Dear Fellow Divers, 

With the current state of gas availability using non-narcotic breathing
mixes is not necessary to conduct dives deep with air. However it would
behove most of those who are out there on the training and working end of
this business to at least be able to work and function with N2 pressures of
5.0. There may come a time when it is needed.  As I look over this long
list, it is pretty clear that most everyone here has done successful dives
to 175 fsw (and deeper) with air (if not they would not be on the list).

Most if not all of use were doing air dives in the late 80's early 90's
when the development of technical (read TRIMIX) was making its way through
the scuba ranks. Key people like Billy Deans made the switch to gas and set
the pattern for open ocean mix diving, but still he would consider 175 fsw
for air to be a reasonable depth that people should be able to use air for.
 The USN and most every commercial operation still uses air to depths of
190 fsw on a regular basis using hat and hose. 

As much as we would like to STAMP OUT DEEP AIR -- there will always be
those who will take anything and everything deeper than they should. We
have little control of that. However, we can take them one at a time and
provide them with the tools and information to make a rational informed
decision as to what type of dive they will do. 

I do not use air for any of our training deeper than 150 fsw. I do not
belive that the students can conformably do the work they need to do under
a greater level of narcosis. Frankly if a diver cannot use that viable gas
to that depth then they have no business diving deeper than 100 fsw. 

We need to keep in perspective that much of what we know today came from
some brave (albeit misinformed) people who stepped out farther and deeper
than others would care to at a time when they had a need to go look at
something. 

Unfortunately there had been some successful failures along the way. But we
all learned from them. There were also successful survivors, who have been
more than instrumental in the development of our activities. 

We are about to go through a new cycle in divers. The accidents will rise
because these divers have no reference point. The average diver today
buying "techincal" gear has less than 50 career dives. What was once
equipment for the "hard core deep divers" is now commonplace in most every
dive store.  Just like fast cars, and fast planes, the inexperienced find
this attractive and belive they can do things they are just not prepared to
do. We each have a responsiblity to head that off at the pass. These divers
need to put in a few hundred practicle dives before they can begin
attempting some of these deeper dives, on ANY gas. A CLEAR HEAD IS NOT AN
EXCUSE FOR EXPERIENCE. We each have a responsiblity to question Should they
Dive Tech? 

DEEP AIR 

Air deeper than 175 fsw for practicle diving -- NO 
Air deeper than 150 fsw for training -- NO 

Regards, 

Joel Silverstein
http://www.nitroxdiver.com

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