Yukon tangent thread
- Thread starter raybosd
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yes, you can be narked at 100ft, and probably are to some extent (one of the demonstrations during your deep dive for AOW is to show how it affects your ability to think even though you don't feel any different)
... from what I understand of it, some can learn to recognize it ... its affects varies per person, per day, per depth (it changes)
... from what I understand of it, some can learn to recognize it ... its affects varies per person, per day, per depth (it changes)
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OMG!
. . . sorry, an earlier question on gas ignited a firestorm! 
Where and when people get narced is as varied as the physiology of the divers. Just search this board!
I don't know that I have ever been narced . . . I could not tell any difference, but I always assumed it so because I really don't know better, and I have only about 20 dives past 100 feet to go on.Since he was at that highly touted line of demarcation, one should consider it a definite contribution factor. Being that he was AT the line will probably engender much debate.
My "eye-opener" for narcosis was when a highly experienced deep-air diver confessed that he would now train for trimix, because when an instructor invited him to try trimix at 200' (traded stages with him), he was amazed at the clarity of his thoughts; when he went back to air, it was as if a fog rolled over his mind.
Good question. I have taken numerous Advanced Open Water students to 100 feet for their first time (many of them at the Yukon). I have never seen anyone noticeably impaired by narcosis at that depth. It's unusual for them to even notice any effects. While nitrogen narcosis does occur at 100 and shallower, it is usually too mild to notice.
Did anyone from the San Diego area see the channel 10 news at 11:00 last night? they interviewed the owner of the Humboldt. He had some interesting things to say. He also seemed to know Mr. Clampit (sp) from previous trips on the boat. His impression was that he was a more than competent diver. He also had a few comments about the lack of a proper head count and how that made his organization look.
ScubaSteve
Wow.....what a DB
He was apparently diving regular air (~20.9% oxygen....:doh: (thanks)) so narcosis is likely to be more of a factor than if he had been diving a more oxygen rich gas even though it was likely not a big factor (my opinion). The reality is, as D_B has said, it is very possible, even likely for a diver to experience narcosis at 100'. The likelyhood would increase with cooler temperatures and visibility. Not every diver will recognize narcosis as such and it does affect each diver differently (varying degrees). Sadly, nobody will ever know for sure if narcosis was a factor but it is a possibility.
As for "taking pictures of something in the sand"......a photographer will find excitement anywhere so I do not see anything wrong with that statement.
Adobo
Contributor
I've done 99% of my dives to these depths with what I suspect would be similar conditions with 32% also. I suspect on most days for most divers, 32 is a suitable choice.
I wonder though if people like this poor chap knew that he had alternatives outside the choices he made. Based on what little we know, he chose to:
- dive solo
- with an al80
- using air or some form of nitrox
Several people on this thread have remarked how they came to the conclusion that solo diving is the best choice for them. You and I both know that if one is methodical about picking and maintaining a buddy team, one will not necessarily conclude that solo diving is the best choice.
Aluminum 80 to a dive at 100ft? I know that many can pull this off just fine but under average circumstances, this guy had 20 minutes of runtime before he is at the point where he has barely enough gas to get back on the boat with safety stop. (That obviously does not factor in the case where he might have to bring someone else up sharing gas - i suspect solo divers don't bother planning for this scenario)
And then finally, everyone knows that the can dive air or nitox to 100ft. But I wonder if people know what alternatives they have if they feel like dives like these tend to lead them to being narced.
I'm not sure any one of these choices on their own would have been problematic for this dive. But certainly all three of these choices together on this particular dive?
Maybe I am off base but if this was a friend of mine and he told me he was about to do this dive, these are the three areas I would highlight for him as the areas I have concerns about.
You are always narced to some degree at that depth or even shallower. Many people will say they're not because they are not incapacitated to the degree to make it noticeable. The first time I realized I was narced was at about 100 feet, and the only reason I knew I was narced was that I realized I was having an unusually difficult time solving a minor problem. Otherwise I felt fine.
An experienced deep diver at 100 feet should be able to manage narcosis effectively, and it really should not become a factor unless the diver runs into a problem and is less effective than needed in solving it.
The only way breathing gas would have affected this would be if he was breathing a helium mix to reduce the amount of narcotic gases being breathed. Divers usually mix helium so that it gives an equivalent narcotic depth of 100 feet, so I sincerely doubt he would have been breathing a mix that would have given him any benefit.
You might want to edit that
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