Air strategy for 4-5 tank dive days?

[Strategist.]

I view this the same way I would view tricking your doctor into believing you don't have a broken leg to reduce your time spent in the hospital. There may be a very good reason for doing this but it is generally not the safest choice.

If you would quote the entire post, you would note that the point I was making is that for divers out there who wants to adopt certain configurations, they'd best understand the pros and cons of doing so.

 

[DawgFan]

At five dives a day over multiple days? Aggressive diving like this is exactly why the CNS clock exists. In addition, the OP doesn't specify only recreational diving. I've seen a lot of recreational divers do technical dives in Cozumel without any thought or preparation. Just because you don't treat a dive with the respect it deserves doesn't mean it won't turn around and bite you. There is no such thing as an "undeserved" hit. It might be unexplained or not fully understood, but you can bet that the individual brought it on themselves. While time/depth/gas are obvious limits, other factors like fatigue, dehydration, sickness, injuries, hangovers, previous exposure and more need to be factored in to keep a diver safe. Deco algorithms are based on you being well and reasonably fit. Push or otherwise operate out of the intended parameters and you just might be hit with DCS. Just because you don't understand it, doesn't mean you didn't bring it on yourself. Dive conservatively. Safety is no accident and it's all up to you. I'm on my fiftieth year of diving and have yet to be bent. As I age, I am getting even more conservative in how I dive.

You mentioned that you’ve seen rec divers do technical dives in Coz without preparation. Can you explain a little more of what you’ve seen?

 

[The Chairman]

You mentioned that you’ve seen rec divers do technical dives in Coz without preparation. Can you explain a little more of what you’ve seen?

Too deep. Too long. No plan if things go wrong. They even go into deco with absolutely no redundancy.

Most divers plan their dive for their dives to go well. Very, very few make allowances for when they don't. I am often regaled with tales of daring do, when I would much rather them tell their tales of their "daring didn't". They shouldn't expect me to respect them for playing fast and loose with proper planning, in regards to training, experience, gear and dive buddies. Thank goodness they never ask me what I think about their questionable escapades. That could get a bit embarrassing.

If you want to do deep dives: fine. Respect yourself. Respect the craft. Get the training, buy the right gear and prepare for when the caca hits the fan. It will, but will you be ready? Our Accidents and Near Misses forums are filled with the stories of those "daring whoops".

 

[horn34]

What did you end up doing and how did it work out?

Due to Norte/fatigue, we only did one 4 tank dive day. We alternated 21/36 and it worked fine.

 

[Danseur]

Plan it out. Best mix for depth, but watch your oxygen clock. If multiday, really scale back according to oxygen clock and reduce the planned PPO2s to no more than 1.2, or even 1.1-1.0 later in the week. Leave room for going past planned depth, and remember to leave room for a chamber ride that won't leave you with irreversible permanent lung damage. If that seems like too much to consider or plan for, dive air and dive your face off, and use tables for added conservatism. I've had buddies that couldn't be bothered, so thats exactly what I suggested and what we did and had a blast! I also discovered they don't like to analyze gas, stay within a plan, or monitor/maintain depth very well... and enjoyed and persued being Narc'd (not a blast; Insta-buddies have their limitations...).