deep air

[JeffG]

Why is that? Because he isn't competent to dive air to that depth and is insecure? I dive both and I can deal with it. Move past it.

LOL. You stud you.

I'm thinking of some George quotes.


The fact that you are an instructor speaks volumes about what is wrong with the dive industry.

 

[DCBC]

I'm thinking of some George quotes.

"This is my maiden voyage. My first speech since I was the president of the United States and I couldn't think of a better place to give it than Calgary, Canada."


The fact that you are a diver speaks volumes about what is wrong with the dive industry.

 

[SurDo2]

There is no NEED to EVER dive anywhere. Ever.

If you like water to come out of your tap, gas to come out of the pump, or the lights to come on when you flip the switch, you need divers.

 

[Rainer]

minimizing the need for the diver to make creative decisions

And if something goes wrong and creative decision making becomes critical, what then?

I just don't get why you're making the dive if you have to do it with severely limited cognitive functions. I dive for fun. I want to really remember the dive. I want (for myself, my family, and my teammates) to know that I'll have a very clear mind when the stakes for bad decisions are great. I want to be able to make VERY creative decisions at maximum depth (complex navigation, limited vis, dark water, running line, scootering, avoiding entanglements, tracking deco, shooting video, keeping the team together, accomplishing tasks, making penetrations, etc).

I guess it comes down to what you hope to get out of the dive. I'd be bored silly if I had to "manage" narcosis and limit myself accordingly.

 

[JeffG]

"This is my maiden voyage. My first speech since I was the president of the United States and I couldn't think of a better place to give it than Calgary, Canada."


The fact that you are a diver speaks volumes about what is wrong with the dive industry.

<snicker>

 

[DCBC]

And if something goes wrong and creative decision making becomes critical, what then?

I just don't get why you're making the dive if you have to do it with severely limited cognitive functions. I dive for fun. I want to really remember the dive. I want (for myself, my family, and my teammates) to know that I'll have a very clear mind when the stakes for bad decisions are great. I want to be able to make VERY creative decisions at maximum depth (complex navigation, limited vis, dark water, running line, scootering, avoiding entanglements, tracking deco, shooting video, keeping the team together, accomplishing tasks, making penetrations, etc).

I guess it comes down to what you hope to get out of the dive. I'd be bored silly if I had to "manage" narcosis and limit myself accordingly.

There's nothing the matter with your approach, for you. Some of us dive in situations where we may not have unlimited quantities of gas available. If you have 3 hours of trimix and unlimited air and you have to do multiple dives to 300' and 200' for example, I'm using the trimix on the 300' dives and air on the others. You simply don't have the luxury of unlimited trimix everywhere on the planet.

It's like a rich man wondering if he's wants to eat roast beef, steak or lobster without the knowledge that there are people who are saying "throw me a bone here." Not everyone can afford trimix gas, not everyone can afford trimix training and others don't think they need to dive trimix on every dive.

If we only want to retain maximum clarity, we should dive trimix deeper than 50' on every dive. When I have trimix available for free, I don't NEED trimix at 50'. It's a matter of what do you require to maintain an acceptable degree of safety at the depth projected.

For me this depends upon the length of the dive and the job at hand. I'm happy to wield a welding torch at 200' on air for an hour; there are some who would cut their leg off at the surface. Competence depends upon training and experience. We can't throw stones at another before we understand their competence level. The only comparison you can make is with yourself. Like I said, there's nothing the matter with your approach, for you.

 

[Thalassamania]

It is rather interesting to note that the "sissies diving trimix argument" is one raised by those attempting to disparage the use of air below 100 feet. I guess all one can do is say, "it takes one to know one" and pass on by.

 

[SurDo2]

As I come out of my commercial dive cave and enter the world of recreational diving I'm beginning to notice a recurring theme. Those of us in the dive industry with the most training, experience and certifications who have been diving deep air for 20, 30 or 40 years without incident are the ones who opinions are most easily discounted by an extremely vocal minority who hold certain truths above all else with no room for debate or consideration for others opinions which are formed out of decades of dive experience.

Does diving deep air and learning to manage the effects of narcosis make one a better diver? Absolutely!!! Does that mean I think everyone should do it? Absolutely not!!!

One must wonder when those who are in my opinion on the leading edge of diving theory, knowledge, technology and equipment have mixed gas available for depths below 100 ft routinely choose to dive air instead? Because our methods are grounded in decades of real world experience. I routinely conduct dives using equipment, methods and decompression procedures at depths and in conditions that in the recreational world be considered the culmination of years of experience, practice and the pinnacle of mixed gas training and certification as outlined by most technical agencies. All this..... On air.

 

[Hank49]

That's what they don't understand, you can't just whistle up a bottle of mix in a lot of places.
Quite right.

In fact, NONE of the places I've lived in the last 20 years.

 

[Thalassamania]

... I routinely conduct dives using equipment, methods and decompression procedures at depths and in conditions that in the recreational world be considered the culmination of years of experience, practice and the pinnacle of mixed gas training and certification as outlined by most technical agencies. All this..... On air.

What is not understood is that such dives (unless they go bad) are simply routine, nothing to write home about, nothing to talk about in the bar, nothing to post a close call warning in the accidents and incidents forum; simply routine, get up and do it again tomorrow.

Machismo is solely in the eye of the beholder.