Are there any entry tech courses that include Trimix?

[PerroneFord]

LOL!! He was staring that sunofagun DOWN... and for a full 3 minutes too! I don't know who won, but we went and had some good chow afterwards!

And I don't mean to sound like Im ragging on the guy. Clearly, in his environment, he was used to having an ascent line to hold onto. Probably a lot of current in the area with an anchored boat.

When I dove the Oriskany, it was the first time I'd had to really hold onto the line or I would have been blown out into the gulf. Different scenarios in different places. We really do get spoiled by the springs in N.FL.

Maybe he was eyeballing a flounder?

Mike

 

[Mike Edmonston]

LOL!! He was staring that sunofagun DOWN... and for a full 3 minutes too! I don't know who won, but we went and had some good chow afterwards!

And I don't mean to sound like Im ragging on the guy. Clearly, in his environment, he was used to having an ascent line to hold onto. Probably a lot of current in the area with an anchored boat.

When I dove the Oriskany, it was the first time I'd had to really hold onto the line or I would have been blown out into the gulf. Different scenarios in different places. We really do get spoiled by the springs in N.FL.

If you ever get a chance, dive the Spiegel Grove off Key Largo. the current at that wreck can be ripping. I'm not a NE wreck diver, so I usually leave my jon line in the bag. But when I dive the grove, i feel like a flag whipping in the wind. I now have much respect for the lowly jon line. Deco at 10 ft really sucks when you have 5 ft swells to contend with. I know that the NE guys consider this "normal wreck diving" and they get my respect. It's just too much like work. I'm going back to the lazy caves

Cheers.

Mike

 

[PerroneFord]

I've heard about the Grove. Trust me, the Mighty O wasn't playing the day I was on her. I'm a big guy and I was holding the surface line with TWO hands.

 

[Mike Edmonston]

I've heard about the Grove. Trust me, the Mighty O wasn't playing the day I was on her. I'm a big guy and I was holding the surface line with TWO hands.

I'm 6'4" 265lbs. I'm like a baby humpback flapping in the wind. I feel your pain:11:

Cheers

Mike

 

[rainman_02]

Ok,

Could we get at that misinformation for a moment? I am not a helium diver. I'm around it a lot. Many of my dive buddies use it for a lot of their dives. I have talked to a number of instructors about it including the ones I train with.

What do you feel are the most prevalent bits of misinformation that are out there about diving helium?

Sure.

First and foremost was your assertion that helium was difficult (and/or dangerous) to dive. This is the same kind of BS that people were spouting about VooDoo Gas, I mean Nitrox, when it was "new." That whole bit about the dive agencies trying to ban oxygen-enriched air? And now they promote it as the greatest thing ever. A little knowledge goes a long way.

Second, I've run into people that think you're on a decompression dive the instant you put helium into your body.



Beyond that, in my opinion and experience, diving helium requires three things...neither of which are all that cosmic. 1) Breathing. 2) Holding a stop, whether you believe in ascending right to a 15-20' stop and hanging there for 3-5 minutes or you believe in making 1 minute stops from 50% of your bottom depth (I prefer the latter). 3) Analyzing/marking your gas. Done the same way as with nitrox...either with an analyzer that shows O2 and He, or by doing the math and the fill yourself and analyzing the O2 with the assumption that if the O2 is right the He is most likely right (I prefer the former...a trimix analyzer is a small price for me to pay with the number of accidents that come down to lack of analysis/lack of marking).

 

[PerroneFord]

Thanks for your measured reply rainman_O2,

I am a proponent of helium. Really. I have every intention of using it. However, in my experience, many of the divers I've seen recreationally, could not hold a stop without a line. Given that, I try to err on the side of caution.

Your message of analyzing gas hits home with me more than you can imagine. I've seen the tragic issues of not doing it.

So, I actually agree with all your points, but am probably just a bit more cautious in saying people probably ought to approach the use of helium carefully, and make sure their skills are up to spec.

 

[rjack321]

Thanks for your measured reply rainman_O2,

I am a proponent of helium. Really. I have every intention of using it. However, in my experience, many of the divers I've seen recreationally, could not hold a stop without a line. Given that, I try to err on the side of caution.

Your message of analyzing gas hits home with me more than you can imagine. I've seen the tragic issues of not doing it.

So, I actually agree with all your points, but am probably just a bit more cautious in saying people probably ought to approach the use of helium carefully, and make sure their skills are up to spec.

This really comes back to finding a good instructor. Perrone, your buddy with the mix cert should have never passed.

IMHO you can get a reasonable understanding of the mechanics of He in a couple hours. If that's the extent of your class, you are gonna be in a world of hurt fast. To be evaluated to a suitable level on your in-water abilities takes a few dives (~4). If you don't have the mid-water skills your instructor needs to make sure: 1) you understand what the bar is and that you're not there, 2) not give you a card.

 

[PerroneFord]

Fortunately, I have a number of good instructors around me. It's becoming more apparent to me, that others are not so lucky. That is unfortunate.

I rushed headlong into technical diving and I recieved MANY words of caution from people here, and in other places. They were all correct and I knew they were. However, I knew that I was curious and needed to excercise that curiosity in a safe manner. I was lucky to find an instructor who was willing to allow me that, let me try certain things in a controlled manner, but would only issue a card after I could demonstrate proficiency. It took him over a YEAR to issue my Adv. Nitrox card. And the timing was just right. I had just gotten to the point where I felt very comfortable excecuting deco dives, holding shallow stops, and maintain reasonable awareness. As well as demonstrating underwater problem solving.

I wish more instructors would be as strict.

 

[rjack321]

I wish more instructors would be as strict.

Me too.:shakehead

 

[Mike Edmonston]

Me too.:shakehead

I've actually been called a severe HARD-*** by some of my students. I failed a student in his master scuba diver prgram 4 times, until he got it through his head that I didn't sell cert cards, and that his years of hookah diving for lobsters didn't make him an expert. He's now a much better diver, but it took him 7 months to get here.

Cheers

Mike