I'm going to humbly present another viewpoint, Cappyjon. We've had nitrox on the Spree since 1999. The previous owner charged 10 bucks a fill for it, and we had 2-3, as many as 10 per boatload using nitrox. Our bends rate was .03%, right in line with industry standards. In 2002, we had 8 cases of DCS, but hadn't had any in the prior 3 years, so we were still at average. I bought the boat in 2003. In 2005, we had another terrible year, with 8 cases noted. I looked at the problem and saw that all but 1 case was divers on air. In 2006, I started supplying nitrox at no additional charge. It doesn't cost me anything to make except a little diesel fuel, so I thought why not. I can't tell you what my bends rate is today, because we haven't had any cases since 2006. We have over 98% of our customers using nitrox. I offer a free nitrox experience to any customer on the boat. They get the entire class at no charge, but do not receive a certification at the end of the experience. I still get 2 or 3 folks a year that have nitrox cards but insist on using air, but they are rare. For liveaboard diving, nitrox is the only way to go, and should be mandatory for many repetitive dives per day.
