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> As time passes (and the number of SCUBA divers increase) the number of 
> ageing divers will increase.
>  When should a diver stop diving due to advanced age? Should 
> (s)he consider age at all? To what extent hould (old) divers have regular 
> checkups?
> (We have our own ideas concerning the above questions but are very 
> interested in hearing other peoples opinion)

Jack Randall (my Ph.D. advisor and fish-nerd mentor) has been diving since
1946, and now that he is in his mid-70's, he can still out-pace me.  I
spent 64 hours underwater in 15 days on the PNG trip because I had a
breather.  Jack was the only one who spent more time underwater than me,
and he was using normal air tanks (granted he didn't go very deep, and was
using up the last of his allowable bottom time at 20 feet - according to
his EDGE - by the end of the day).  In 1993 in the Solomons, my Grad.
student buddy and I (the two young bucks on the trip) decided we would
match Jack dive for dive, hour for hour of underwtaer time.  That lasted
exactly two days (7 and 8 dives, respectively).  I got sick, and my buddy
was physically exahusted, and we both had to take a day off to recover. 
Afterwards, the most we could manage was 5 or 6 dives a day, while Jack
kept up his pace for the entire trip. 

Anyway, from my perspective, age per se doen't seem to have much to do 
with it.

Aloha,
Rich

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