Yes but....These kinds of stories really scare me. The variability between individuals who can and can not function at depth is dramatic.
120 feet is NOT deep from my personal perspective on narcosis, but for that individual - on that day- it certainly was.
The message to new divers is very confusing:
- divers are drunk and they don't know it,
- divers who say they are acclimated (to depth) are foolish and delusional,
- diving past 100 on air or nitrox is too dangerous. etc.
Then there are other people who have demonstrated their ability to function adequately in 180 feet and some a good bit deeper during many dives. Often times these individuals are not particularly, young, fit or strong.
I personally think there are huge discrepancies between different people and their susceptibility to narcosis and their ability to manage it. So maybe a more reasonable message is to progress past 100 or 130 feet very slowly and be super vigilant to avoid excessive strenuous activity (like dragging a diver up from the depths when he has completely lost situational control).
In any regard, the ability to navigate, control buoyancy, monitor air pressure and depth, keep track of a buddy etc. are all skills that must be totally mastered and must be over learned so that they are almost instinctive- BEFORE anyone should be trying to go deep.
Part of the problem is that the analogy with being drunk is faulty. Narcosis is its own kind of impairment, so trying to say, "I didn't feel a buzz" is not useful info.
These are NOT new messages; they have been the same for years and years.
But new people keep learning them for the first time....