An accident waiting for a place to happen

[MikeFerrara]

Do you have any pics of those caves? Would you share them with me? I'd like to see them and, unfortunatly, I have mild claustrophobia so going myself is not likely.

Joe

I have a few but their not digital and I lost the hard drive that I had them all scanned onto.

Check out CDF. There are lots of pictures there

 

[Hank49]

The point of my post was to point out that 200 foot air dives are not that uncommon in some areas of sport diving. As done in spearfishing it is drop down as fast as possible looking for the big one. If he's not there it's right back up, total time less than five minutes with 1500 psi left. If he is you shoot him and drag him up into shallow water. The total time maybe a little longer but not the time at 200 feet. Most of these divers have been doing this for many years. I know one who has over 30 years of this type of diving. To imply that if you do 200 foot air dives that eventually it will kill you is not fact. I know a lot of divers on this board frown apon spearfishing and many from interior areas of the country don't have a clue about it. IMO diving half a mile back in a cave only to see rock is a stunt.

Captain

I tend to agree with you here Captain. I would venture to say that 90% of the instructors I know, and worked with do these type of bounce dives on air, some to even 90+ meters. But with short bottom times and most with no more than 10-15 minutes deco time. Many may say its pointless....but I have to say it was pretty fun.
Deep cave and wreck penetration on mixed gas with 2-3 hour decos? And commercial diving to 180 meters on gas? Try to get life insurance if you do this. Life insurance policies and premium increases are all about statistics. When I got my last term policy the agent asked if I scuba dived. I said yes, and he asked what level I was certified to. I told him Open Water Instructor. To which he replied, "oh, it has no premium increase if you're an instructor". Statistics. If all these instructors doing deep air dives were dying at a higher rate, they would charge more for life insurance....but they don't. Hank

 

[Sideband]

I have a few but their not digital and I lost the hard drive that I had them all scanned onto.

Check out CDF. There are lots of pictures there

Thanks! Yup. Doubt I could take much of that. I'd be ok as far in as I could still see the entrance and as long as there was always room to turn around easily.
Some cool video on there of entire dives.
Thanks again for the link. I'll look back there from time to time.

Joe

 

[MikeFerrara]

I tend to agree with you here Captain. I would venture to say that 90% of the instructors I know, and worked with do these type of bounce dives on air, some to even 90+ meters. But with short bottom times and most with no more than 10-15 minutes deco time. Many may say its pointless....but I have to say it was pretty fun.
Deep cave and wreck penetration on mixed gas with 2-3 hour decos? And commercial diving to 180 meters on gas? Try to get life insurance if you do this. Life insurance policies and premium increases are all about statistics. When I got my last term policy the agent asked if I scuba dived. I said yes, and he asked what level I was certified to. I told him Open Water Instructor. To which he replied, "oh, it has no premium increase if you're an instructor". Statistics. If all these instructors doing deep air dives were dying at a higher rate, they would charge more for life insurance....but they don't. Hank

I don't think we can say that since instructors do this and recreational instructors don't have trouble getting insurance that it must be safe. I know lots of instructors and they don't do these deep bounce dives. I'm an instructor and I don't do it. The false assumption seems to that instructors in general do it.

On the other hand cave diving and deep technical diving hasn't hurt my ability to get insurance.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Thanks! Yup. Doubt I could take much of that. I'd be ok as far in as I could still see the entrance and as long as there was always room to turn around easily.
Some cool video on there of entire dives.
Thanks again for the link. I'll look back there from time to time.

Joe

Some of the caves we dive have enough room to turn a truck around.

 

[miketsp]

People have been diving the 2 of the best dives in Brazil on air with single tanks for many years.
The Corvette Camacuan in Recife 57m / 187ft and the Corvette V17 Ipiranga in Fernando de Noronha 60m/197ft.
Last time I was in Noronha a couple of years back the procedure for tourists was you needed AOW + 50logged dives + Nitrox card. You then did 3 observed dives + checkout dive with a DM at 42m (Pontal do Norte). All being well you go down with an AL80 but the DM would have either redundant twin or extra cylinder & regs + extra cylinder with nitrox or O2. Planning for deco done on CMAS air table but nitrox/O2 used for deco. Extra cylinders & regs suspended at deco stop.
I know a lot of people that did this dive & never heard of any accidents.

 

[MikeFerrara]

All being well you go down with an AL80 but the DM would have either redundant twin or extra cylinder & regs + extra cylinder with nitrox or O2. Planning for deco done on CMAS air table but nitrox/O2 used for deco. Extra cylinders & regs suspended at deco stop.
I know a lot of people that did this dive & never heard of any accidents.

To each their own but if doubles are required for a dive, I'll carry my own...thanks anyway. LOL

They do a similar thing in Bakini. If you're AOW they'll take you on 170 - 180 ft dives with a DM to nurse you through the decompression. Silly me though...I like to plan and do my own decompression and carry my own gas.

 

[Mako Mark]

200 ft on air may still be somewhat common

IMO, that's a stunt not a dive.

I agree, this is not a dive, this seems to be someone who should know better, but aparently does not, being in a place where he probably shouldnt be. I hope he has either the sence to take this type of dive seriously, or to stop doing it before he gets hurt.

Maybe you should print out this thread and show him. It might save his life.

 

[QuoVadis]

Really dont pay attention to correct spelling of words i have only ever heard, never met the people and never seen the name spelt.... maybe i should, but that would be too much trouble. I stand corrected, the point still stands.[/QUOTEnevermind

 

[H2Andy]

actually, the correct conjugation is "spolt," being the past tense (as in,
"I spolt it wrong but my daddy didn't know no diff'rent."

"spelt" is the future tense, as in "I'm gonna spelt it out fer you"