From the moment scuba diving training begins, several well-recognized mantras are drilled into coursework and diving exercises:

Don’t hold your breath

Check your pressure gage

Don’t dive alone

The seasoned diver knows these tenets well, so the concept of a Solo Diver course may seem contradictory or entirely out of one’s reach. One recent poll asked a community of divers about their most valuable training course, and a majority firmly voted for their self-reliant training. This training does not encourage actually diving by yourself, but teaches divers to truly be “ready for anything”!

So what is this training all about? 

Here at Roctopus Pro we don’t advocate completely independent diving. Even given the global safety record of scuba diving – the number of accidents falls well below other activities, from sky diving to hiking to driving in a car – when issues do arise it’s too often it’s directly because of complacency or unpreparedness of the diver to handle emergency situations. 

As a diver there are a variety of scenarios in which you may find yourself at a distance away from the rest of the group, or you may be buddied-up with new and inexperienced divers who are still focusing on their own personal development, not yet having mastered the skills involved with problem solving. In such cases, self-reliance training shines through.

All divers benefit from pointed self-reliance training – some of our past alumni include:

• Photographers and videographers – while documenting a group of divers, underwater photographers often find themselves focused on capturing the perfect shot of marine life, which may cause them to venture further away from the group than is considered safe by recreational standards
• Marine conservationists – while working on conservation projects like surveys, restoration, and net removal, the focused conservation divers can – like the photographers – become easily separated underwater
• Dive professionals – many of our Divemasters and Instructors find themselves diving with very inexperienced divers who are not confident in their own buddy rescue skills
• Dive travelers – the sheer variety of diving around the world – from currents to caves, wreck penetration to dense kelp forests, UV night diving to ever-increasing depths – means there are always new experiences awaiting and opportunities to advance your dive training. These incredible new environments bring added risk to your diving, however – and that’s where your self-reliance training comes in to ensure your safety, confidence, and comfort exploring all the oceans have to offer!
• Tech enthusiasts – this training is perfect for divers interested in advancing their experience to include technical specialties, like diving at deeper depths or in enclosed environments like cave systems. These self-reliant skills are an absolute necessity to be able to confidently smash these incredible training courses!

What to expect

Training your self-reliance in scuba diving involves an honest review of the risks associated with such specialized diving experiences, focusing on the importance of equipment redundancy and emergency procedures. Just like the rescue skills learned during introductory diving courses, the hope is that you’ll never have to use them! But the skill development and intensive review aims to improve diver confidence all-around, psychologically preparing divers for increasingly exciting dive opportunities.

The self-reliant diver is skilled in:

• Planning gas requirements
• Understanding how to measure and use their personal Surface Air Consumption rate
• Using specialized safety gear like sling tanks
• Preparation with spare equipment
• Analysing and preparing for the risks involved with new diving environments

Learn more! 

Every dive is a solo dive