These posts are describing a policy that is very different from the impression I was getting from the other posts. To understand the context, you have to follow the conversation thread through a long and winding trail through the thread that spawned this one. It started with someone posting that he liked to use the old Navy air tables because he could clear deco without the "No Deco!" diver operator knowing he had done it. He was asked how this would be different from someone clearling a couple minutes of deco on a computer. If the diver came up within the normal period of time, how would anyone know that he had fulfilled a two minute deco obligation on the dive, intentional or not? The response was that there were indeed dive operators that will check the computers of their divers after a dive to make sure the log did not indicate any deco, and if they found such a thing, the diver was held out of future dives.
An example was given of the Shearwater Petrel in tech mode. It considers the requirement of a one minute safety stop to be deco, and will indicate it as such in its log. Veteran users of this computer will intentionally go a couple of minutes into deco on a typical recreational dive, doing nothing more than a 3 minute safety stop (or even less) to clear it. The implication in the thread was that some operators will check the log and ban such a diver from the next dive. That seemed a bit aggressive to me.
We try to assume that our divers are adults. At least until proven otherwise, and the vast majority are. We ask for depth and bottom time when you come up, not to be a nanny, but to record it so that if we have to evacuate you by helo, and the chamber we evacuate you to can't read a computer, we can send you with a record of what you have told us. This is a holdover from 20 years ago, when many divers did not use a computer, and they gave us depth and bottom time from a watch and depth gage.
The only time we look at your computer is if you can't read it yourself because you haven't read the manual, and don't understand how to get it into log mode following a dive. We don't do this to find out if you've been in deco, but to record your depth and bottom time as explained above. We aren't the scuba police, we are merely trying to collect information in the event we need to send you for further medical intervention. That hasn't happened in a number of years (like since 2005), maybe we need to update our policies, but it works for us.
The only time we will ban you from another dive is if you lockout your computer, or you run completely out of air. I say air, but I use the term generically to mean breathing gas, specifically back gas. I have to think that if you run out of gas, I need to sit down with you and teach you some gas management skills. I am happy to do so. Your entrance back in the water depends 100% on how readily you learn those skills. If you have a hard time learning from me, you aren't likely to get back in the water soon. I will also let you back in if your trip leader agrees that they will be responsible for your life if you choose not to learn gas management skills. See what I did there, and what I said?
I believe that if you lock up your computer, you need to follow your computer's instructions. I am a great advocate of using Shearwater products, because they don't lock up. I have to assume that you chose your computer for a specific reason, with us all being adults here, and if you choose some crappy computer that locks you up, you must have chosen it for the added safety factor of going into deco, or violating some other stupid computer rule, means you should sit out the duration of the lockout for safety's sake. After all, am I smarter than the designer of your computer? Do I have the same access to references 100 miles from internet that the person who thought it was a good idea for your computer to sit you out 24 hours for a violation? I can't possibly be smarter than the idiot who designed a computer to default to 50% O2 79% N2 at midnight, can I? So, if you bought one of those computers it must be because you like the safety features of that particular computer, far be it from me to allow you to ignore those same features.
I see over and over threads on SB about how someone wants a good, cheap computer. Seems to me an either/or, but what do I know. I'm just a dumb boat captain.
---------- Post added July 12th, 2015 at 12:29 PM ----------
I would like to add 2 ops to the list, Conch Republic Divers and Finz Dive Center. I know Pete and Capt. Gary don't see eye to eye on every little thing, but CRD has a booster and pumps rebreather cylinders and blends trimix. Finz Dive center in Key West at the Hurricane Hole Marina is very tech friendly. They typically get gas from me, they can pp blend trimix, I can boost it for them if I'm in town, and they will take you anywhere from the Curb to the Kendrick, and to the Saufly and Fred T Berry if you have the numbers.
