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On Mon, 15 Dec 1997, Bill Mee wrote: > 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. Bill (and Janet), Yes, this is certainly true. The Wahoo takes all comers (more-or-less) unlike other dive boats up here that are very particular about who they let on board. For this reason, I full-well expect a bunch of what you and George would call "stroke-deaths", and I have no problem with that (natural selection, as far as I'm concerned). Were it just that, I never would have made the post I did. The truth is that several years back, there was at least one near-death incident that was clearly due to procedural oversight by the crew, not by any real fault of the diver, and I was concerned to hear radio calls this summer that on the surface would indicate this as a continuing pattern. I am very happy to hear that Janet and the Wahoo crew have implemented proper procedures to ensure that when accidents occur (as they inevitably will), it's not due to lack of crew attention - that's about all anyone can ask. I am not permenantly trashing the Wahoo: there were events that deserved derision, and I am just as happy to see that hard-won experience has been intelligently applied, which is more than we can say for many others in this industry, who rack up piles of bodies while proclaiming their perfection. BTW, you will notice that the thrust of the original post was to ask what corrective measures have been applied, and I thank Janet for her clear, non-dodgy, unequivocal reply. Regards, -Will 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'. > -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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