Layang Layang - Hell for Beginners?

[Albion]

What a thrill to see the hammerheads! Was it a big school?

As for the unavailability of nitrox, well, the thing with nitrox and L2 is the depth of the dives. About half of my dives there were deeper than 33 m, which is the depth limit for 32% nitrox fills (assuming a 1.4 opp limit). It's just not practical from a safety standpoint to offer nitrox at L2.

Why not offer 28%???
Just becuase there are tables for 32 and 36, you were trained how to calculate for other mix's. 28% works well at 40m and boosts your bottom time somewhat

 

[seamonster]

Is there anyway you could post your video clip of the schooling hammerheads? Thanks. I'm really envious.

 

[Vie]

Is there anyway you could post your video clip of the schooling hammerheads? Thanks. I'm really envious.

I'm afraid it's embarassingly, badly shot (I basically used my Sony DSC-T1, so I ended up with a rather blurry MPEG file) - there were two other divers with proper video cameras diving with me on that particular dive. One of them was so mesmerised that he forgot to press record (and he had the best camera!). If I managed to hunt down the footage from the last diver, I will try and figure out a way to post it - his footage was definitely (but only slightly) better focused; it was somewhat dark down at 38m during the dive.

 

[Quero]

Why not offer 28%???
Just becuase there are tables for 32 and 36, you were trained how to calculate for other mix's. 28% works well at 40m and boosts your bottom time somewhat

Who said anything about tables?

Of course operators *could* offer enriched air with a convenient blend tailored to the diving depths found in the vicinity, and a qualified mixer would be able to accomplish it. Yes, 28% would certainly do the trick at L2. But here in Asia (at standard recreational diving ops) I've rarely seen a mix that wasn't intended to be 32, and in those few times it was always meant to be 36. It's kind of a "default" setting (which, of course, is why there are special tables for those two). The reality is that recreational divers rarely have the luxury of ordering custom-made O2 percentages; the only choice is to take or to leave what is on offer, _regardless_ of the ability to do the arithmatic.