Backing off from technical diving

[Teller]

Good point. In fairness I just moved here. All im saying is if you cant get He and its needed then pick a new site.

You do realize that there are places in the world where He supply is unreliable? I'm not talking 'the Mid-West USA'... I'm talking third-world countries... tropical islands..

Don't think I'm advocating deep air diving... I'm just trying to raise a genuine issue. "Picking a new site" isn't always an option.

I understand that, ive been to a few third world countries myself. All im saying is if you dont have the tools needed for the job maybe thats a dive you should reconsider.

 

[chrpai]

Personally, whether rec or tech or somewhere in the middle, I think a diver should become an 'x' 'level' diver needed to safely do the dives that he/she has access to and interest in doing. I don't live in FL and the 1 hole in the ground near me doesn't have any interest to me therefore I'm not a cave diver. I could see taking cavern just to improve my skills and visit that hole in the ground once or twice but that's about it.

I don't live on the east coast any more so wreck diving isn't really available to me. Lake Travis is 55' down so deep / deco doesn't do it for me.

In otherwords I'm happy staying on the top side of that line Devon suggested.

 

[DevonDiver]

Within certain parameters, helium is a tool, not the tool. Those parameters will vary according to who you talk to. There's no real excuse for a Floridian not using helium on any given occasion. In other scenarios, I think a personal and prudent decision has to be made (unless you've delegated your brain to another to make that decision for you).

 

[down4fun]

Sometimes our interests change. Sometimes people get tired of hauling around 100# plus of gear, and in depth planning and they just want to drop in shallow swim around and see the fishies. I can relate. While I have never completely abandoned technical diving since I am on the rebreather there have been times when I scaled back. When a simple 150 foot dive with a couple of 40's was all I wanted to do, not 200+ with the rebreather, double 80's and possibly a 40 of O2 on top. I just didn't feel like dealing with the gear, the weight, the fight to gear up squished in a boat. But then inevitably I will agree to go do some 200+ wreck that I haven't been to before and the flame that was flickering is fanned and I am renewed in my interest to do the deep wrecks. I love the wrecks. They are like giant underwater playgrounds to me and the beckon for me to come inside and explore. But I understand not everyone feels the same. The great thing about diving is there are many kinds of diving and no one type is for everyone, nor does it have to be.

 

[tridacna]

The happiest two days for me: The day that I bought my tech gear and then the day that I sold it all. Schlepping all that gear to a NJ dive boat at 4am is no fun and the dive enjoyment rarely outweighs the effort, risk and discomfort. I did about 75 tech dives then woke up and couldn't explain to myself why I was doing this? Machismo? I realized that the real pleasure was the feeling of survival at the end of each dive. Clambering up a heaving ladder with 5 tanks in a drysuit with fins on is not much fun.

Another reason: I started tech in order to be able to dive the Doria. Then the boat I used to dive (John Jack) had a third fatality on that wreck. Fuggedabowtit.

 

[Teller]

Within certain parameters, helium is a tool, not the tool. Those parameters will vary according to who you talk to. There's no real excuse for a Floridian not using helium on any given occasion. In other scenarios, I think a personal and prudent decision has to be made (unless you've delegated your brain to another to make that decision for you).

I get what your saying Andy and I agree but we have to admit at some point He is a must no matter if its available or not.

 

[flots am]

Both of us agreed that we will probably not do much tech diving in the future, and both of us are considering selling some gear.

I've pretty much stopped doing anything that requires a large set of doubles, gave away my BP/W and bought some sidemount gear for the deeper dives. It's much easier to get in and out of the water.

Also, at this point, most of the the stuff I want to see is shallow, not deep. The idea of another deep wreck is likely to get the response: "yeah, it's dark and cold and deep and not worth the effort"

My new favorite rig is my old jacket BC, my 45 cu ft pool tank and a wetsuit, and my new favorite dive is to hang out in about 30' of water, go nowhere and wait until the critters show up.

As I've gotten older, the allure of "deep and dark" has pretty much vanished, and risky dives are pretty much off the table ever since I promised my wife that I "wouldn't do anything stupid and get killed."

I don't think this is unique, since my 100+ Lb set of steel doubles and BP that I gave to a friend has since had several owners.

flots.

 

[Damselfish]

Tech diving has never appealed to me. I'm not into wrecks, and too claustrophobic for caves though I can see the appeal a bit. One of the reasons I got away from local NE diving was it got to be way more of a hassle to me then it was worth - just rec diving, never mind all the stuff involved in tech diving. Dealing with all the gear and planning might have been fun to me once upon a time, before I was even aware of tech diving. By the time I knew anything about it, I'd become a confirmed warm water fish watcher...and lazy.

 

[captain]

Could not put up with the boredom of long deco hangs.

 

[drbill]

I've done dives that most would consider "technical," but they were done for the purpose of observing and filming critters that live at deeper depths. For me it is all about the feeling I get when diving and the critters I see, film and bring home (the videotape, not the critter) to share with others. Frankly, I think I'd get very bored of true tech diving very quickly (although I understand it floats the boats of a number of my friends and that's their call).