Scary dives in Coz last week

[ScubaTexan]

Devil's Throat on nitrox ? Crazy if you ask me. Too deep unless you like convulsions.

Like I said....I've never dived Devil's Throat. Doesn't sound that appealing to me. I've seen the abyss, and I didn't have to go down to 130 feet to see it.

 

[Snowbear]

Do you actually know when you're narked? Either at the time or afterwards? There have been times I didn't know I was drunk til the next day when I said OMG I can't believe I DID that, but at the time I thought I was fine. Since I believe I stayed pretty focussed in the water, I don't know.

I know when I'm narced, but I know when I'm drunk as well
A lot of people have said they dove to 120', 150', 180', whatever and didn't get narced. I've also seen a few of those people stumbling drunk and think they were just fine...

 

[Web Monkey]

we would have notified our DM of our depth. I don't like the way your buddy (a) blindly followed the DM (b) did not know his own depth and (c) blew you off to follow the DM.

FWIW, I usually think of "following the DM" as being more for seeing interesting stuff than someone to follow though conditions I consider dangerous.

If the DM is doing something strange, I figure he might know what he's doing, but that doesn't mean I have to do it. He might be chasing after another diver who's doing something dangerous (ascending or descending), just lost his favorite watch, or got narc'd and was chasing fish.

Also, I don't mean to stir up the "Pony Bottle Wars", but I wouldn't be going down to 130' with a single tank and a buddy who hoovers air. If you had had a failure of some sort at 130' with Mr. "I've got 50 pounds left", neither of you would be here right now.

It's great that you had extra air for your buddy, but he didn't have any for you.

Terry

 

[firediver293]

Sounds to me like it was the DM that wasn't ready for that dive. Despite being new(er), you kept your cool and remembered your training.

 

[Charlie99]

Devil's Throat on nitrox ? Crazy if you ask me. Too deep unless you like convulsions.

Please explain your calculations.

I've done Devil's Throat on EAN31 before. I don't like convulsions, nor do I like DCS.

With a single AL80, even with SAC of 0.4cfm (11lpm), I would have been out of gas well before getting to even 50% of NOAA CNS limit.

Now if you want to debate the sanity of entering a long swimthru with a single tank at 100'+, then we will be talking about the true risks.

Charlie

 

[hisinco]

Your opinion is not uncommon for those who are uncomfortable with the idea of sharing air. This is exactly why practicing such skills is a good idea; to eliminate the fobia surrounding sharing air and become comfortale with itq, for both parties. Since it is a skill which all divers should be prepared to utilize, it is a good idea to practice these skills in a non-threatening environment. In the 665 dives I have completed, I have used this technique with good results on at least 25% of my dives, with numerous buddies. If, for instance, he is at 1500 psi when I still have over 2000 psi, we share until we are both at 1500 psi. I still contend it is an excellent idea to give less experienced divers an oppertunity to practice sharing air in a situation where they are not under the pressure of being low on air, trying to execute and exit while sharing air, etc. The more comfortable we become with such skills, the better prepared we will be to use them properly in a more stressful situatin, rather than wait for a crisis to practice necessary skills. What would be really risky would be to try to share air in a crisis situation when one had not practiced the technique enough to be confidant with his skills.

Sounds risky. You've already said your buddy consumes air *much* faster than you, so unless you're turnaround point is extremely conservative, sharing air with your buddy to preserve his psi is not good gas management. OK, with no overhead and no chance for deco, this *might* be OK - but I would not suggest this as a normal course of action...

 

[Augustus]

Devil's Throat on nitrox ? Crazy if you ask me. Too deep unless you like convulsions.

I agree most people should avoid nitrox at punta sur but when you exit the cavern system you are around 120 max. The folks talking about 130 or so likely do not have the bouyancy control and tend to sink coming out of the system. Nitrox is my preferred way to dive the system having done it many times since nitrox arrived on island. You have to have excellent bouyancy control and a solid depth awarness. But most of the dive is done 90-110 feet. Using a 32% mix and a 1.6 limit makes it a do able dive if you have the experience level. If in doubt no way. Likely as not most operators would not take you there on nitrox.

 

[Warren_L]

Like I said....I've never dived Devil's Throat. Doesn't sound that appealing to me. I've seen the abyss, and I didn't have to go down to 130 feet to see it.

Most of my dives I did last month in Coz were under 80' mostly. But Punta Sur was definitely one of my faves. Ya just gotta do it to appreciate it. Describing it does it no justice.

 

[Dee]

I agree Warren, there's just something about coming out of a tunnel over the abyss. There is also several tunnels on Punta Sur, some of them not as deep as Devil's Throat. There's we call Devil's Ear just above the Throat. Ever done the Throat backwards? That's different!

Anyway...if you are a fan of tunnels and the abyss like I am, there's just no way to describe it. And those who don't like the deep blue, will never understand the attraction.

 

[DandyDon]

don

Please explain your calculations.

I've done Devil's Throat on EAN31 before. I don't like convulsions, nor do I like DCS.

I was taught to respct a recreational scuba soft bottom of 1.4, which for 31% would be 116 feet.

I agree most people should avoid nitrox at punta sur but when you exit the cavern system you are around 120 max. The folks talking about 130 or so likely do not have the bouyancy control and tend to sink coming out of the system. Nitrox is my preferred way to dive the system having done it many times since nitrox arrived on island. You have to have excellent bouyancy control and a solid depth awarness. But most of the dive is done 90-110 feet. Using a 32% mix and a 1.6 limit makes it a do able dive if you have the experience level. If in doubt no way. Likely as not most operators would not take you there on nitrox.

Nope, I didn't fall in on the exit - just following the guide. But I was on air, he was on Nitrox. :spike: And again - 1.4 is where I call my bottom. I would prefer to dive it on 28%, which can be done by partially draining a 32% bottle then toping off with air, but not available on the island that I know of.

don