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Jax

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"Stolen" from our very own pdellony --

Shout out to the everyone who dives Vista Point: Today was busy--lots of open water classes so the vis in the shallows was misty per se. However, the vis in the deeps was on average, 30-40 feet and the temps were 52 degrees.

With the water way up and the air temps busting 80's use of VP is way up. Today, a pair of open water divers debated removing an AL40 deco bottle tied off to one of the lines... at twenty feet. Luckily, I was still on the surface, heard the exchange between the divers and explained waht the bottle was down there for.

Please, if you are teaching out there mention to your students that the lines have a purpose and cylinders tied off are not abandoned--the bottles were prepositioned for decompression. Divers may also encounter AL80 stage bottles tied off along the wall in the range of 80-100 feet--same deal. They are not anbandoned.

The lines support tech dives into the canyons and walls beyond the recreational limit. So if you encounter a bottle tied to the line, it's because someone is out there and will be returning and needs the gas.

I realize not everybody who dives at VP posts here, but please pass the word around the shop and to anyone else who dives VP.

Thanks,
PD
 
While that's a good thing to pass on...

Strange that they would be leaving decompression bottles behind in open water. That is not standard protocol. While we will drop cylinders in caves, that's because there is only one way back to the surface and we must pass by our cylinders on our way there. In open water all cylinders should stay with a diver because if something happens they should begin their ascent and not be trying to get back to a cylinder that was left somewhere. And there's also no guarantee that they will always make it back to those cylinders.
 
While that's a good thing to pass on...

Strange that they would be leaving decompression bottles behind in open water. That is not standard protocol. While we will drop cylinders in caves, that's because there is only one way back to the surface and we must pass by our cylinders on our way there. In open water all cylinders should stay with a diver because if something happens they should begin their ascent and not be trying to get back to a cylinder that was left somewhere. And there's also no guarantee that they will always make it back to those cylinders.

Praticing for caves where there are no caves?
 
Then practice in shallow enough waters to not need a deco bottle. I lived in Arizona for almost 20 years and did a lot of cave practice in Lake Pleasant. I never dropped my deco bottle when I knew I was going to need it. Actually, I never needed my deco bottle in Lake Pleasant. There just isn't anything that deep in Pleasant worth decompressing for.
 
Hello Dive-aholic,

I see your posts quite often here on scubaboard and other forums. I know some of your students and they speak highly of you and I have the impression that your are really good at what you do but I don't appreciate the condescending tone of the two posts that appear above. First, what you call standard protocol isn't as straight forward as that-tec manuals, written history of diving (Andrea Doria and other east coast wrecks), and first hand accounts of divers I've met, suggest that the specific circumstances of a particular dive dictate the protocol. Secondly, your view of Lake Pleasant is fairly unimaginative-not surprising to me though since few divers see the lake as a major diving asset, and use the lake either to certify new OW divers or fin around for practice. I see it differently. There is a vast underwater world only a few hundred feet off of Vista Point. I have run primary lines into those places-walls and slot canyons all of which are beyond the recreational limit of 130 feet most of the year. Its worth it to me to do those dives.

I did my cave training with Greg Stanton and I feel well trained and have logged nearly 100 decompression dives in Lake Pleasant-all in side mount. There is somewhere around 4000 feet of primary line. So far only one other diver, a tec instructor who runs an LDS here in PHX, has joined me. We think its worth it.

Pete delannoy
 
While you may see it as worthwhile, I'm still not convinced. I dive to see things, whether it's caves or wrecks. I've done over a hundred dives in Lake Pleasant, in various locations and to various depths. It's nothing but silt and old desert brush. Sure there were some areas that had neat features but most of the time the visibility didn't allow for much to be seen.

Anyway, that wasn't my point. My point is dropping a decompression cylinder somewhere such as Lake Pleasant is a dangerous practice. Pleasant isn't the Doria or any other wreck. It's a lake. There is no guarantee that you will be making your way back to the surface the same way you came and no need to if you can just ascend straight to the surface. Believe what you want to believe, but I stand by my statement that this is an unsafe practice. If you enjoy the dives, then by all means, do them, but do them safely.

Oh, and you are misinterpreting my statements. They are in no way meant in a condescending tone. But as I said, I see it as unsafe and I feel the need to state this.
 
While you may see it as worthwhile, I'm still not convinced. I dive to see things, whether it's caves or wrecks. I've done over a hundred dives in Lake Pleasant, in various locations and to various depths. It's nothing but silt and old desert brush. Sure there were some areas that had neat features but most of the time the visibility didn't allow for much to be seen.

Anyway, that wasn't my point. My point is dropping a decompression cylinder somewhere such as Lake Pleasant is a dangerous practice. Pleasant isn't the Doria or any other wreck. It's a lake. There is no guarantee that you will be making your way back to the surface the same way you came and no need to if you can just ascend straight to the surface. Believe what you want to believe, but I stand by my statement that this is an unsafe practice. If you enjoy the dives, then by all means, do them, but do them safely.

Oh, and you are misinterpreting my statements. They are in no way meant in a condescending tone. But as I said, I see it as unsafe and I feel the need to state this.

Totally agree on all points.
 
Yea, sure. If the deco cylinder was arbitrarily dropped I would agree. But that's not the case.
 
I was always taught to keep my deco gas with me, anywhere where a direct ascent to the surface is possible. If there is some kind of urgency underwater that mandates a direct ascent from wherever you happen to be, and you don't have your deco gas, you're hurting. Caves are different, because in the majority of cases, there is no possibility at all that you will exit anywhere other than where you came in, so you can't face the "I need to get out NOW but I can't because I have to deco on backgas" issue.

On the other hand, if people are doing this to practice putting bottles down and picking them back up, in preparation for cave work, I'm all for it. I don't think you should ever learn anything in an overhead environment that you can learn and practice in open water beforehand.
 
Yea, sure. If the deco cylinder was arbitrarily dropped I would agree. But that's not the case.

You're clipping off the cylinder and leaving it behind on an open water dive in which you will need the dive to complete accelerated decompression. That is against what is taught by all agencies.



Lynne, I agree with you. I practiced dropping and picking up deco cylinders in Lake Pleasant many times. But I always practiced this in 15-20' depth. The issue is they are doing this on dives where accelerated decompression is part of the dive plan.
 
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