The Allure of the Deep
By Bob Bailey
Many divers, especially newer divers, develop a fascination for how deep they can go. I can recall that, as a new diver, I couldnÃÕ wait to ÅÏotch my first 100-foot dive. Over the years, IÃ×e observed that itÃÔ fairly common for divers who are just starting to get comfortable with their underwater skills to push depth limits as a way of challenging themselves, or simply to satisfy a curiosity about whatÃÔ down there.
Fortunately, most dives go without a problem and everyone has a great time. But sometimes things donÃÕ go as planned, and a diver will find out the hard way that they are not well prepared to deal with problems that can become magnified by increased depth. The most common mistake is that the diver does not realize how quickly theyÃÍl go through their air supply, and they either run out of or low on air at depth. And tragically, sometimes this results in a diver fatality. But there are other things a deep diver needs to consider, and not all of them are adequately covered in a diverÃÔ training.
Looking back on my own experiences, I can see that my early decisions to go deep were not always good ones, because I was unaware of the risks I was taking at the time. In hindsight, I was just lucky, and itÃÔ never a good idea to rely on luck to get you through your dive safely.
So IÃÅ like to discuss some of the risks of deep diving, and describe how someone contemplating doing deeper dives can better prepare to deal with them.
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