Deep Diving on Air

[Crush]

Wow.....dude....all I can say is "clueless".....how about we jump out of a plane without a parachute....just to see if we can make it...? geez....

I see a benefit in knowing that if, say, a loved one was sinking below 250 ft I could reasonably chase him/her down and return to the surface with them without it being a 100% death sentence. Unfortunately on SB there are posters who like to brag about deep dives on air, real or imagined, and this can form an impression on relatively new divers. Consider for the moment the fate of the three who wanted to bounce dive to 300 ft-or was that 400 ft (accounts vary)-for bragging rights: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cozumel/395192-scuabamau-diving-accident.html

 

[Adobo]

I see a benefit in knowing that if, say, a loved one was sinking below 250 ft I could reasonably chase him/her down and return to the surface with them without it being a 100% death sentence. Unfortunately on SB there are posters who like to brag about deep dives on air, real or imagined, and this can form an impression on relatively new divers. Consider for the moment the fate of the three who wanted to bounce dive to 300 ft-or was that 400 ft (accounts vary)-for bragging rights: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cozumel/395192-scuabamau-diving-accident.html

Wouldn't it be more effective to talk some sense into your loved one before they undertook this kind of adventure? You know, an ounce of prevention?

Honestly, if you think you are going survive a rescue attempt at greater than 250ft while on a single tank of air, let alone succeed in the rescue, well, I would say that I applaud your optimism but pity your naiveness.

 

[Crush]

Wouldn't it be more effective to talk some sense into your loved one before they undertook this kind of adventure? You know, an ounce of prevention?

Honestly, if you think you are going survive a rescue attempt at greater than 250ft while on a single tank of air, let alone succeed in the rescue, well, I would say that I applaud your optimism but pity your naiveness.

You really misunderstood what I intended to write. I only hope (for my sake) that you also also misunderstood what I wrote.

 

[Crush]

deleted

 

[Tigerman]

Wow.....dude....all I can say is "clueless".....how about we jump out of a plane without a parachute....just to see if we can make it...? geez....

Its been done..
Although, the ones who has done it has had another diver jump after them with a chute, or theres been a chute thrown to them.
Not something I would recommend though, but people HAVE survived it.
Infact people have survived landing without a chute as well, but the odds of accomplishing that is extremely minimal.

 

[fjpatrum]

This post reminds me of the saying......"Better to be quiet and thought of as a fool then to speak out loud and remove all doubt...." Just sayin...

And yet...

The simple fact is diving deep on air has been done, is being done, and will continue to be done by some people. Should everyone attempt it? Absolutely not. Those of us newbs who are just getting into the game definitely shouldn't be doing it. We probably also shouldn't be saying whether it's right or wrong for others to do it. (That could be said about more experienced divers too... who are we to tell other divers what is or isn't acceptable to do with their own dives and their own lives?)

People do die by making poor decisions, but that doesn't make every deep air dive a poor decision. A considered approach to the dive and weighing the risks is the same for every dive choice. Deep air is just another variant that requires a much higher risk tolerance and therefore greater consideration of the rewards versus that risk.

Personally I have no interest in it, but I understand those who do.

 

[Adobo]

And yet...

The simple fact is diving deep on air has been done, is being done, and will continue to be done by some people. Should everyone attempt it? Absolutely not. Those of us newbs who are just getting into the game definitely shouldn't be doing it. We probably also shouldn't be saying whether it's right or wrong for others to do it. (That could be said about more experienced divers too... who are we to tell other divers what is or isn't acceptable to do with their own dives and their own lives?)

People do die by making poor decisions, but that doesn't make every deep air dive a poor decision. A considered approach to the dive and weighing the risks is the same for every dive choice. Deep air is just another variant that requires a much higher risk tolerance and therefore greater consideration of the rewards versus that risk.

Personally I have no interest in it, but I understand those who do.

I don't think anyone would argue that deep air dives have been and continue to be done. There need not be any judgments made as to whether those things are right or wrong. As adults in a free society, we all have the right to decide what risks we are willing to incur for ourselves (and by extension, our loved ones). After all, who is to say that it is okay for someone to do a 3000ft cave penetration but it is not okay for another to go to 190ft on air?

So for me, if people want to go deep on air (on single tanks even) - by all means, have at it.

What I don't understand is why anyone would advocate deep air as if it is just as good or even in some ways better than doing the same dives using alternative techniques and gases. I understand that there are times where that is the only choice you have if you are to do the dive. But that is not the same as saying that deep air is the better way to go.

 

[VooDooGasMan]

Well said FJP, and others who have your thoughts hopefully take it slow so if they do proceed in deep air diving they do not run into problems from no knowledge about it available to them.

 

[ajduplessis]

What I don't understand is why anyone would advocate deep air as if it is just as good or even in some ways better than doing the same dives using alternative techniques and gases.

Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level and then beat you with years of experience!!!

 

[poseident]

Ever been in a situation where youve actually needed to make that choice?
I have and I can assure you its not at all as easy or fun to do when in the water as it sounds when youre on dry land. And thats when youve known the person for 3 days...

Agreed. During my time as a working Divemaster, I would regularly have this conversation with a fellow guide. We had each established our own personal "limit" to which we were willing to go in order to recover a diver obliviously (or recklessly) descending like the one described in the scenario above. Further, we made it part of our own routines to reiterate what that limit was to ourselves once a dive had started and we could evaluate conditions, gear issues, and how we felt at that moment. I always felt it was a worth-while exercise, and proved it to myself while chasing a diver to my limit of 180' one particular day. I was mentally preparing to "have to stop" and let them go when I finally caught them at 173'. This person was not my client, and wasn't even diving from my boat. It was a personal decision to chase, which I felt comfortable making only because there was a second guide who could take over supervision of my divers...

We both made it to the surface safely without further incident. Would I do that for a total stranger today? I'm not so sure.