When is it not worth it anymore?

[MXGratefulDiver]

Rob, I'm probably a bit further down that curve than you are. Last July I did a week in the Great Lakes. Had some fantastic dives down to about 250 feet ... did my deepest ever solo dive (193 feet) ... and came away from it all with the feeling that, while I'm glad I went, I really don't need to do it again.

I'm down to just a handful of deep dives per year ... mostly local dives with friends in the 150-200 foot range. And I'm even questioning whether I need to be going that deep anymore. My interests, really, are in taking pictures of marine life ... and as NetDoc just pointed out there's a lot more of that shallow than there is deep. There are the rare species that are only found ... or better found ... at depths, and I've been down there for some of those. But I just don't get the satisfaction out of a well-executed deep dive that I used to.

That said, I'm heading to the Red Sea in September ... I may decide to do a 200-foot dive or two while I'm there ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Diver0001]

That said, I'm heading to the Red Sea in September ... I may decide to do a 200-foot dive or two while I'm there ...

Yeah, it's easy mode. I usually do too but they're deep air and I'm not allowed to admit that in public since about 1990. I took video last year and was very surprised how much different it looked on the video than it did when I was down there.

R..

 

[Wookie]

I'm sure that doing no current 80 degree water 200 foot vis dives on something like the Wilkes Barre or the Saratoga are different than a 40 degree 20 foot vis dive on some wooden schooner in the great lakes. I do 1 all the time, and I see sharks and dolphins and other cool stuff on my deco, and we jack with each other and clip klukkers on the other guy, etc. I don't do 2. It is never worth it to me to put on a drysuit so I can survive deco.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I've always been a history buff. So wrecks in the great lakes are always a treat for me. But not on a single tank with no deco. Just not worth it for 10-15 minutes of bottom time. End of this month I'm doing my advanced wreck instructor course. Already have a Helitrox cert and coupled with that I see some very cool dives in the future. As well as teaching others how to do them. My deepest dive to date is 160 on the St James in Lake Erie. went down in 1870 or so. Sitting upright on the bottom, center mast still standing. total time on the wreck was 30 minutes on 21/28 mix. Deco was 39 minutes. Was it worth it? Yes. Once it came into sight the 36 degree water temps were an afterthought. Seeing the state of preservation and knowing there were likely still some remains on it (she went down at night in storm with no survivors), it was like entering a different world. I enjoy deco to a point and use the time to reflect on more than just the dive. Sometimes we need to be forced to stop and think, to tune out the bullshiite of the surface world, and just enjoy zero gravity. And when you come up from 36 degree water to deco in water mid to high 60's....... positively heaven. It feels so warm and relaxed.

 

[Diver0001]

It is never worth it to me to put on a drysuit so I can survive deco.

So... there's drysuits... and ..... what, exactly?

R..

 

[Jim Lapenta]

And there are some things in the 200 - 210 ft range I want to see. Right now I'm good to about 170.

 

[TSandM]

Rob, you need to do your Red Sea trip on the Tala -- all the helium you could ever want! (And scooters, too . . . )

I'm glad I got the technical training that I did, because it gives me options. But I do very little open water diving beyond recreational limits. I loathe open water deco; I don't like spending time in midwater in general. It's tolerable if you are working your way up structure and have something to see through the whole dive, as we did on most of our deco dives in the Red Sea. But as much as I like my dive buddies, I don't find looking into their eyes while sitting still in 50 degree water for half an hour to be inspiring.

Now, spending three hours in a cave is another matter. And we were in cave on this last trip where, had we planned better and had O2 with us, I would cheerfully have racked up some deco. Of course, it would be done in 75 degree water.

 

[Diver0001]

You hooked me when you said scooters LOL

... God, that's one toy I wish I had. I just can't see myself trying to explain to Silvija why it's necessary. You're lucky that Peter is a diver.

R..

 

[Dr. Lecter]

There are a ton of interesting terrain features, a significant amount of big pelagic life, and the occasional old unidentified wreck here in Hawaii between 200' and 300'+, and for me there's something different about being so deep that even with Hawaii's 100' viz it starts to get seriously dark and cold. Unlike rolling around a wreck at 120' with lots of fish and sunlight, it really feels like I'm in an alien environment. That said, I have my limits as to how often I want to spend three hours decoing just to spend 30 minutes feeling like an astronaut. A couple of dives like that a month are enough for me, with dives around 200' being much easier to do.

If I'm honest with myself, my personal limits have a lot less to do with deco, and more to do with how much crap I want to load up, carry onto a boat, don on a tiny boat with two or three other divers also covered in gear, haul out of the water onto said boat, haul off the boat and load back in the truck, unload again for rising, and finally put it all away before doing it again the next day/weekend. Three hours of deco is ing bliss by comparison to the 10-15 minutes I spend gearing up and prebreathing, or the hours spent hauling/maintaining all the crap I need to make sure I come back from the dive if things go sideways...wrangling BO tanks and DPVs is the bane of deep dives.

 

[Nasser]

I agree with the premise that it's a value call as to how important you feel what you want to see down there is.

For me tech diving is a means to an end and it allows me to conduct the kind of dives with the necessary tools and knowledge i will need to see something that I can't do as a "recreational sport " dive. It may involve going to deeper depths, or moderate depths for longer, or in an overhead environment. How much stuff I'm willing to take down and how much deco I spend will be decided on a case by case basis as to how important I feel the object or site is.

I certainly can't be bothered to see a shark at 60 meters for 20 min. when I can probably see it at shallower depths and within "recreational sport limits". But a famous or rare wreck, or beautiful and unique geological formations may very well warrant the extra risk, time, and equipment needed to conduct the dive... even to the point where the ascent/deco will be significantly longer than my BT.

However, like the OP, I have not really been doing monster dives beyond 60m with very long deco... for the simple fact that most of what I want to see has been within the more "moderate" ranges of depth and time, and has provided me with enough satisfaction. If and when a site really warrants the extra trouble IMHO, then I'll cross (swim) that bridge when I get to it - but so far not yet.