Deadly Down Current

[DandyDon]

don't know how it works, I am not really all that good in using computers. Mike

It's easy. Just click M-Quote button of each and every post you want to reply to, then click Reply, and they all show up. Type your responses between the quotes, click Preview to see it if all worked well. Next time maybe...??

 

[2Tours N Iraq`]

After reading this thread, there are some really good posts in it and there are some not so informative posts. I do agree with everyone in that proper planning needs to take place but there is a point not yet mentioned so if no one else will mention it, I will. Research the dive site, plan your dive, dive your plan, and DO NOT EXCEED YOUR TRAINING LEVEL! It is obvious that some people were inadvertently pulled past their comfort/training level and planned depth but with the proper research and planning, most up-wellings and down-wellings can be avoided. No amount of money spent getting to your dive destination is worth your life. It is ok to sit a dive out when you do not feel you are able to meet the physical and/or mental demands of the dive site.

A little off topic, I'd like to share a couple of sayings we used in the Infantry that have helped me with diving:
1. Stay alert, stay alive
2. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast

What those two little sayings mean is this:
1. Be aware of your surroundings and adjust your plan accordingly. By being alert you will gain more situational awareness and encounter fewer surprises. Fewer surprises means less opportunities for panic.
2. Concentrate on the task at hand and make your movements deliberate and precise. The concentration required to make deliberate and precise movements in otherwise scary situations calms your mind and staves of panic as well as preventing you from wasting energy to accomplish the task at hand. Wasted movement from panic takes longer to perform the task and ultimately slows you down.

I hope these two little sayings will make a positive impact on your diving as it has for mine, not to mention getting me through some hairy situations as my screen-name suggests.

Blane

 

[Age]

AGE what was the computer reporting? Do you have a dive profile from this dive? I would love to see what kind of depths it made you hit...

Nothing very exciting in the log book – 30 metres max. But I assure you it was quite a ride. I remember looking up and wondering why an experienced instructor was ascending so quickly. It couldn't be me going down, after all, I had pumped my BC full of air (34 lbs lift) Bottom reference didn't help, because the current was following the contours of the sea floor i.e. down, down down. The point is that due to my lack of experience in such conditions in the few seconds that I took to realise what was going on, I had dropped like a rock. If I hadn't been with my instructor who signaled me to pop my SMB and gave me a reference while I launched it, I would have had much more interesting data to report in my log book. That is, if I was still around to write it at all. Later at Asia Divers, we were told that Verde Island was indeed the most challenging site at PG . Hence my original post.

 

[Age]

I had the same experience , but we carried lift bags. for just such a possibility. The divers should have asked local experienced divers about the sites in PG before diving them. It is pretty scary, especially if you are ill equipped and aren't expecting it..
Mike

Actually we did have a dive guide from Asia Divers with us and we could see from the surface conditions that we were going to be diving in an extremely strong current. (looked like a river flowing through the ocean) However, speaking for myself, I hadn't expected the current to drag me down at the end of the dive. BTW we all launched our SMB's at 18 metres and that gave sufficient lift and a good reference for a slow ascent.

 

[Age]

After reading this thread, there are some really good posts in it and there are some not so informative posts. I do agree with everyone in that proper planning needs to take place but there is a point not yet mentioned so if no one else will mention it, I will. Research the dive site, plan your dive, dive your plan, and DO NOT EXCEED YOUR TRAINING LEVEL! It is obvious that some people were inadvertently pulled past their comfort/training level and planned depth but with the proper research and planning, most up-wellings and down-wellings can be avoided. No amount of money spent getting to your dive destination is worth your life. It is ok to sit a dive out when you do not feel you are able to meet the physical and/or mental demands of the dive site.

A little off topic, I'd like to share a couple of sayings we used in the Infantry that have helped me with diving:
1. Stay alert, stay alive
2. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast

What those two little sayings mean is this:
1. Be aware of your surroundings and adjust your plan accordingly. By being alert you will gain more situational awareness and encounter fewer surprises. Fewer surprises means less opportunities for panic.
2. Concentrate on the task at hand and make your movements deliberate and precise. The concentration required to make deliberate and precise movements in otherwise scary situations calms your mind and staves of panic as well as preventing you from wasting energy to accomplish the task at hand. Wasted movement from panic takes longer to perform the task and ultimately slows you down.

I hope these two little sayings will make a positive impact on your diving as it has for mine, not to mention getting me through some hairy situations as my screen-name suggests.

Blane

That is insightful advice. Thank you for that.

 

[z3r0c00l]

Also - less is more and more is less. : )

 

[BKP]

AL80, HP130, or AL63 does not matter at all. The point is you need to think about how much gas you need to be able to get back to the boat with you and your buddy. Look up Rock Bottom on this board for more info, it has been discussed plenty.

Tom

I agree -- gas planning is the bottom line regardless of capacity. However, I think Don's contention is that he (and I) prefer higher capacity (as well as a slung pony) simply to provide a higher margin of error, whether it's to compensate for a higher SAC, or unexpected conditions...

As for reg performance at low pressure -- I've breathed a tank down to zero on the surface of a quarry (did it on purpose, just to experiment, since next stop for the tank was a viz inspection). I was using an Atomic B2, and experienced no difference in pull or supply on the very last available breath, as I did breathing it at 2000 psi. (One of the reasons I love the Atomic). True, it was on the surface at 1 ata, however, if you've ever dove an Atomic, you'll notice there's no perceptible change in breathing whether you're at 10 feet, or 110 ft.

 

[2Tours N Iraq`]

Atomic is hands down the best reg manufacturer out there but I've also notice that my Mares V16 Proton Metal performs in the exact same way. It breathes the same at 10' as it did at 130'.

 

[Scared Silly]

A little off topic, I'd like to share a couple of sayings we used in the Infantry that have helped me with diving:
1. Stay alert, stay alive
2. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast

These are very true -

I know them as situational awareness and as I say "I do one thing, I do it very well, and then I move on" (how fast I do them is relative)

 

[2Tours N Iraq`]

These are very true -

I know them as situational awareness and as I say "I do one thing, I do it very well, and then I move on" (how fast I do them is relative)

Situational Awareness is what it all boils down to.