Wes Skiles Noted photographer's death will remain a mystery, medical examiner says

[lamont]

I can't say for CCR per se, but I've done that, going onto my oxygen at significant depth (e.g. 60 feet or less) on the last dive of a taxing series or when I had to fly right after getting out of the water.

I was going to ask how hard divers used to push washout dives, but I guess that answers my question...

 

[Crush]

OK, I have been following this thread and have been wondering "what are the niggles?" I was going to post the question, then I cringed at the number of "use the search button" responses that I would get so, despite my better instinct (the SB search button searches seem inferior my google searches) I did an SB search on "what are niggles." I was surprised to find this same question being posed a few days ago in the Technical Diving Specialties forum. For those who are lurking and want to know what the niggles are, in the post http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5567807-post4.html wedivebc notes that

niggles are sub-clinical DCS usually unexplained minor aches, pains, itches, etc following a period of diving

 

[Thalassamania]

I was going to ask how hard divers used to push washout dives, but I guess that answers my question...

The 60 foot number is an artifact of the old oxygen tolerance tests that many of us took. We figured that if we were OK in the chamber at 60 on pure oxygen we'd be OK in the water, at a later date. New data shows this not to be true, but old habits (especially bad ones) die hard.

OK, I have been following this thread and have been wondering "what are the niggles?" I was going to post the question, then I cringed at the number of "use the search button" responses that I would get so, despite my better instinct (the SB search button searches seem inferior my google searches) I did an SB search on "what are niggles." I was surprised to find this same question being posed a few days ago in the Technical Diving Specialties forum. For those who are lurking and want to know what the niggles are, in the post http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5567807-post4.html wedivebc notes that

You can do a google search on scubaboard by amending the command: site:scubaboard.com

That way you've the best of both worlds.

 

[Cave Diver]

The 60 foot number is an artifact of the old oxygen tolerance tests that many of us took. We figured that if we were OK in the chamber at 60 on pure oxygen we'd be OK in the water, at a later date. New data shows this not to be true, but old habits (especially bad ones) die hard.

There was post in the not so distant past that mentioned something along this line, albeit regarding narcosis. Basically, people in a chamber didn't exhibit near the same degree of narcosis as someone at the equivalent depth in water. Until they hit a trigger. Then the effects hit pretty fast.

Oxygen tolerance could be the same way perhaps?

 

[Thalassamania]

Don't know ... I get narked (or at least notice the nark) much more in a chamber.

 

[D_B]

Interesting thread topic/comments/information ... thanks

 

[Crush]

Don't know ... I get narked (or at least notice the nark) much more in a chamber.

Newb response: when I dive 40F water at 15-20 foot vis, I notice the narc coming on at about 80 feet. When I dive 70F water with 100 foot vis, my mind seems to me to be clear as a bell at 110 feet. NB: I am not saying that my mind is perfectly clear, only that it seems to be perfectly clear. This perceptual narrowing in restricted visibility is likely directly proportional to my comfort level - I would much rather make a descent to a wreck at 110 ft that I can see from the surface than I would make a descent to a wreck at 70 ft in 20 ft vis.

There must be some psychological studies on this...

 

[Thalassamania]

I find the question of narcosis an interesting one, but I rather doubt that it had much to do with Wes' dive. We should (and have) discussed narcosis in other threads.

 

[lamont]

The 60 foot number is an artifact of the old oxygen tolerance tests that many of us took. We figured that if we were OK in the chamber at 60 on pure oxygen we'd be OK in the water, at a later date. New data shows this not to be true, but old habits (especially bad ones) die hard.

i assume you weren't doing that on every dive? so this was for the last dive in the series that you'd spike it this high, the rest of it was something slightly saner like 1.8 working / 2.0 deco?

 

[Thalassamania]

Back in those days were were diving 1.6 working, 1.8 resting, and sometimes going to oxygen at the thirty foot stop. Going to oxygen deeper was never an "approved" approach, it was one of those things that was done either to break another "rule" (e.g., time to fly) or because you were feeling tired, which everyone recognized to be, but no one actually admitted publicly, was sub-clinical DCS.

Hell, back in the day when the rule to fly was Group D or better, we found out that two hours of surface breathing O2 would take your from Group N to Group A. How much of a jump do you think it was to figure out that at 20 feet it was even better, plus you could get a shallow dive in and get on the plane in your still wet trunks? Don't laugh ... it has been done. We had found a really cool way around a restriction that most everyone else had to live with ... we were way too cool. I fear that Wes' incident may have been little more than carrying that state of mind to a greater level.