Mailing List Archive

Mailing List: techdiver

Banner Advert

Message Display

Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 14:25:58 -0500
From: Bill Mee <wwm@sa*.ne*>
To: gmirvine@sa*.ne*
CC: "William M. Smithers" <will@tr*.co*>,
     janet bieser ,
     eschmidt@pu*.br*.fl*.us*, techdiver@aquanaut.com
Subject: Re: Wahoo Safety Record (was Re: Dry Suit Diving.)
Will,

George has hit the nail head here. Janet runs a class operation and has
to deal with the worst ponitificating personal preference red faced
strokery known to mankind. When idiots circumvent the the safety
measures in place because of "personal preference" it is not surprising
that even the best safety systems can break down.  Janet and Hank and
the other pros who run the Wahoo operate under the most difficult
conditions. They obviously go out of their way to accomodate many of the
different groups on their charters.  You need to charter the entire boat
and standardize the dive plan and deco program.  

I will bet that, unlike Whitefish Point, when the auxiliary coast guard
shows up in their converted Bayliners, Janet makes these guys walk the
plank.

Bill

G. Irvine wrote:
> 
> Will, you obviously have never been to Florida - why do you think we are
> all Masters swimmers - it is not to stay in shape, but to get back to
> shore.
> 
> Janet deals with the worst idiots, strokes, big mouths and
> deep-air-diving blowhards in diving ( New England wreck divers and
> wannabe NE Wreck Divers), so it is amazing that she operates without a
> morgue on board.
> 
> The fact is that you are a wealthy guy and should be chartering the
> whole boat with your friends and preventing this, not complaining about
> it.
> 
> I have been diving with Janet and Hank - they don't get any nicer than
> these two - charter their boat and take your pals.
> 
> Will, anyplace you go you will need to insist on "stroke-free" diving.
> It is the strokes who cause the problems, not a long time pro like
> Beiser.
> 
> In Ft Lauderdale we have the Monday Morning Body Count in the Sun
> Sentinal - the better the weather, the bigger the count.
> 
> William M. Smithers wrote:
> >
> > Janet,
> >
> > This is good advice, but your dive boat still has the
> > single worst safety record of any in the NorthEast.
> >
> > (check the Coast Guard records).
> >
> > Let's see now, I think it was *twice* this summer
> > that I heard over the radio "Wahoo, wahoo, we have
> > one of your divers".
> >
> > I'm not even going to mention the time a couple years
> > back that you guys forgot to do a head count and left
> > a guy hanging on a bouy miles out to sea.  Oh, nevermind,
> > I guess I just did.
> >
> > That said, I'm sure you have taken measures to make sure this
> > matter gets cleaned up.  Would you care to detail them for
> > the techdiving public?
> >
> > -Will
> >
> > On Fri, 12 Dec 1997, janet bieser wrote:
> >
> > > eric,
> > >
> > > one of the most important things is to make sure you can comfortably
> > > preform your decompression stops at the end of your dive when your air
> > > tanks are relatively empty and more buoyant . If you are too buoyant to
> > > decompress you will be miserable and struggling to stay down may mess up
> > > your decompression , and will increase your gas consumption .All those
> > > huge lungs fulls of air as you struggle just  makes you more bouyant and
> > > aggravates the situation.
> > >  you want to be able to keep enough air or argon in the dry suit so you
> > > stay warm . the whole point to having a dry suit is the insulation from
> > > the cold water that the gas in the suit gives you . the more "fluffed up"
> > > you are the warmer you will stay ......but you have to balance the need
> > > to swim against the maximum inflation of the suit . how bulky do you want
> > > to be ? all that air needs lead or steel back plates, tanks  and  light
> > > battery packs  to drag it down .
> > >  In the real world  everyone dives slightly overweigted so that they can
> > > be certain they have enough negativeness to decompress and keep a good
> > > amount of air in their  suit . you compensate for the extra weight at the
> > > start of the dive by adding air to your buoyancy compensator and to your
> > > suit . dump air from the buoyancy compensator as the tanks get lighter .
> > > keep as much gas in the suit as is comfortable to swim with and keep warm
> > >
> > >  It takes some practice to avoid filling up your feet with air and
> > > getting dragged to the surface be careful , you may need to buy new finns
> > > to fit over your dry suit boots , you may want to use ankle weights as
> > > part of the additional weight especially at first to help prevent the
> > > blown up feet syndrome .  practice somewhere safe .  good luck
> > > --
> > > Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'.
> > > Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
> > >
> > --
> > Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'.
> > Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
> --
> Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'.
> Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
--
Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'.
Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.

Navigate by Author: [Previous] [Next] [Author Search Index]
Navigate by Subject: [Previous] [Next] [Subject Search Index]

[Send Reply] [Send Message with New Topic]

[Search Selection] [Mailing List Home] [Home]