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Jim-
I couldn't agree more! I'm getting tired of all the talk I hear about
'self sufficiency' everywhere I go. Sure, it's nice to be able to solve
problems and not have to depend on someone else, but if a diver were to
carry equipment to deal with EVERY SINGLE problem that COULD come up,
we'd be carrying far too much 'stuff' to be effective in the water.
(Come to think of it, I've seen a few of these....while I won't name
names, let's just say it's not a pretty sight!)
Besides, like you say, support diving is fun! I've gained more
experience dealing with rapidly changing currents, viz, temp., etc. just
by running up and down an anchor line than could be gained in years of
diving on one's own. (As a side note, does anyone know of training
agencies that have a program to train 'support divers'? I know IANTD has
a few levels of 'technical divemaster,' but the classes I've seen taught
seem to focus more on the leadership aspect, not the actual in water, or
ready support diving. I believe the NAUI tech program has something like
this on it's way, but I don't know the current status.)
Even something as simple as removing and carrying away someone's broken
butt-mounted light canister (don't ask why it was even there in the
first place...remember, these are the guys that think they can solve all
of the world's problems with what they carry u/w!) while they're on deco
can alleviate enough stress to possibly prevent a problem....
Okay, that's my two bit's worth! Back to the learning process!
-Case Harris
diveman@cy*.co*
Jim Cobb wrote:
<<<STUFF DELETED>>>
> As one who has done support diving, I can tell you that it is fun to do
> and a terrific way to gain knowledge and practice for future dives.
>
> Jim
>
> Sender: Thomas A. Easop Date: 10/17/98 10:06 AM
>
> >Wahoodiver@ao*.co* wrote:
> >
> >> I was not there, but have talked with some of the people on the dive and
> >> several of the people that were with cris jr at the chamber where he died.
> >> Chris jr and Sr dove air that day because they didnt have the money to make
> >> mix. chris Jr had his problem in the wreck and came out and started
> >stufacing
> >> without using the anchor line Chris Sr followed Jr to the surface knowing
> his
> >> son was in trouble and was not letting his asend a lone. they both surfaced
> >> second apart chris Jr's tanks slambed the boat and air was leaking. while
> the
> >> Seeker crew was removing Chris Jr from the water Chris Sr died. You can
> beat
> >> up DEEP AIR diving but not what the father did about his sons problems.
> >
> >Chris Sr. obviously died trying to assist his son knowing it was a risk to
> >himself. We should all think about that risk. A diver who was there that day
> >enrolled in a hyperbaric medicine class afterwards to learn better what to
> >do if
> >that ever happened again. The doctor teaching the class was pretty
> >emphatic when
> >posed with questions about this specific incident. He said you cannot
> >spend around
> >30 minutes beyond 200 feet and surface without deco and expect to live. I
> >was in
> >the class too and that one sentence has affected how I conduct my dives
> >more than
> >most of what I have been tought in diving classes.
> >
> >Many divers I know have a saying "You can fix bent, you cannot fix dead."
> >So on
> >many dives, if its really hit the fan, better to surface than drown. But an
> >'average' mix exposure of say 25 min at 220 fsw, you have to get back to
> >your plan
> >as quickly as possible: fix your problems and get to the right gas and the
> >right
> >depth and do stops as much as you can.
> >
> >Surfacing with a stricken buddy, ommitting lots of deco should not be
> >done. You
> >will only stress those trying to rescue the stricken buddy with another
> >rescue. If
> >you were climbing and your partner fell from the top of the cliff, you
> >would not
> >jump off the cliff to help him, and if you did you would only make things
> >worse
> >for the rescuers. Understand that the deeper mix dives are like standing
> >on the
> >cliff. You must safely get to where you need to be to do anything good.
> >
> >> How
> >> would Chris Sr go home that night and tell his chris jr mother he watch
his
> >> son die and did nothing and how would he have been able to look in the
> mirror
> >> every morning.
> >
> >In reality, after a good bottom time beyond 200fsw, if your buddy headed
> >for the
> >surface there is nothing you can do for him. Don't anyone else try it. The
> >surface
> >is not an option, period.
> >
> >Tom
> >--
> >The Guns and Armour of Scapa Flow Scotland
> >1998 Underwater Photographic Survey of Historic Wrecks
> >http:www.gunsofscapa.demon.co.uk
> >
> >
> >--
> >Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'.
> >Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
> >
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
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--
\ \
^_ \ \ Case E. Harris
\ \ { \ US Deep Wreck Diving Team
{ \ / `~~~--__ diveman@cy*.co*
{ \___----~~' `~~-_
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