No pony on solo shallow teeth dive?

[Nick Steele]

While I don’t know as much about the red tides in the gulf I do know quite a bit about the brown tides in the Indian River Lagoon (east coast).

At least around here while Lako O discharges have an impact they aren’t the only thing. Run off from a drastically changing human population is causing many problems with their septic tanks and lawn fertilizers. Brain Lapointe from FAU did a ton of research and published a few papers on the topic that I can’t get atm but here is the abstract. Septic systems contribute to nutrient pollution and harmful algal blooms in the St. Lucie Estuary, Southeast Florida, USA - ScienceDirect

While Lake O is a major problem and needs to be fixed/corrected it isn’t the only thing that needs to be.

 

[kelemvor]

While I don’t know as much about the red tides in the gulf I do know quite a bit about the brown tides in the Indian River Lagoon (east coast).

At least around here while Lako O discharges have an impact they aren’t the only thing. Run off from a drastically changing human population is causing many problems with their septic tanks and lawn fertilizers. Brain Lapointe from FAU did a ton of research and published a few papers on the topic that I can’t get atm but here is the abstract. Septic systems contribute to nutrient pollution and harmful algal blooms in the St. Lucie Estuary, Southeast Florida, USA - ScienceDirect

While Lake O is a major problem and needs to be fixed/corrected it isn’t the only thing that needs to be.

As long as you're not taking fish or bugs to eat or drinking the water it isn't a major problem. I've dived in red tide at the boneyard on the west coats and I've dived through the Okeechobee discharge in the east coast. It's kind of "gross" but neither time caused any kind of problem for anyone in our dive group. I'm sure it dissuades tourism, and is likely a problem if you're trying to eat the fish.

 

[Nick Steele]

@kelemvor yeah I’ve stopped eating fish from around the Indian River during bad periods and wait months after it’s gone before I will eat any again. But I have no problem wade fishing in it at all. My girl thinks it gross and sometimes it is but the fishing is still good for a day out. Only time I won’t go in is if there is a thick green slime on the shore that’s really off putting or I have some fresh cuts below my waist.

 

[caruso]

I know it's hard for people to wrap their head around it. Fish kills? It must be man made! But the truth is the natual world can be ruthless. Dont get me wrong, I want to see us doing a better job managing agricultural runoff, but at the same time we need to be truthful. Blaming red tide on farming is dishonest.

There are many who disagree with you that human intervention is not a factor in the massive red tide bloom that is plaguing the West coat of Florida. In fact, in your very post you share a link that says that human intervention is in fact contributing to the worsening of the problem- especially "in shore".

There are many people who are protesting the discharge of sewage from local lakes, who also don't agree with you.

'We want our beaches back': Hundreds to call for action amid algae crisis

 

[John C. Ratliff]

The only time I've done a boneyard dive solo I was in full doubles. Now that I actually own a pony, I'd probably use a backmount single and the pony. I wouldn't crap on anyone's cornflakes if they chose to do a 15' dive solo without a pony. At 15' it might be easier and quicker just to surface than to break out a pony anyway. Certainly the difference would be negligible I think. Maybe I'm wrong, as I've never had to use the pony for real nor have I had to do a cesa for real.

I will say that this is an example of a dive where I really like to have a DC with audible alarms. Haptic would be a nice boon, but I don't own a computer with that feature yet. That way it could get my attention if I somehow screw up and get low on gas. Not that I've ever let it happen, but alarms seem like a nice backup plan.

If you are really interested in an audible alarm, pick up a Scubapro Mk VII or Healthways Scubapro 300 sonic reserve first stages. They will give you an unmistakeable sonic reserve , and you can use your computer with them too.

SeaRat

PS, then there is always the J-Valve too.

 

[JamesBon92007]

PS, then there is always the J-Valve too.

I have a lot of trouble imagining anyone born after about 1980 being willing to use a J-valve. Most of those people seem to think they are out of air at 500 psi let alone actually continuing a dive at 300 psi To me it sure seems a lot simpler than carrying an extra little tank. I figured it out once and I think 300 psi in a 72 was around 8-8.5 cu/ft which was a little more than one of those little spare air things that I was comparing it to.

 

[caruso]

I will say that this is an example of a dive where I really like to have a DC with audible alarms. alarms seem like a nice backup plan.

They can be over used. Nothing more annoying than diving with a group off a cattle boat and hearing those alarms going off.

 

[northernone]

I have a lot of trouble imagining anyone born after about 1980 being willing to use a J-valve. Most of those people seem to think they are out of air at 500 psi let alone actually continuing a dive at 300 psi To me it sure seems a lot simpler than carrying an extra little tank. I figured it out once and I think 300 psi in a 72 was around 8-8.5 cu/ft which was a little more than one of those little spare air things that I was comparing it to.

Not to sidetrack a thread, but to give you a little hope. I introduced a j-valve to a 16 year old a few days ago, she loves it. Picked the lp72 off a guy who enjoyed it since '68, he's diving 50s now for a little less weight on shore.

Provided they actually work, they are still great for shallow low viz dives.

...and I love my honkers.

 

[aquacat8]

I would love to try a j valve. I kind of want to get in my local waters just for practice. But these would be zero to two foot viz. If you were in this water what would you wear/do?

When swimming here, often I can’t see my fingernails. Yesterday I was nailed on the ass by a jellyfish. It looks like I’ve been severely whipped. Damn thing stung me right through my bikini bottom. Can’t even think about the alligators. Sigh, the joys of Savannah, GA.

 

[JamesBon92007]

I would love to try a j valve. I kind of want to get in my local waters just for practice. But these would be zero to two foot viz. If you were in this water what would you wear/do?

When swimming here, often I can’t see my fingernails. Yesterday I was nailed on the ass by a jellyfish. It looks like I’ve been severely whipped. Damn thing stung me right through my bikini bottom. Can’t even think about the alligators. Sigh, the joys of Savannah, GA.

Egads! Maybe you should be wearing your selkie skin!

I'm often not sure who you are replying to, but I've been diving in near zero vis many times with just a K-Valve and no SPG or BC. When I was eleven years old I could easily free-dive to 15 feet and by the time I was thirteen I could dive to 35 feet on a regular basis. Personally it would not occur to me to bring along any kind of back-up air supply in 15 feet of water, but I started diving before some of the currently-available gear was even around. There would be no point in not having a SPG and I prefer them over a reserve valve. Even with six inches of visibility you could read probably the gauge. As for the 300 psi reserve, I have an old ScubaPro Adjustable J-Valve that can be set higher. I think it's maximum is 500 psi, but it might be more. I can look it up if you are interested. I see them occasionally on eBay but these kinds of valves tend to need to have their O-rings replaced more frequently than a regular K-Valve. If you haven't worked on valves before it's not too big of a deal and you seem like you would be able to handle it easily enough. All you really need is a valve diagram and a set or two of O-rings and some silicone grease. Most of the time I don't even need the diagram. I have seen valve seats/repair kits on eBay but so far I have never needed to replace a valve seat on a valve (replaced several on regulators though). I started diving alone many years back when my ex-wife was pregnant and never thought about having a dive buddy after that but I rarely exceeded about 60-70 feet and most of the time it was more like 35 feet. I know I can make it to the surface from that depth. I'm not saying that people should not use back-up air supplies etc if that makes them comfortable, I'm just saying I can't imagine needing one under these conditions. Of course it's always possible that something really bizarre could happen but I probably have a better chance of being a victim of a mass-shooting incident. Probably the main difficulty with rebuilding/repairing your own valve would be filling the tank to test it afterwards. It would be a PITA to have to run down to the dive shop, get it filled, then get to some water to see if it's leaks, then empty the tank again.... Fortunately I have my own compressor and a swimming pool I got lucky many years ago and found little compressor on Craig's List for $300 that was ready to use! So far I had to replace the fill hose and the pressure gauge but all that came to only about $50.