Thoughts about really long dive

[divebostonforcharity]

I did a dive with a guy who drank from a Capri Sun. It's a juice pouch, and since there's no structure, it will collapse as you drink. Since it's sealed, you wouldn't get water in when you poke the hole.

Bring a case to drink during the dive. It'll keep you hydrated plus it will give you some calories.

Don't forget a pee valve.

Uh, do they make a "brown valve"?

Thanks for the juice pouch idea. Of course I will have the sponsor providing the drysuit put a pee valve on it. As far as brown valves go, I figure I'll deal with that sort of thing before the dive and then because I'm not eating much solid, I won't need to during the dive.

 

[scubadiver888]

I though about this. I have never used one before. Anyway, I am not sure how I would handle my need to eat and drink while wearing a ffm. Wouldn't I have to take it off underwater. Quickly eat, and then put it back on all while slowly exhaling. Someone I talked to suggested a quick release strap to hold the reg in my mouth even while asleep. Obviously, I can't sleep more than an hour or so at a time anyway before my tank will run low and need to be swapped out for a full one.

The ffm will not work for the reasons you noted. I think it would be more trouble than it is worth.

I don't think you'll have to change your tank every hour or so. I was trying out some new gear and decided to empty my tank and do a buoyancy check. I swam around a 12' pool for 2 hours and still had more than a half a tank of air. I'd set my computer to chime the alarm when I hit the 500 PSI mark. Hopefully this would wake you up for your tank change.

A bungie like cord might be a good idea to hold the reg in your mouth. Something you can pull the reg out of your mouth but will hold it in place while you sleep.

 

[Ben_ca]

How about a thick hood? Oyster Bay makes a 12 mm dry suit hood. I have never used this hood but others have praised the hood. See the URL below.

Extra Products & Pictures

Otter Bay not Oyster Bay...

They do make excellent hoods but I'm not sure what goes into staying under for that long...

 

[bleeb]

I vaguely remember a discussion here on SB about skin problems from soaking in water for long periods. May have included something about coating exposed surfaces with something like lots of petroleum jelly?

 

[bane51031]

have you considered a hookah system for surface supplied air? would decrease logistics of hauling/swapping tanks? Also as far as a brown valve might want to consider depends, you can still wear the condom cath. and use the pee valve but, in the event of a brown out you would have some protection.....

 

[ronbeau]

Otter Bay not Oyster Bay...

They do make excellent hoods but I'm not sure what goes into staying under for that long...

You are correct. It must be subliminal, I exchanged one type animal for another totally unrelated type of animal.

The reason I suggested the thick hood was due to the rate of heat loss that occurs from the head.

 

[TSandM]

What's the water temperature in the harbor? Hypothermia would be the thing that would worry me most, because no matter what insulation you use, you will still, slowly but surely, lose heat. Even in fairly warm water (80 degrees) that heat loss is going to become significant in such a long period.

 

[divebostonforcharity]

What's the water temperature in the harbor? Hypothermia would be the thing that would worry me most, because no matter what insulation you use, you will still, slowly but surely, lose heat. Even in fairly warm water (80 degrees) that heat loss is going to become significant in such a long period.

The water is pretty cold. In June when the dive is planned for, the water at the planned depths will be high 60's. I am going to be using double drysuit heaters in addition to conventional insulation. I can't use a hookah system as this will violate the record setting guidlines which prohibit surface supplied air or heat sources.

 

[jldodd]

How do you intend to do the tank swaps? You mentioned a molded mouthpiece which would indicate you plan on using the same reg for the entire dive. Changing your reg to a different tank underwater could be quite risky. I would recommend having two sets of regs so that when a new tank comes down, there's a reg in place with the air on.

 

[Web Monkey]

I am working with tons of volunteers and sponsors to spend 48 hours in Boston Harbor as a fundraiser. I plan to be around 10 feet deep to avoid the need for a decomp stop. Also, to deal with the cold water and inactivity I will do it in a drysuit with dry gloves to avoid some of the skin issues Jerry Hall has had in his record setting dives. What other medical considerations to I need to think about?

Hypothermia, drowning when you fall asleep, skin infections from hanging out in the harbor too long, ear problems . . . the list goes on.

It might be for charity, but I can't say I think it's a great idea.

Terry