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So if this was an instructional situation where were the surface supplied emergency gas whips for both 50/50 and oxygen ? For those who don't use them it might be a good idea to make the investment. I am sure you can either make them up yourself or purchase them from Brownies. I use two set ups -- the 50/50 is on an 80 foot yellow hose with a "T" on the end with two 6 foot whips with 2nd stages on them -- its attached to the anchor or drop line with a fish stringer so it can slide up and down. The oxygen system is similar but on a black hose with a 5 foot and 9 foot whip so two divers can play out during deco if needed. The 50/50 will be set up on a set of double tanks on the deck near the bow. and the Oxygen will be on a 150 or 251 cuft bottle about midships. Divers in training are to carry their own deco gas, but in the event of loss there is always these hoses. It was a minor investment but key to the safety of a training op. out of gas ..... out of life jds At 06:54 AM 10/13/1999 PDT, DeepH20Scuba wrote: >Great, just what we need. Another scuba cop telling people how to dive. > >Judging by your experience level, (my longest dive, 150fsw for 30 min, a >cakewalk dive in my neighborhood) you have no business telling an instructor >what to do or how to dive. This guy obviously has more experience than you >and you have the conceit to demand an explanation from him about his >dive???!@!# Maybe you don't know all the facts and it probably isn't any of >your business that you do. > >I am glad that he ruined your day and your dive. Maybe it will make guys >like you think twice about going on the boat trips and keep you away from >guys like me. > > > > >> >> >> > Dive Report: Clinton (10/2/99) >> > >> > A group of five divers dove the Clinton Saturday >> > (10/2/99) off the >> > Tonto. Bob Sheridan of Anchor SCUBA was captain. >> > The conditions >> > were good. There was a light breeze, and the ocean >> > was running about >> > three feet. It was sunny and warm. There was a >> > moderate surface >> > current at maybe 3/4 knot with no discernable bottom >> > current at all. >> > Visibility at the bottom was about 80 feet and about >> > 40 feet near >> > the surface. Air temperature was around 88 and >> > water temperature >> > was about 76 at the bottom and 80 near the surface. >> > >> > I had agreed with Bob earlier that I would jump the >> > wreck with >> > the floatline, and my dive buddy, Mark Zurl, >> > volunteered to jump >> > with me. Bob set us up and we jumped. We headed >> > down at about >> > 150 FPM so we were on the wreck in about 60 seconds. >> > The drop >> > was nearly perfect. I tied in the floatline near >> > the middle >> > of the ship on the port side and made a mental note >> > of the >> > non-existent current. I exchanged OKs with Mark and >> > began exploring. >> > >> > My planned bottom time was 30 minutes and this would >> > be my longest >> > dive to-date on the Clinton. I intended to enjoy >> > every minute of >> > it. I immediately headed over the starboard side to >> > the sand at 172 >> > feet and swam toward the stern. There were a few of >> > the usual critters >> > near the bottom of the hull in the sand... crabs and >> > a few anonymous >> > fish. Along the way, I found one of the explosion >> > holes made during >> > the sinking and went inside. I was in a corridor >> > with electrical >> > boxes, electric motors connected to what looked like >> > pumps, >> > and various other hardware. Near one of the >> > electric motors >> > I found several things that were about the size and >> > shape of >> > batteries, but I could see no terminal posts. I >> > must have spent >> > several minutes there just staring at these things >> > trying to >> > figure out what they were. I never did. I'll go >> > back again >> > next time and take another look. >> > >> > When I got tired of staring at the battery-like >> > things, I exited >> > the corridor the same way I entered and continued my >> > swim toward >> > the stern. Along the way, I swam under a part of >> > the side of >> > the ship that had collapsed to the sand and formed >> > an interesting >> > swim-through. I reached another explosion hole and >> > entered >> > the wreck again. This time, I swam down a short >> > corridor, >> > through a bulkhead and into one of the cargo holds. >> > By now, >> > the other three divers were on the wreck and >> > exploring. I made >> > a mental note that all five of us were down now. >> > >> > Continuing through the cargo hold toward the stern I >> > found an >> > old compressor with an electric motor. It looked >> > like a >> > single-stage low pressure deal. I headed up to the >> > deck >> > and swam further along when I passed an opening in >> > the deck. >> > I stuck my head in to look around and was astonished >> > at the >> > sight of a jewfish that mush have weighed 250+ lbs. >> > It was >> > enormous. I must have startled it because it >> > immediately >> > and gracefully swam through a bulkhead and I lost >> > sight of it. >> > I wanted to follow the fish, but the hole I'd stuck >> > my head in >> > was too small for me to get through. I quickly >> > looked around >> > in the direction the fish had gone and found another >> > similar >> > hole that appeared to be past the bulkhead the fish >> > swam through, >> > so I swam there and looked in... nothing. This huge >> > fish managed >> > to completely disappear without a trace. I sat >> > there imagining >> > the fish hiding someplace and snickering at how >> > easily it could >> > evade me, then I continued my dive hoping to get one >> > more lucky >> > glimpse of that fish... I never did see it again, >> > though. >> > >> > I finally made it to the stern and I stared at the >> > two pairs >> > of rings on the back of the ship. I've speculated >> > about what >> > they were since my first dive here, but I've never >> > been able >> > to figure it out. Later, on the boat, one of the >> > other divers >> > pointed out to me that the rings were probably used >> > to anchor >> > the Clinton (which is a barge) to the bottom of the >> > ocean by >> > running pilings through the rings. That made sense, >> > but I'd >> > think there would be similar rings on the other end >> > of the >> > ship, and there aren't any. Maybe there were at one >> > time. >> > I don't know. >> > >> > About now, my bottom time was approaching my planned >> > 30 minutes >> > and I headed back toward the line. Mark was on the >> > line headed >> > up, and I could see one of the other divers still on >> > the wreck. >> > I recognized him as the one who had volunteered to >> > unhook us, >> > and I let him know that I was now leaving the wreck. >> > As I left >> > the wreck, I saw a cool optical illusion created by >> > light and >> > shadow playing over part of the ship's structure. >> > For a second, >> > it looked like large black bird perched on a railing >> > near where >> > the floatline was attached. A moment later, the >> > illusion was gone. >> > I kept staring in that direction hoping I could get >> > the effect >> > back, but the bird was gone for good. I grinned >> > letting some >> > water in my mask which I quickly cleared, then I >> > headed on up. >> > >> > While moving along beside the floatline, I took a >> > look at >> > my Nitek 3 (which is not suitable for mix diving) >> > and noticed >> > that it coincidentally indicated about the same deco >> > as my tables. >> > This seems to hold pretty well for dives to about >> > 180 feet with >> > moderate bottom times. It diverges rapidly on >> > deeper or longer >> > dives, but it's good to have a feel for what the >> > Nitek says on >> > these dives in case it somehow becomes my only >> > source of deco >> > information some day. >> > >> > In the zero-current, I just free-swam near the line >> > and regulated >> > my ascent with buoyancy. I was still in sight of >> > the last diver >> > when I reached my first deep stop and saw that he >> > was unhooking >> > the floatline. I continued my deco as usual except >> > that I was >> > trying a new way to carry my tables on this dive. >> > >> > I usually generate my schedules with Decom and write >> > them on my >> > slate and keep my contingency schedules on a pad in >> > my pocket. On >> > this dive, I switched to Voyager, which prints >> > tables in a much >> > more compact format. The plan as well as several >> > contingencies >> > end up on one small, easy-to-read piece of paper. >> > It occurred to >> > me that the time-consuming and error-prone process >> > of manually >> > transcribing Decom tables onto slates and pads could >> > be bypassed >> > by finding a way to take the Voyager tables with me >> > on the dives. >> > I've seen other divers use some sort of plastic >> > lamination to >> > do exactly this, but the lamination always seem to >> > be peeling >> > off and the tables are always hard to read so I went >> > to a local >> > office supply store and bought a quality laminating >> > machine. It >> > was expensive, but I'm glad I bought it. This >> > machine uses a >> > cold adhesive laminating process instead of heat; >> > and I think the >> > adhesive works far better for this application. My >> > tables stayed >> > dry and readable during my deco and as a bonus, I >> > can reuse them >> > next time I dive the Clinton without having to >> > calculate everything >> > again. >> > >> > Anyway, I was at my 10 foot deco stop with Mark when >> > I noticed >> > there seemed to be a problem with the other three >> > divers. They >> > were all hanging on the line at about 10 feet and >> > looking at >> > and comparing gauges unusually frequently; a sure >> > sign that >> > there's a gas shortage. I grimaced and hoped I was >> > wrong. >> > >> > It turns out that these guys had done a deep dive >> > earlier in the >> > day and failed to account for the residual in their >> > dive planning >> > (yeah, what planning) for this dive. Due to the >> > multi-dive >> > profile, they had over two hours of deco time >> > pending (according >> > to their dive computers) and had nowhere near enough >> > gas to finish >> > it. What's even more perplexing is that they were >> > all diving on >> > computers and should have seen the deco time rising >> > rapidly if >> > they'd bothered to look at the computer from time to >> > time while on >> > the bottom. This was about as big a CF as you can >> > have without >> > anyone actually getting hurt. To make matters >> > worse, one of these >> > guys is a tech instructor! Frankly, it was >> > inexcusable. >> > >> > If I seem irate, it's because I am. I love tech >> > diving. I put >> > up with the hassles, the gear, the expense, the long >> > deco, and >> > all the other crap because I enjoy it so much. >> > However, when >> > something like this happens, it ruins my whole day. >> > Here I am >> > at the end of a great dive and it's overshadowed by >> > the threat >> > of injury or worse to a bunch of guys who couldn't >> > be bothered >> > to plan a dive. I ended up wishing I'd never gone >> > diving that >> > day, and it sucked. >> > >> > When my deco was complete, I unhooked my O2, made >> > eye-contact >> > with the guy I was going to give it to (the >> > instructor), pointed >> > at the MOD and made certain that he understood, then >> > I clipped >> > it onto him. I looked at his computer which still >> > indicated over >> > 100 minutes of deco. I signaled that I was heading >> > up to the boat >> > and I left. While the most present thing on my mind >> > was the safety >> > of the OOA diver, a close second was the memory of >> > my perfectly >> > good aluminum 30 deco bottle and regulator that now >> > sits at the >> > bottom of the ocean somewhere. In a similar >> > incident a few years >> > ago, another OOA diver dropped my bottle when he >> > finished his deco. >> > I was never reimbursed for it and got only an >> > apology for the >> > loss of several hundred dollars worth of gear. >> > >> > Once on the boat, I got in a healthy dose of >> > complaining. >> > Mark was already aboard and he, Bob and I discussed >> > what to >> > do. Meanwhile, one of the three remaining divers >> > surfaced. >> > His deco went normally and only the last two were in >> > trouble. >> > We decided to send down additional O2 for the OOA >> > divers. >> > I have a steel 72 with two second stages on 10 foot >> > hoses. I >> > usually use it to breath prophylactic O2 for a few >> > minutes after >> > a dive. The long hoses allow me to move around the >> > boat easily >> > and pack my gear while I do this. This bottle is >> > also along with >> > me in case of a DCS emergency. Since these things >> > often happen >> > in pairs (two buddies) I have two second stages on >> > long hoses >> > on it. We decided to send this bottle down and clip >> > it to the >> > line. There was plenty of gas in it to finish >> > decoing the OOA >> > divers. Bob found a slate and began scratching out >> > a message; >> > I suggested he mention that the guys down there >> > should be taking >> > air-breaks due to the long deco. >> > >> > I got my O2 tank ready to take down. Thoughts of my >> > beloved >> > steel 72 complete with 10 foot hoses neatly stowed >> > in their >> > bungies resting at the bottom of the ocean after >> > being dropped >> > by a careless diver flashed through my mind. Then, >> > unexpectedly, >> > one of the two remaining divers surfaced (not the >> > one with my >> > deco bottle). He indicated that his deco was >> > complete but that >> > the remaining diver (the instructor for heaven's >> > sake) still had >> > quite a bit of deco left. This is the same guy who >> > unhooked the >> > line and I wondered, in astonishment, what lead him >> > to stay down >> > there so long. Before we managed to get my O2 >> > bottle in the >> > water, he surfaced (fortunately, with my deco bottle >> > still securely >> > clipped). >> > >> > We got him aboard and asked for an explanation. >> > Essentially, the >> > explanation was that the dive wasn't planned, and >> > before they knew >> > it, their computers racked up two hours of deco. >> > Pretty poor >> > explanation, I think. I asked if he'd taken >> > air-breaks and he >> > (get this) said that they weren't needed because he >> > was only >> > breathing 80% not 100%. And this guy is a tech >> > instructor? >> > >> > I gently suggested that he was in error and that >> > air-breaks are >> > dictated by the CNS 'clock' approaching 100% and >> > their need has >> > no direct relation to the FO2. If the PO2 is over >> > .5, the CNS >> > 'clock' is ticking. Before it runs out, you take >> > air-breaks or >> > you risk a tox. How a tech instructor could be so >> > blissfully >> > unaware of this is utterly beyond me. Despite my >> > explanation, >> > he insisted that air-breaks are not necessary on 80% >> > deco. >> > Whatever. >> > >> > The trip back was uneventful and other than the CF >> > at the end, >> > I enjoyed the dive. I will not dive with those guys >> > again, >> > though. >> > >> > -Mike Rodriguez >> > <mikey@ma*.co*> >> > >> > >> ============================================================ >> > To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, send a message to: >> > listserv@mi*.ne* >> > and in the *BODY* of the message type: >> > unsubscribe FLTechDiver >> > >> >> >> ===== >> >> __________________________________________________ >> Do You Yahoo!? >> Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com > > > > > >________________________________________________________________ >Get FREE voicemail, fax and email at http://voicemail.excite.com >Talk online at http://voicechat.excite.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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