Review: The Last Dive

[Fish_Whisperer]

I just finished Shadow Divers and I still think The Last Dive was far more interesting and just as well written as SD. Yes, TLD had some cheesy stuff in it, but it had a greater variety of stuff; Cave diving, wreck diving, detailed experiences with DCS, and a lot of insight into the lives of the people involved, etc.

 

[Don Burke]

you mean when he ascends to 20 feet so he can breathe 100% O2 instead
of staying at 40 feet on pure O2?

Actually, I was referring to refusing to breathe 17/35 and choosing between oxtox at 40 feet or DCS at 20 feet.

i thought that was a good call

I think that call should never have been made.

now how he got there... oy vey...

That is the decision I am referring to.




This is the statement you took exception to:

The big one that sticks out the most was Bernie ascending into DCS because none of the gasses available were deemed suitable for decompression.

Using hindsight, it could be refined somewhat, but I stand by it.

 

[H2Andy]

Actually, I was referring to refusing to breathe 17/35 and choosing
between oxtox at 40 feet or DCS at 20 feet.

i recall that his rationale was that the 17/35 wouldn't help him with deco
at that depth... i guess he wanted pure O2 to speed it up

i don't know too much about deco (actually, precious little), but i think
if i had to chose between oxtox at 40 and DCS at 20 with pure O2 available
(remember, the boat had an unlimited supply piped down to a regulator
at 20 feet), i'd take the 100% O2 and DCS risk

especially so since 100% O2 is a great treatment for DCS, so you'd be
killing two birds with one stone (doing deco and fighting DCS)

 

[Scuba_Steve]

What impressed me the most was the tight team work

LOL, and then worrying that the one guy (Wolfgang??) would actually splash in without him......

Like what....?

Were they there for each other anyway?? LOL

And then to come to the conclusion that comm's systems would practically fix all these problems........well........

Good read though, but I hope no-one's getting their deep dive theory from this

 

[Scuba_Steve]

i recall that his rationale was that the 17/35 wouldn't help him with deco
at that depth... i guess he wanted pure O2 to speed it up

i don't know too much about deco (actually, precious little), but i think
if i had to chose between oxtox at 40 and DCS at 20 with pure O2 available
(remember, the boat had an unlimited supply piped down to a regulator
at 20 feet), i'd take the 100% O2 and DCS risk

especially so since 100% O2 is a great treatment for DCS, so you'd be
killing two birds with one stone (doing deco and fighting DCS)

Well 17/35 isn't doing any real efficient deco at that depth , but to honest I thnk the whole thing is moot simply becuse it's such a dismal CF way to dive to being with, the only real choice was to stay home.

I just re-read (that chapter) last night to get a little more familiar with it again, and boy oh boy......

I was impressed he did what looked like a complete schedule 6 all by himself, inwater and all alone, no less

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

And then to come to the conclusion that comm's systems would practically fix all these problems........well........

I think it would have helped A LOT, and the Rouses might actually have made it, if they could have said, "Hey, we've got a problem. Drop us a couple of tanks down to 50'!"

Then again, if they would have been diving tri-mix instead of air, they might not have had nearly the problems that they did with narcosis, etc. Of course, it's all academic now... Sad...

 

[Scuba_Steve]

comms, more gas, more lights, 10 more second holding your breath, whatever....it's all a fudge for fixing what is a serious lack of team in all aspects.

All of that stuff I'm sure could have helped every once in a while in an ideal situation, those of which are few and far between.......

Send me down more gas.........yeah, OK.

Oh yeah, bring it to the 15th port-hole moving aft from the down-line, at the Orlop deck because I'm stuck inside at 220ft between two water-tight bulkheads, and could ya send somebody in to get me out cause my tool belt is in a serious mess and lost the battle with the hanging crap, and uhm no I didn't run a line either..........

Uhm better make that three bottles cause at 80cf every 10 minutes I'm gonna need a lot..........LOL

Well, I hope you get what I'm saying.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Oh, of course... I'm not saying that it would have absolutely made a difference. But it seems possible that it could have been a big help in some way. When I was a medic and lost a patient in the ER, I'd spend weeks going over and over every step and wondering what I could have done differently, and if anything could have made a difference. Old habits die hard.

 

[Scuba_Steve]

I think the biggest dis-service that these types of book do is actually bring the wrong ideas to recreational divers on how technical diving is to be done.

They're great reads, and for me it's a bit of history and also entertainment, but the conclusions I see are so far off the mark, it's no wonder the craziness continues.

If you can't fix it with your team in a short period of time really, you're just rolling the dice, so bring a spare air or four along if it makes you feel better, but in the final analysis, you're still pissing into the wind.

So i have to ask you, since these guy employed niether, would you rather have brought a comm's unit along, or a buddy with a spare brain, your redundant bottom gas and deco gas, your 3rd and 4th arm for hang-ups etc, spare eyes, and just about every other spare thing you may need as well?

Seems like a real no-brainer to me.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Why do I deserve your sarcasm, Steve? The short answer is, I don't.

I am not a technical diver, nor do I claim to know anything about it, other than some reading I've done and a handful of discussions. The only thing I wondered, is if something like a comm rig could have actually made a difference.

Anyway, I'm done with this thread. I enjoyed both books, but liked "The Last Dive" a little more.