Garret, John, et al - this is too important a topic for me to waste
time dwelling on the fact that you dive shop primates remind me of the
movie "Planet of the Apes" when it comes to discussions of tech diving.

  The real subject here is the identification and minimization of risk
in a dive plan. You two need to try learning that before you spout out
all of the situations where the 50 million flies argument appears to be
true. You two may enjoy a good  meal of feces like so many flies, but
the rest of us prefer the filet - learn to find the filet, and skip the
shit.

  First, there is no dive situation where taking on the risk of oxygen
toxicity  either in the form of a seizure or in the form of lung damage
justifies using a hot mix. There is no dive situation where assuming the
risks associated with using a narcotic mix make any sense at all.

  Second, there is no benefit to using a hot mix, and there is no
situation where the math of mix allows this. For instance, on a short
dive , the perceived shortening of deco is in no way worth the risks of
the hot mix, and in a situation where the depth can vary greatly below
the planned mix, this is an invitation to disaster. If you can minimize
this risk , then do so. If the dive were longer, then you really can not
use a hot mix as the accumulated lung damage and cumulative effect of
the high ppo2 for tox purposes prohibits this in any coherent dive plan.

  Teaching situations should never include extreme exposures as they
become unmanageable for obvious reasons. Open ocean exposures should be
managed by splitting them into multiple dives, not one long dive for
obvious logistic and risk management reasons. Dive where the skill of
the players is in question should not be provocative at all, and they
should be screened for gear that functions effectively in an emergency (
in other words, no built in weight systems, or other crap).

  Decompression has been labeled the big boogie man in most diving
circles - not the real risk. Lean deco and learn physiology, screen out
the obvious , manage the rest of the risk. Option Number One says,
"Don't Dive", and ONO should be used when there is any doubt as to the
outcome. ONO has a 100% track record of no bends, do accidents, no
death: learn when to apply it.

  We all have now learned that helium is the preferred diving gas, as it
is not only non-narcotic, it is easier to breath and easier to
decompress from. Many of my team divers , like Jarrod Jablonski and
Brent Scarabin, true real life tough guys, use helium in all of their
deco gases other than the 100% oxygen, and there they break to
helium-based gases. I use helium up to 120 feet at deco, and below 60
feet for diving ( when decompressing at those depths I obviosuly have a
helium-based gas on my back).

  People who are into diving are into learning about diving. Creating
bullshit myths and phonie phobias is counterproductive. NOAA is largely
resposible for the farm animal stupidity in nitrox information, and the
training agencies are responsible for the rest. The fact is that
identification of the true risks requires real knowledge and real
experience - citing examples of other people's long term ignorance is
not the answer, finding out the truth is. Give it a try.

  What we are saying in response to Capt Jim is very simple : "tech"
means doing it right , whatever the situation, not making it more
complex, convoluted, or risky. Diving is a lot more fun when everyone
comes back. Given where I come back from every time, one would think
maybe some of you dive instructors would take notice and stop trying to
make a fun sport into a bungee jumping subsitute.

   Try being part of the solution , rather than backing into a corner
with your bullshit agency standards and recommendations . Luckily , we
have our own training agency, Global Underwater Esxplorers, and our own
platform , The Woodville Karst Plain Project, so we can do everything
right without regard for the Planet of the Apes that has held diving
hostage for the last five years. Things are changing fast, and there is
now a real alternative out there - we represent that in every way.

   "Do It Right", or don't do it at all.

--
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]