Nitrox for Liveaboard - Great Barrier Reef

[dorsal]

100% go with nitrox if available. If you’re not certified it’s fairly easy to accomplish in a few evenings.

 

[Tracy]

I first dived the GBR on a liveaboard nearly a quarter century ago, and I did the three days on air--5 dives a day, including night dives. After the third day, I left dinner without dessert, went to bed, and woke up the next day in port.

I next dived the GBR about 7 years ago, on nitrox. We did 5 dives a day, and my nirox-diving friends and I felt just fine throughout.

But apparently so did everyone else, and they were all on air. The operation was adamant that each dive had to be shallower than the one before, because they could not violate PADI rules. (PADI has no such rule, and even if they did, they have no authority over dive boats in Australia.) The first dive of the day was carefully picked to be relatively shallow, and so all of the rest of the dives had to be even shallower. All told, our average dive depths were much shallower on our more recent trip than the first one years before.

I have noticed this trend with dive operators in the more remote locations over the last decade. They are doing more and more and more to make sure they will not have to deal with DCS on their dives, so dive depth and times are getting more and more limited. There will probably come a time when liveaboards will have deep swimming pools on the top deck and have all dives done there.

If I were you, I would use nitrox, but I pretty much always do. If you were to choose air instead, I am sure you would be fine.

When people are incapable of policing themselves, the boat has to do it.

 

[tarponchik]

I first dived the GBR on a liveaboard nearly a quarter century ago, and I did the three days on air--5 dives a day, including night dives. After the third day, I left dinner without dessert, went to bed, and woke up the next day in port.

I next dived the GBR about 7 years ago, on nitrox. We did 5 dives a day, and my nirox-diving friends and I felt just fine throughout.

But apparently so did everyone else, and they were all on air. The operation was adamant that each dive had to be shallower than the one before, because they could not violate PADI rules. (PADI has no such rule, and even if they did, they have no authority over dive boats in Australia.) The first dive of the day was carefully picked to be relatively shallow, and so all of the rest of the dives had to be even shallower. All told, our average dive depths were much shallower on our more recent trip than the first one years before.

I have noticed this trend with dive operators in the more remote locations over the last decade. They are doing more and more and more to make sure they will not have to deal with DCS on their dives, so dive depth and times are getting more and more limited. There will probably come a time when liveaboards will have deep swimming pools on the top deck and have all dives done there.

If I were you, I would use nitrox, but I pretty much always do. If you were to choose air instead, I am sure you would be fine.

This is the Australian thing, they are twisted on safety. SoF was the only LB we were around the world where the DMs put fins on diver's feet, for safety reasons.

 

[LI-er]

We did 5 dives a day, and my nirox-diving friends and I felt just fine throughout.

Of course you felt fine. Why wouldn't you?

No good reason to dive Nitrox on the GBR most dives are less than 60'.

Waste of money.

 

[boulderjohn]

When people are incapable of policing themselves, the boat has to do it.

People can be capable of policing themselves and stay well within standard diving limits. What I am talking about is the fact that for dive operators in certain places where medical help will be a significant problem, standard diving limits are not enough, so they create new limits for dives that are far shallower and shorter than those standard limits.

Of course you felt fine. Why wouldn't you?

No good reason to dive Nitrox on the GBR most dives are less than 60'.

Waste of money.

Yes, those dives are indeed very shallow, but they don't have to be. That is the choice of the dive operator. As I said (and you apparently missed), my dives there a quarter century ago were much deeper on average.

 

[FreqFlier]

No good reason to dive Nitrox on the GBR most dives are less than 60'

In my book the less N2 sat the better for me and my body.

 

[LI-er]

In my book the less N2 sat the better for me and my body.

It probably won't make the best seller list

 

[Tracy]

People can be capable of policing themselves and stay well within standard diving limits. What I am talking about is the fact that for dive operators in certain places where medical help will be a significant problem, standard diving limits are not enough, so they create new limits for dives that are far shallower and shorter than those standard limits.

Right, just because some people can, obviously many can't. They didn't just make new rules willy nilly. There was an issue in the past and now they are doing what they can to mitigate.
Last year I was moored on a wreck in a fairly remote part (hospital wise) of Lake Huron. We were about 30 miles offshore. I briefed that we were hours from any type of medical or coast guard response. Closest CG chopper was about 200 miles away and we were over and hour to shore by boat if everybody was on board and ready to ride.
11 minutes after that briefing, I had a diver cork, literally clear the surface of the water from 165' feet. Luckily he wasn't down long enough to suffer from any later effects. It is quite lucky for him as everybody had just descended and they weren't back on board to head in for about 2 hours.
The divers only see over-reaching operators and I get that, I am a diver as well. They don't see the headache and worry the operator deals with.

 

[tarponchik]

Of course you felt fine. Why wouldn't you?

No good reason to dive Nitrox on the GBR most dives are less than 60'.

Waste of money.

Were you diving the inner reef? On the outer reef, we had 5 dives below 70, 4 dives below 80, 1 dive below 90 and 2 dives below 100 ft max depth. Only 3 of our dives were less than 70 ft. We were diving on air and were fine.

 

[also_anon_dc]

I always dive Nitrox regardless but another thing to think about is how many dive guides will be in the water with the group. If it's a small group with just one guide and you're the only diver on air you won't be able to dive the same profile as everyone else.