Deep Air Diving - thoughts

[Tomeck]

No. It. Isn't.

It simply requires enough buoyancy skill to hold your deco stops at the appropriate depths.

Okay, yes - if you rocket to the surface on Trimix, you're more likely to get bent than if you do so on air. But if your buoyancy skills are so poor that ballistic ascents are a concern, then you really shouldn't be deco diving in the first place.

You say no matter what. The decompression with helium is more dangerous than air and it must ascent slower.

 

[Bismark]

You know, there are a lot of arguments and entrenched positions on this largely based on semantics. The technical meaning of "narked" means that according to objective measurements your blood chemistry is temporarily altered, and that is undeniably true for all divers regardless of experience level.

But that isn't what most people mean by "narked". They mean "your behaviour and awareness is significantly altered", and hence also your safety.

Although the physiology doesn't vary much from person to person (though it does vary to an extent, based partly on age and related issues and BMI, but largely by your state of hydration at the moment), the subjective psychological state varies a great deal, largely according to experience level. People accustomed to entering the realms of physiological narcosis exhibit far more minor symptoms than people new to the game.

It really annoys me when pedants base their case on physiological aspects, which most divers are unaware of at the time, and wilfully ignore the considerable psychological differences which are what people are actually affected by. In any meaningful sense, experienced divers do get narced much less than inexperienced ones.

I have no doubt that said pedants will condemn what I have just said as irresponsible and wrong. I am NOT in any way trying to encourage inexperienced divers to push depth on air because their symptoms are illusory, because they're not. But I am explaining the anomoly that many inexperienced divers notice, which is that divers experienced in deep air diving do it repeatedly without the accident/incident rate that might be expected if their abilities degraded in accordance with the objective physiological changes.

I suspect that if people were honest about their experience, those who most loudly condemn the practice of deep air diving are those with least experience of it. That probably applies to many topics here.

I can't see my screen for the incredible quantity of smoke you are putting into the air.......Can you really not see the similarity between yourself and an alcoholic telling us that his illusory symptoms of intoxication have been mitigated by his experience with drinking and driving? Are you not aware of the fact that habitual drunks often hide their intoxication and become quite good at it with practice, while at the same time continuing to exhibit physical impairment when tested. They may have learned to drive home intoxicated with practice but what do you suppose would happen when a child runs out on to the road? Would you submit that because of their "practice" driving drunk they would not be impaired in their reaction? Are you really trying to tell us that you can "adapt" to narcosis? What a load of horse puckey. I guess your personal experience just happens to fly in the face of scientific studies indicating the opposite. Personally, I don't give two hoots if you want to dive on air to 1000', but don't try to advocate deep air diving by hiding behind your own personal definitions of "narked" and invent some fictitious difference between "physiological" and "psychological" impairment caused by alcohol....I mean narcosis.

As for your last sentence, what kind of drakh is that? Are you saying that unless you have a lot of experience deep air diving, you can't comment on it? I guess that is kind of like telling someone who doesn't drink that they can't comment on drinking and driving unless they have done a lot of it. There isn't even a smiley I can use on the reply page that sums up this logic.

 

[Bismark]

You say no matter what. The decompression with helium is more dangerous than air and it must ascent slower.

Dude, this comment makes no sense at all. I am hoping it is a translation problem.

 

[Thalassamania]

I think what he is saying is that helium bends are potentially much more dangerous than nitrogen bends.

 

[Bismark]

I think what he is saying is that helium bends are potentially much more dangerous than nitrogen bends.

Okay, that makes sense and no argument here. I honestly just couldn't understand
what he/she meant.

 

[Tomeck]

Okay, that makes sense and no argument here. I honestly just couldn't understand
what he/she meant.

Sorry, I am not English-speaking. I am learning.

 

[Bismark]

Sorry, I am not English-speaking. I am learning.

I completely understand and I apologize. It must be difficult dealing with matters of a technical nature in a second language. Lord knows I couldn't do it in Swiss! Or maybe any other language................

 

[rjack321]

Lord knows I couldn't do it in Swiss! Or maybe any other language................

You mean in German, French, Italian, or Romansch?

 

[Bismark]

You mean in German, French, Italian, or Romansch?

Je pense que faite the meme en francias, mais pas German, Italian ou Romansch... (What the hell is Romansch....?) (also can't make my keyboard do those fancy little accent things on the french words..........)

Hi Jack alert: BTW, I hear you have some new tech divers in Seattle.......

 

[Bismark]

Je pense que faite the meme en francias, mais pas German, Italian ou Romansch... (What the hell is Romansch....?) (also can't make my keyboard do those fancy little accent things on the french words..........)

Hi Jack alert: BTW, I hear you have some new tech divers in Seattle.......

Hi Jack alert for RJack...........now that is a pun I guess........not really funny but it has been a long morning already.........