Nitrox on Little Cayman

[jcm1911a1]

I have coordinated a small group heading to Little Cayman Beach Resort this Fall. My wife and I have only been Nitrox certified since last summer. Is it worth it to go with nitrox on the boat dives that LCBR would normally do, meaning sites close for their boats? I don't want to shell out another $340 ($170 each diver for 17 dives) for the two of us if there is no real benefit (that $170 would almost cover my bar tab for the week ).

 

[Ukmc]

17 dives. That is 3 dives per day and maybe an extra night dive on one of the days. $10/tank NitrOx would be worth it IMHO. I know there is a lot of controversy on it, but I feel better when I dive NitrOx on multiple dives. There is no question there is a larger safety margin if you stay within your MOD.

 

[Jcp2]

If the dives are of moderate depth, of a relatively fixed time, with a relatively short surface interval, then the benefit of nitrox would be less nitrogen loading and a lesser chance of DCS. It’s your decision as to the value of that benefit.

 

[Divetech Cayman]

Several of our staff, including myself volunteer at the hyperbaric chamber on Grand Cayman. We get patients from Little Cayman regularly. You should read this account I wrote about what it's actually like to end your dive vacation in the hyperbaric chamber, and then you can better decide if the cost is worth it to you. It is safer, and I believe in stacking the deck in your favor.

Dive safe! A short story from a chamber operator

Good luck, and have a safe and fun trip.

Tony

 

[Aviyes]

Diving Cayman Brac, we had 2 divers on air and DCs with conservative algorithms. They were having to monitor their NDL very closely doing 3 dives a day. One actually incurred some small amount of deco, did not understand what his computer was saying and locked himself out for a day of diving.

 

[markmud]

I have coordinated a small group heading to Little Cayman Beach Resort this Fall. My wife and I have only been Nitrox certified since last summer. Is it worth it to go with nitrox on the boat dives that LCBR would normally do, meaning sites close for their boats? I don't want to shell out another $340 ($170 each diver for 17 dives) for the two of us if there is no real benefit (that $170 would almost cover my bar tab for the week ).

HI jcm1911a1,

Nice gun by the way.

Just pay for the nitrox. Dive a conservative profile. Add 2 minutes at ten feet after you do your 3 minute safety stop at 20 feet.

Set your computer to the mix you are using and test every tank.

During my visit to LCBR last January, I learned that the dive rules are actually pretty cool. You can go down to 100 ft if you see something interesting. You and your buddy may separate from the main group. Your first dive is up to 50 minutes and your second dive is 1 hour with a depth limit of 60 feet.

If your computer breaks, you must skip diving for two days (use two). As I recall, you had to skip diving for one day if you went into deco and cleared deco.

BBW is deep. Make sure you mind your computer and don't exceed 1.4 ATA PPO²

You are spending thousands of dollars on this trip. Spend an extra 170 dollars each to decrease the odds of a very expensive chamber ride.

@Wookie has some anecdotal data from his dive boat DV Spree. Before he required divers use nitrox, he had 6 to 10 divers visit chambers per year. After he included nitrox in his trip fee, he had no divers getting bent and going for expensive chamber rides over about a 9 year period.

Remember, at LCBR, you must fly on a helicopter to reach the chamber on Grand Cayman.

Whip out your American Express Card and just pay for EANx. Priceless!

cheers,
m
PS: I read this article and it is really good! Dive safe! A short story from a chamber operator

 

[ReadyDiverOne]

+1+1+1 on all the responses saying yes dive the Nitrox. LCBR is basically like a liveaboard--you can do as many as 4 dives a day on Tue and Thurs (if they go out for a night dive), but even if you "only" do three dives every day (2 morning, 1 afternoon), it really adds up and is a lot of diving. I have really felt the difference positively using Nitrox.

 

[jcm1911a1]

Thank you everyone. Some pretty eye opening advise here. We will be diving nitrox when we go.

 

[caydiver]

Another vote for Nitrox. I am at the chamber as well. The number of guests we have that said that should have dive Nitrox but didn’t want to pay is just sad. The cost is huge to take a ride in the chamber. The dive docs seem to support Nitrox, staying well hydrated and just using common sense. If the helicopter is not available Cayman Airways delivers you flying low. Make sure all the group has their DAN up to date!!!

 

[jcm1911a1]

Another vote for Nitrox. I am at the chamber as well. The number of guests we have that said that should have dive Nitrox but didn’t want to pay is just sad. The cost is huge to take a ride in the chamber. The dive docs seem to support Nitrox, staying well hydrated and just using common sense. If the helicopter is not available Cayman Airways delivers you flying low. Make sure all the group has their DAN up to date!!!

Thank you! We've been DAN members since we started diving about 12 years ago.