going tech the wrong way

[DevonDiver]

After this I thought of the reasons I would like to do this dive:

Never been beyond 39 meters and I wanted to check how my body, mind and equipment behave at 6atm for a few secs.

And what if your body, mind or equipment had behaved badly during those few secs?

You already said your computer wasn't up to the task....

I think these sorts of practices are one of the most dangerous temptations faced by 'experienced' divers. People get brazen and try these deep bounce dives, without experience, training or correct equipment, and they get away with it. That only provides further encouragement to do it again. Sooner or later something goes wrong and ONLY THEN do they realize that they not capable of dealing with the situation. It is a time bomb.

As for the "technical diver" that invited you to join him..... well, being a technical diver is far more than just strapping on a set of doubles....and his invitation to you (and his desire to do this pointless bounce dive in the first place) seem to indicate no level of training or experience in the technical arena.

Technical diving training is not cheap - it never will be. The equipment and planning needed is far beyond the rescources used for recreational dive training. The costs to gain instructor certification and the increased risks to the instructor when conducting the training demands recompense through higher course fees.

Technical training is the preserve of the serious and dedicated diver....and every serious and dedicated diver should understand that their passion to be underwater is going to keep their bank balance pitifully low.

The golden rule that is illustrated from your case study is that complacency creeps in without us realizing it. This is especially true when divers reach a professional level...and diving becomes a day-to-day activity.

Oh...if I had a dollar for every DM and Instructor who thought that depth and decompression limits didn't apply to them...........I could afford another training course! ha ha ha

 

[Ben_ca]

OP: Here's a video about some people who've pushed limits.... I think you might relate to what they are talking about (3 parts)

"Idiosyncrasies of Russian Diving": fatal dive accidents in Red Sea # 1

 

[DevonDiver]

Tec divers are not thrill seekers. They are disciplined individuals who use equipment and methodology to transcend recreational diving limitations. By doing this, they endorse the limits of recreational diving.

Dr. Drew Richardson, President DSAT TDD

The difference between rec and tec divers is the ability to follow procedures with discipline.

Mark Caney, DSAT TDD Director, Rebreather Technologies,

 

[miketsp]

Tec divers are not thrill seekers. They are disciplined individuals who use equipment and methodology to transcend recreational diving limitations. By doing this, they endorse the limits of recreational diving.

Dr. Drew Richardson, President DSAT TDD

The difference between rec and tec divers is the ability to follow procedures with discipline.

Mark Caney, DSAT TDD Director, Rebreather Technologies,

This post and some of the previous ones try to imply that the line between rec & tec is black & white & well defined. When really it's pretty fuzzy.
As has been often mentioned attitudes to deco diving vary widely depending on which side of the big pond you're sitting.
My CMAS deco tables go way beyond 40m and allow for some long amounts of deco stops at 12, 9, 6 & 3m and there was never any mention that this was tec diving. It was just a natural part of the course. If you couldn't hold a stop with a certain precision or realize that you needed a real AAS in the form of a pony or a reliable buddy then you shouldn't be getting into the situation of a ceiling.
It's been many years since I dived in the UK but from what I remember only the basic BSAC "Sport" level didn't allow deco dives. Once you advanced in your training it was quite natural.

 

[beester]

CMAS 3* and beyond alow you to dive to depths up to 200 feet. This is no technical certification. They also alow deco (ceiling).

On a trip in the near future to the french riviera where we will dive wrecks between 130-160 feet, most will dive mono 15L tanks. (I dive double 10L since I like the extra redundancy and reserve).

What will be done is:

-restrict these dives to CMAS 3* and above, or ADV EANX/EXT RANGE.
-Max depth will always remain within PPOŽ² 1.4 limit
-People diving on single tanks (15L) need H or Y valve setups with separate 1st & 2nd stages (main and backup)
-All divers need to have experience with ceiling dives, good trim, good and efficient SMB deploy techniques
-Gas planning need to be made and based on these rock bottom times calculated.
-Backup deco plans made
-Bottom gas will be air, some will use deco-gasses (eanx 80), not for accelerated decompression but for added safety.

Are these technical dives.... in a sence they are (ceiling). However they are done by divers without technical certification... and are done repeatedly. Are they safe... IMO yes.

Having said that... since I'm not experienced in that depth range (below 140feet), I'm doing build up dives and am completing Adv EANX/deco procedures course. I have made many 100-140 feet dives.

 

[Monkey_Gland]

OP: Here's a video about some people who've pushed limits.... I think you might relate to what they are talking about (3 parts)

"Idiosyncrasies of Russian Diving": fatal dive accidents in Red Sea # 1

That is frankly one of the strangest video I've ever watched.

 

[Hickdive]

[/FONT]The difference between rec and tec divers is the ability to follow procedures with discipline.

Mark Caney, DSAT TDD Director, Rebreather Technologies,

Such as having a bottle chucked down for stops when he fires up a dSMB?

Mr Caney was never doing that twenty-odd years ago was he?

If you ever see him just say no to 'Hotel California' but yes to two cones and a choc ice.