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Before everyone jumps off the deep end and beat their "deep air" death drums again, let me just state that I have heard, from probably one of the most reliable of sources that the diver who died here in Wisconsin in the quarry WAS diving mixed gas. I can't say with 100% certainty, but the person I got it from was close enough to the medical personnel to have first-hand discussions with people involved in treatment. I know how you guys like to make examples out of the dead and all, and how you feel much better when you slam them, but eliminate this one from that routine until you know with absolute certainty the facts. Remember, I was in agreement that I heard he was using deep air previously, but the sources weren't necessarily reliable in those cases. Also, I saw a post recently that said something to the affect of "Nobody needs to do dives like that in a deep, dark quarry". Just FYI, deep it is, but the viz there is better than it has been at West Palm many dives I've done in Florida. I've been at 250-275' in this "dark" quarry and not needed lights to read computers, communicate with buddies, and dive. (Although having lights along was still a necessity) It is every bit as clear as the Great Lakes at many times of the year. It also has interesting structure. In winter I've been able to be over 150' under the ice and yet look up and identify people by their clothes and faces, and could tell which one of my 2 dogs was walking above look down into the hole in the ice. So it isn't just another "dark quarry". It is likely the perfect place for an instructor to take students on dives to practice deco stops and staging, and there are many reason why a person would want to use this place for deep diving. It truly is one of the safest places a person could learn in the Midwest. I agree that deep air is bad and contributes to deaths, but don't drag the lake into it. As far as I'm concerned, the real pussies out there are the ones that aren't willing to come up to this part of the country to experience the wrecks in the "cold" great lakes. The wrecks are better than in any ocean....just bring your drysuit. Also, dive equipment and some technique that you swear by in Florida may not work up in Superior, so even though you may know all there is to know down there, don't think you wouldn't have a learning curve if you came here. Down there regulators free-flow because of dirt, maintenance, adjustment, or other occasional problems....up here they freeflow because of ice, and it's just a fact of life for those who don't own regulators that work well in 34 degree water. Just don't piss all over every diver death and call it "deep air" and try to drag everything with it. If it is a "deep air" death, go ahead and point that out, IF you know it as a FACT. For the serious offenders - just remember, every time you speak disrespectfully of the dead divers who screwed up, there will be more people who won't hesitate to find your gravestone and piss on it when you're gone, should a freak accident take your life as well. Sorry this got so long, Tim Olson deepdive@cv*.or* Tim Olson mailto:deepdive@cv*.or* http://www.execpc.com/~underh2o -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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