Mailing List Archive Mailing List Archive
Jim You didn't comment on my main point of the vestigial pressure gauge but what I intended to be a secondary point. BTW, I do not dive singles let along ponies but the point is worth discussing. Anyway, you wrote... >You are basically describing diving with independent doubles, a >horrifying practice which is still championed by you Brits and other >Europeans. Yes, this would be the procedure for diving independent doubles which I agree is a horrifying stroke practice. I would not like to say that we Brits champion this. Rather that some strokes practice it just as is the case in you neck of the woods, mate :) >But I understand that a Hogarth revolution is taking place over there, >much to the dismay of the ID (stroke) crowd. I hope you all don't get >stuck on tradition over there. It is good to see a Hogarthian setup at a dive site but this is still rare - part of the Neolithic mentality of a few die hards who think that after 20 years of diving a certain way there can't be a better way. However, there are things that can be learnt from these die hards. See below. >By the way, what you describe below scares the bejeezus out of me. Are >you sure you worded this correctly? Perhaps you are thinking that I am referring to breathing a pony during the normal course of a dive which would be then diving true independents. We agree that this is a stroke practice. A pony, in our discussion, is only used in a low on gas situation. Whether I worded it correctly according to BSAC is immaterial. Firstly, a pony should not be planned to be used - it should be retained for emergencies only. Next, consider the situation we are in - we have a single and a pony. To all intents and purposes anyone diving this set up is diving independents although they are managing only one supply - the primary (the pony is not planned to be used). However, if and only if an incident happens and the primary supply has gone beyond a reserve level, then I contend that the safest approach is to go to the pony before the primary is drained (thus in an emergency we are now on independents). The difference between diving true independents and a single and a pony is that with independents it is planned to use both cylinders on each and every dive as a normal course of events. The chance of human error (the failure mode with independents) is higher than would be the case of a diver with a pony who should never have to use the pony as they always exit with proper reserves in their primary. David Shimell Project Manager, Sequent Computer Systems Ltd, Weybridge, UK Email: shimell@se*.co* -- 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]