bed is deeper than 40 meters). While it is liberating in every sense of the way, theres a lot of risk you need to be aware of and come to terms with.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us hedonist222. And you make a great point on knowing when to call a dive.

[@kitzyowo1319]

Nothing wrong with calling a dive, can always dive another time!

[@2fathomsdeeper]

Used to dive solo quite a bit until blastomycosis cut my scuba days short. NASDS trained. Solo, I never go deeper than I know I can do an OOA emergency ascent from, and overheads are a no-go. Ran with an 80 and 30 as backup. Still snorkel/freedive quite a bit. There's quite a bit of good stuff near the surface that you don't need scuba for!

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello 2fathomsdeeper, sorry to hear that you can no longer dive, but glad to know you can still snorkel and freedive. I agree, there is so much to see at shallower depths, sometimes divers in general forget that, and they simply want to see how deep they can go. Unfortunately, they miss so much.

[@borikennautical6649]

Hi sir! great video! Next time you come to Florida blue grotto I would like to dive with you if is possible! I live around 20 from blue grotto! Keep up the good work sir!

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello Boriken Nautical, I was actually there back in early November, and my dad and another one of our Instructors led a trip there last weekend.

[@borikennautical6649]

@@LakeHickoryScuba super! I live around 20 minutes from blue grotto. will be awesome to dive with you sir! I am a advance diver 20 years of experience 😊😊.Safe and responsible diver.

[@NormaTLeon]

I just ran into this video and I love it!! I solo Dive in shallow water as the visibility where I live can lead you to spend most of your time searching for your buddy than enjoying a dive or dealing with someone else’s control issues. So unless I have a good, chill, experienced diver, I go solo Shore Diving. I am a better safe than sorry girl, so I always keep it under 30ft and I know my limits, so I call my Dive without hesitation if need be.. As a previous commenter stated, I would like to do the Rescue Diver class prior to taking the independent diver class..

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello @NormaTLeon, thank you for sharing your experience with us. The Rescue Diver course is a great course to help build confidence and to furture your knowledge as a diver.

[@AT_Diving]

My first solo dive was my 19th dive. I had no buddy for the 2nd dive of the day, so I went alone on a shallow round. That was in 2007 and since then I became more and more into self reliant diving. Now it is my preferred way of scuba, unless a good and familliar buddy is there. I did the self reliant diver course in 2019 just to verify my skills and get a cert for some dive centers. Your video is very good and reflects the realm of solo diving.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello Andre Frank Nikisch, glad you liked the video. You make a great point. The Solo Diver Course is a great way to verify a diver's skill set.

[@TommyBedley]

Very cool video. Brings back a lot of memories! As a public safety diver from Georgia, I've spent a lot of days in those muddy lakes training. Now all my diving is done in southwest Florida! I also solo dive majority of the time. It comes natural to me from diving with the Fire Service. Even though another diver was in the water making passes near me, I was alone. The Fire Service in general has made me a better solo diver. If you're ever in Venice, Florida, you got a spot on my boat brother! We'll go dive some wrecks and spear some fish!

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello Tommy Bedley, thank you for the invite. Hopefully, I can take you up on it one day. Its always good to chat and dive with a fellow Public Safety Diver.

[@elitegoodguy]

I was told by multiple SSI diveshops that SSI has a Solo cert (independent diving) however it does not have course materials. One told me that there wasn't material for it so I needed to go elsewhere and once I got the card from PADI/SDI they would give me a SSI Independent Diving Cert. Another told me that they would teach the SDI material but give me a SSI card. I'm only about 3 hours NE from your diveshop. I ended up going to a SDI shop and getting my Solo Cert there.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello Chris Bateson, the SSI Independent Diver course is very similar to many of the other training agencies solo courses. SSI does allow Specialty Instructors that hold Instructor certifications from other agencies to use that agency's curriculum to teach a specialty course. A specialty Instructor can also write his or her own curriculm and get approval from SSI to be used during training. In our case, I do have material from SSI to teach the Independent Diver course (and Independent Diver Instructor course), and curriculums from 4 other agencies as well (as I am also an Instructor for other agencies as well). I use a combination of all 5 curriculums to teach the Independent diver course.

[@elitegoodguy]

@@LakeHickoryScuba thank you for the response! Like I mentioned I already have the SDI Solo Diver now so that's not needed but you're right around the corner so I may stop by for some other training sometime. Love the channel keep up the great work!

[@975ems]

I have been diving solo for 15 years, the only time I have been in a precarious situation was while diving in Cancun with a guy who did his open water follow by his advanced back to back, (I wish I knew that before they pair us). On Saturday I did dive with a guy testing his new set of doubles, while I was diving a single tank, shipwreck in the North Atlantic, so depending in your level of training and comfort both are valid options.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us Ragael Del-Razo. The North Atlantic has some amazing wreck diving as well.

[@Raybrienza]

Bryan, Good video. I glad I found it. I am a Solo Diving Instructor - (SSI and SDI/TDI) and have not done a solo class in a while. Just seeing what other good instructors are doing. Thank you ray SSI#4612

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Glad you liked the video Ray Brienza.

[@ramytk1]

Great video. I have a little more training I need before I am ready for this, but after I complete my Dive Master cert. this is next. Not so much to just be able to dive solo, but the training teaches you more about situational awareness.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello Ramy, you make a great point. This class definitely teaches a diver to have more situational awareness during a dive.

[@freedomwanderer]

Great video. This is one of the main videos I watched when looking in Self-Reliant diving. I got certified Self-Reliant this past fall and I am grateful I did. Thanks for sharing your knowledge on the subject.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Glad you liked the video @freedomwanderer91, and congratulations on earning your solo certification.

[@thesollylama130]

I dive solo fairly often. Mostly I do it for gear shakedowns or to practice various skills like line running. I limit myself to fresh water (no tides or current), and usually fairly shallow. Although I have dived alone in the Caribbean a few times as well. Strangely, the dive shop didn't bat an eye when I trudged out to the beach alone. I am a sidemount diver so I don't use a pony bottle but when I did backmount I always had one when I was alone. Keep dives simple, and even though I am diving alone someone always knows that I am diving and where. Other times I might have someone in a boat above. By far my biggest fear is entanglement. Lots of monofilament in lakes. I carry two cutting devices always whether I am alone or with a buddy. Also the line to my dive flag. It's easy to get it wrapped around fins or a first stage because you can't hand it off to someone if you need to deal with a problem. Having one hand basically useless holding a flag reel is a hassle if you need both hands. I don't even try to bring a camera solo. You can consider it a form of tec-diving. The need for training, skill, and equipment is high. You have to be supremely confident in your skills and your dive plan. Believe me, the fact that you are alone is NEVER more apparent than underwater.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

You make all great points TheSollyLama, thank you for sharing.

[@tazccl]

Great video I am a SSI instructor and would like to take the solo class to teach it. For some reason I can't find the course in SSI. I will have to get with the owner at the dive shop, I think it would be a good class to teach. You might get paired up with someone you don't know and you would need to take care of your self so this would be a good class to have.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello tazccl, we agree, the SSI Independent course is a great course for any dive professional, and has so much benefit.

[@williamdriver2919]

I agree with you in part about solo diving. But the truth for me I am all alone in this world.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello William Driver, sorry to hear that you are all alone. Hopefully, you will be able to find you a dive buddy. If not, come visit us, I will go diving with you.

[@ronniek.5553]

25:52 you have that bolt snap permanently attached to that reel? I'm not an instructor but I think you should that tied off with a line instead on permanently attached to that reel Tackeling

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello Ronnie K, the reel I used in the video is from XS Scuba, and it comes with the bolt snap pre-attached. We produced a video several years ago showing you how to attach a bolt snap to an accessory item. Feel free to check it out. Hope it helps. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iai8iHaHrLV1sLs

[@ronniek.5553]

@@LakeHickoryScuba Wasn't meaning any harm! Hello from Newfoundland Canada.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

None taking. Like you, I prefer to tie on my own bolt snaps primarily because I can choose the size I need for the accessory item. This reel just happened to have one pre-attached, so I didn’t see a need to remove it just to add a new one. The links you shared are great links by the way, I follow ISE here on KZbin as well. He has some great content as well.

[@albertbell7120]

That suit looks the biz … I have the Whites suit trying to talk myself into a new dry suit … love your video’s 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Glad you like the video @albertbell7120. The Scuba Force suits are top quality.

[@charlesdean1542]

Good job 👍

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Thank you Charles Dean.

[@souswes]

Just finished SDI solo diver. Great course. Looks like SSI operates the same in terms of redundancy, IE diving on doubles or in SM counts as carrying a redundant air source. Do you use the rule of 1/3rds for your redundant gas supply? Or do you give yourself a little extra to be more conservative?

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello souswes, you are correct the SDI and SSI courses are very similar. To answer your question, for all dives, I plan using the rule of thirds, even if I carry redundant gas. Typically, when I'm teaching say an Open Water course, my rule of thirds is my redundant gas source. However, if I am diving solo (by definitition alone), with out a student or buddy, then I will plan by using the rule of thirds, but execute the dive more conservatively, and I will always carry redundant gas. There are of course the exceptions, which you can see in a lot of our search and recovery videos, where I will do a search in water less than 20 feet in open water. Typically, I never carry redundant gas for these dives.

[@MUCKFOOT399]

I only dive alone. I'm crazy 🤪

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Aren't we all MUCHFOOT

[@WOODY11780]

I am a certified SSI Solo Diver .

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

That is great to hear WOODY W. Constantly practice the skills you learned and stay safe.

[@OffroadTrucker740]

is a redundant air source really necessary for solo diving?

[@jmcguire42081]

Yes if you like breathing.

[@davidreid5328]

If you have to ask this question you don’t need to be diving solo.

[@OffroadTrucker740]

last time i checked i didnt ask either one of you.

[@TommyBedley]

Ryan, I would be lying to you if I said I've always had a pony bottle on me while solo diving. I would go down the anchor line and spear fish while my buddies were fishing off the back of the boat. Did so for years. I thank God nothing ever happened to me to need a backup air supply. Now adays I don't get in the water without it! Is $300-$500 worth your life? Stay safe brother.

[@davidreid5328]

@@OffroadTrucker740 and you posted it on the internet dumbass

[@revtechmarine]

...OK OK OK.. Maybe because my original training was a little hardcore so to speak..But a dive buddy in my opinion Should be looked at as nothing more Then a redundant air sorce that following you around.. and Every single Dive Is is a solo dive . That being said I love my dive wife. But I certainly wouldn't trust her To save my life for her is fat matter.. And even if you have somebody on your level Is planning your dive as if they didn't exist Would only make you a better spare air if tables get turner

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello Rev Tech Marine, I have to admit, you are 100% correct. This being said, some of my most memorable dives have been with you and your wife. Looking forward to diving with y'all very soon.

[@theoutdoorchannel9283]

You can go solo diving who said you couldnt ? Your best bet is to go shore diving where its 5ft - 8ft only !

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello The Outdoor Channel, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.

[@theoutdoorchannel9283]

@@LakeHickoryScuba welcome