Question What mix to use for 200ft (60m)

[Angelo Farina]

What is wrong doing these few dives on air? This is done commonly here in Europe...
And I did several dives to 58-60m in air, when young.
Not doing this now, due to age and health conditions.
But people in the Mediterranean or the Atlantic coast of France dive in air to 60m routinely, and their CMAS certification allows for this.
And it is considered still a recreational dive, not tech!
I suppose that also people in UK operating under BSAC do the same...

 

[Celt]

What is wrong doing these few dives on air? This is done commonly here in Europe...
And I did several dives to 58-60m in air, when young.
Not doing this now, due to age and health conditions.
But people in the Mediterranean or the Atlantic coast of France dive in air to 60m routinely, and their CMAS certification allows for this.
And it is considered still a recreational dive, not tech!
I suppose that also people in UK operating under BSAC do the same...

 

[rjack321]

What is wrong doing these few dives on air? This is done commonly here in Europe...
And I did several dives to 58-60m in air, when young.
Not doing this now, due to age and health conditions.
But people in the Mediterranean or the Atlantic coast of France dive in air to 60m routinely, and their CMAS certification allows for this.
And it is considered still a recreational dive, not tech!
I suppose that also people in UK operating under BSAC do the same...

I dunno man, if you spend $3-4,000 USD on airfare and charters perhaps you'd like to remember the dives.

 

[rongoodman]

What is wrong doing these few dives on air? This is done commonly here in Europe..

Europeans aren’t subject to narcosis?

 

[rjack321]

Europeans aren’t subject to narcosis?

Maybe? They forgot

 

[TrimixToo]

Maybe? They forgot

Memory's said to be the second thing to go...

 

[Wibble]

Hey there. First off this post is not intended to be a short cut around training but rather I'm trying to decide if I should look into rebreather or stay open circuit. I am pointing out I have not takes any "tec training" yet. I'm planning to take TDI sidemount and start AN/DP by the end of this year or early next year depending on finances. I am planning to do as much of my diving in sidemount as possible so (4 cylinders or less).

My ultimate goal is to get over to the Great Lakes and dive the shipwrecks in Lake Huron, Michigan, USA, it seems that a lot of the wrecks are at about the 200ft (60m) mark. So my question is what mix of trimix would I be using for these dives? I have a young family so I can see myself being able to get away for 1 week (7days) a year for this kind of trip. a 7 day trip likely means 5 days of diving, I hear the common rule of thumb is "2 deco dives a day keeps the doctors away" I'm not too sure if 200ft(60m) is considered a big deco dive, if it is then it would be "1 deco dive a day keeps the doctors away".

So If I'm doing 5-10 dives a year to 200ft does a rebreather make sense? Would anyone be willing to help me out with what I would be expecting to carry when it comes to back gas and deco gas?

1. The writing is on the wall for open circuit deep diving simply because the helium isn’t available in the quantities required for OC.

2. Rebreathers are nothing like open circuit to dive. They are complex machines which require a lot of practice to safely dive deep, i.e. with significant amounts of decompression.

Thus your future will be on a rebreather if you want to dive the deeper wrecks.

3. Rebreathers are expensive both in the $10k+++ initial outlay but also in the minimum two courses you must take (MOD1 for the initial CCR training, plus the MOD2 for the deep training) which will cost $3k+ each (inc course costs, travel, accommodation, etc). Then you absolutely must put the hours in on the unit such that you are diving the rebreather, not the other way around. Say 100 hours between courses.

Thus you may find it is a long term aspiration.

In the short to medium term, get some decompression training on open circuit. The ANDP (advanced nitrox and decompression procedures) course would be an excellent starting point which allows you to do much longer bottom times with additional decompression stage(s). This experience will massively help you on your way to rebreather diving later in your career.

It’s a marathon not a sprint. There’s no rush as you’ve got time on your side.

 

[Celt]

What is wrong doing these few dives on air? This is done commonly here in Europe...
And I did several dives to 58-60m in air, when young.
Not doing this now, due to age and health conditions.
But people in the Mediterranean or the Atlantic coast of France dive in air to 60m routinely, and their CMAS certification allows for this.
And it is considered still a recreational dive, not tech!
I suppose that also people in UK operating under BSAC do the same...

Realistically, if someone was complaining of memory loss and narcosis at 100 feet on air, the last place you need to be with them is at 200 feet.

 

[berndo]

Europeans aren’t subject to narcosis?

I don't dive air below 45 m anymore but I can tell you that memory loss is not a something I've ever experienced. The conditions in the Med are very good in summer with clear and warm water trimix didn't really show before the early or mid 2000s and never really was widely available.
I wouldn't advice anyone to do it, especially not to a newer diver, but the it's not nearly as bad as people on the internet make it sound. I think most people don't know what they're talking about and are just repeating stuff they've been told. The whole thing about max air depth of 100 feet is pretty ridiculous.

 

[Superlyte27]

1. The writing is on the wall for open circuit deep diving simply because the helium isn’t available in the quantities required for OC.

2. Rebreathers are nothing like open circuit to dive. They are complex machines which require a lot of practice to safely dive deep, i.e. with significant amounts of decompression.

Thus your future will be on a rebreather if you want to dive the deeper wrecks.

3. Rebreathers are expensive both in the $10k+++ initial outlay but also in the minimum two courses you must take (MOD1 for the initial CCR training, plus the MOD2 for the deep training) which will cost $3k+ each (inc course costs, travel, accommodation, etc). Then you absolutely must put the hours in on the unit such that you are diving the rebreather, not the other way around. Say 100 hours between courses.

Thus you may find it is a long term aspiration.

In the short to medium term, get some decompression training on open circuit. The ANDP (advanced nitrox and decompression procedures) course would be an excellent starting point which allows you to do much longer bottom times with additional decompression stage(s). This experience will massively help you on your way to rebreather diving later in your career.

It’s a marathon not a sprint. There’s no rush as you’ve got time on your side.

Pfft, I have 4-6 CCR right now for sale for under $6k