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Having spent some time around the characters of technical diving I
have been able to observe a few very interesting things develop. I
remember when the USDCT was bragging that they could "triple the
distance" of the WKPP in "Aquacorps" magazine by their use of "better
technology", saturation diving, and other double talk. Bill Mee summed it
up pretty well in his UWS article. He also has touched on a few things
that while obvious to us, may be lost on the madding crowd.
For one thing, many of the rebreathers out there may be attempted
copies of the Cis Lunar superficially, but what they all really are,
including the Cis Lunar, are crude attempts to copy the Navy's MK-18,
EX-19, and one other machine that have been in the domain of EDU for
quite some time. As bits and pieces of information are "leaked", either
intentionally ( like when Ronald Reagan used to have his Cabinet members
say things and then correct them if the reaction was not good - true
:test balloons" ), or in the process of seeking suppliers or parts
contractors, or through disgruntled contributors, the copiers glom these
up and run with them unknowingly.
Such is the case not only with many of these computer controlled
rebreathers, but with the copies of the discrete circuit workhorses. The
true MK15.5 , for example, is indeed a very rare species, and almost none
were ever made, yet we see claims of everyone having one, and we see
copies of something that barely existed. The reason we do not see copies
of the MK16 is that this would be like copying a Mercedes - it would cost
more than a Mercedes.
In the process, as again Bill Mee alluded to, the commitment of the
fakers to designs and "trial balloons" of the Navy has resulted in some
Yugo-like forgeries and outright copies of things that were in fact
intentional misdirects. This is why you see, for example, the
metamorphosis of elaborate schemes to protect the sensors of certain
models or to "recover" them on the fly for the last few desperate years
of trying to make these things work with the wrong design. This is like
taking immodium for the squirts after you just drank water out of a
puddle in Biafra - you can treat the symptoms momentarily, but the cause
is still operative.
The only thing keeping the death toll down right now is "Fear
Itself", a healthy fear of the unknown, and untold. When you are pandered
to in a condescending fashion by people who for years have been incapable
of producing anything but talk, and then again by people who have
endorsed every failed concept , stupid idea or other magic carpetry
going, you learn to not bet your life on them , and in fact you just stop
listening to them. Such is the case here.
While this is obvious to me, I realize that it may not be to many
of you who do not have the benefit of the history or the reality of these
devices. Let is suffice to say that two current facts apply: 1) you see a
tremendous number of deaths and accidents involving rebreathers in the
last year - approaching TWENTY, and 2) you do not see anyone doing any
overhead dives with computer controlled closed circuit rebreathers. On
the other hand, you hear a lot of big talk out of people whose track
record of cave diving is nonexistent or horrifying. Caves have been here
for millions of years - when are they going to dive them? Never - that is
never and live through it. They might get some dumb kids to do it who
desperately want a shot at the brass ring, but when those get killed, it
will be called "Diver Error". (No shit)
I remember seeing a discussion by Dick Pile and others of an
expedition where they were diving CCR's in the ocean, and Pile went over
some events that occurred and his response to them. This fellow Pile has
been diving these shade tree units for years, and apparently knows how to
dodge the bullet. However, in that one instance where this fellow
attempted to tell us the real story on using these things, the
manufacturer jumped out onto the internet for the first time ever and
hammered him for being an idiot and called it "Diver Error". The Copier
and Faker spoke . What does this tell you?
I was at Ginnie Springs a few days ago on business, and I ran across
some seriously flawed fakes of the legendary "Gavin" scooter. I own two
of these things myself, and I was curious, so asked around . I was told
that apparently these guys had copied a very old version of the scooter,
one that has been dicontinued, and that they had blown that completely.
It appears that the person whom they charged with the task of copying the
thing was either stone cold shitfaced when he machined them, or just
plain stupid, or more likely , did not understand the principles in play
in this design. There were huge gaps in the parts that require perfect
tolerances, meaning that the thing will not stay together at depth. In
one instance, the bozo who constructed the thing had epoxied the pieces
to fill the gaps. I really feel sorry for these guys when I have to go to
this part of the country - it is like visiting a glue sniffing ward.
I continued to ask around, and it appears that the copiers and fakers
had been seeking another machinist to make these thing properly, all the
while sticking with the discontinued design, just as they have done with
the rebreather copies .
I overheard a lot of conversation, and in several cases I kept hearing
that these guys were planning on "setting new records" at Wakulla. One
little fat guy with gray hair and a strange hint of an accent, maybe
French or Spanish, said he holds the record for this kind of dive.
Another guy, who is a dead ringer for the lead guitar in Z Z TOP was
overheard saying something about "not catching me dead ..da...da...da ",
and another fellow was talking about digital mappers and writing letters
to the Governor and his other friends in high places to get WKPP out of
Wakulla and Leon Sinks so they could dive and do "real science" ( yeah,
like they do now ..where?????)... On and on, but I will tell you, this
cast of characters reminded me of the scene from "Silence of the Lambs"
where Jody Foster was walking down Death Row to see Hannibal the Cannibal
- in every sense.
To quote Hannibal, "Look inside yourself" -********* PRETTY
SCARY***************
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