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This report came from rec. scuba. I thought it was significant enough to
repeat it here.
We'd better be real careful about saying that DIR is spreading so rapidly.
Obviously, not all DIR proponents have the foggiest idea of what safe tech.
diving is all about.
This message is really a wake up call that just because someone says he or
she dives DIR, "IT AIN"T NECESSARILY SO."
Thanks Randy for a hell of a report.
Take care and dive safe, Scott
Subject: Dive Expediton to the Twilight Zone
From: "Randy F. Milak" <A HREF="mailto:milak@di*.zz*.co*">milak@divemed.zz
n.com</A>
Date: Thu, Jul 13, 2000 1:33 PM
Message-id: <396E2784.27529BEB@di*.zz*.co*>
This past week, I had the displeasure of being invited to take
part, in a grossly incompetent archaeological expedition. The expedition
was to film the degradation of a wreck in Lake Superior, that lies in
270 ffw. All divers, save myself and a colleague were self proclaimed
DIR's. Some even boosted Tee-shirts that read "Doing-it-Right",
"Friends don't let friends breath the short hose." etc.
We could have dove 7 days, however, in 3 days on three dives I had
had enough and, my buddy and I left. Why I stayed even 3 days bewilders
me. This is just a SHORT list of what I observed.
The DIVES:
Day one.
1. NO emergency plan EVER discussed - period!
2. We were told that 2 chambers were on stand-by and a CCG helicopter
was on stand-by for our dive time duration's. I phoned one of the
chamber to confirm. They never knew or heard a thing. When confronted
by this enlightenment, we were told that there's obviously some
mistake. I politely suggested that the organizers exaggerated their
preparedness. They replied with a smirk. We phoned the closet chamber
back...they were MORE than happy to accommodate.
3. Diver rescue plan was BOGUS. A 2 year old could have came up with a
better solution. NO ONE save my buddy and I bothered to inform the boat
captain of the run-times and emergency protocol required for this level
of diving.
3. Surface supply O2 was used for the 20 ffw and up decompression
stops. However, All but a few DIR divers carried only 1/2 the amount of
oxygen necessary to complete decompression if they failed to make it to
the decompression platform. When confronted with this obvious
shortfall, DIR Diver D, responded that they had RMV's below 0.2 cubic
feet / min. and thats "why" they actually had enough deco gas.
"BULLSHIT!!" was my response! Had an emergency bail-out been necessary
by ANY of those divers, the latter, combined with the Mickey-Mouse diver
rescue plan, would amount to nothing less than a wheel chair purchase.
NOW the REAL FUN BEGINS ...
Water temp at the bottom, 38 F at 270 ffw, and gradually (no
thermoclines) increased to a balmy 47 F around 20 ffw. The top 1-2 feet
of surface water is 59 F. Vis is 9-20 feet. Ambient light stops around
60 ffw. Surface is dead calm, no waves. All divers diving TMX 14/50
bottom mix (14% oxygen, 50 helium, balance N2). EAN 35 and 100% O2 for
decompression. (EAN 50 staged at 70 ffw). Mostly teams of 3, just 1
team of 2. Dive team, dive times are staggered 45 minutes apart to ease
crowding during staged decompression.
The first team to descend is DIR dive team 1, a threesome (Divers
A, B, and C). They have NO dive plan. The leader of DIR Dive team one,
has only ONE decompression profile with him -- a decompression profile
for only 57 of decompression from a 20 minute bottom time at 260 ffw;
which is no less than 14 minutes shorter than anything, everyone else
has calculated for the same. He is told this by every other diver on the
boat. Diver B, responds with "...fuck-it, I ain't dead yet". ALL, in
dive team one, followed that asinine deco profile. NOT one of them can
dress themselves and ALL need help to put on their gear. None of them
conduct a leak test upon entering the water. None of them check out
each of their team mates for anything - period. Dive team 1 isn't too
sure what their dive depth is going to be ... upon entering the water,
they "think" around 260 ffw for 20 minutes. In the water, at the
descent line, they argue about who is going to descend first.
Diver A surfaces 75 minutes later. Diver A vomits upon reaching
the surface, needs help to doff gear and board boat. Says he's
extremely fatigued. Has a severe headache. Is complaining of nausea.
A quick 5 minute neurologic exam shows extremely slow reaction time and
nystagmus of the eyes. I doppler test the diver. The doppler is
SCREAMING ... We STRONGLY suggest Diver A get on oxygen - NOW! Diver
declines at first but then sits down and starts breathing O2 from their
deco gas bottle 5 minutes later. I then suggest he LIE down, not sit
up. Diver again declines. Nearly 4 hours post dive (and off the boat),
diver A is bubbling Grade 2~3, and still symptomatic. I privately
suggest he seek treatment. Diver A declines. I then suggest he at
least get back on O2. He declines. I then suggest he not dive
tomorrow. He declines at this time. His denial excuses were classic
text book.
Diver B (threesome Dive team leader), surfaces, feels fine.
Fifteen minute post-dive doppler test shows, grade 4 bubbling (which
represents well in excess of 1000 or more bubbles per minute detected in
the veins). I suggest he get on O2. Diver accepts willingly. I then
suggest he lie down, and not sit in a head up position. He declines.
He says, "I guess we didn't do enough deco huh?" I respond with raised
eyebrows and say "Gee, ya think?". After a few minutes on O2, Diver B
complains of pain in his lower spine. I start to ask a few questions.
He dismisses the obvious diagnosis and says "...it must be caused from
the cold steel backplate against my kidneys." I give up, this is
moronic. It becomes apparent later that evening that this diver does not
have one iota of a clue as to any mixed gas decompression procedures or
even HOW to cut a decompression table. This diver is a trimix
instructor, and an instructor trainer. Diver A, and C are his
prodigies. Next morning Diver B complains of worsening symptoms and
complains of a few new ones... Diver B, prepares his gear for the
morning dive, blissfully in his own world of denial, pain, and
cluelessness.
Diver C, an extreme lean female, and #3 diver in team one; upon
surfacing, has lost all hand dexterity from the cold water immersion and
must be de-kitted and undressed by others. Diver C displays pail blue
lips, pale facial colour and has uncontrollable teeth chatter and whole
body shivering. 20 minute post-dive doppler test shows Grade 1
bubbling.
DIR Dive team 2, (Divers D,E and F)
Diver F, smells Diver D's bottom mix before gearing up, and says,
"Oh my God, it smell like a BBQ.", Dive buddy D smells the mixed gas
and says, "Yeah, it does, it should be OK though..." They decide to use
the mix. Diver F, did _their_ gas blending.
All three divers require help getting dressed, and require help to
don their gear. All was done bare handed, no gloves. Diver D's primary
regulator starts free flowing when they turn on their tanks. Five
minutes of mumbling, grumbling and fidgeting seems to have solved the
problem. Diver D, tells everyone that it was "a valve problem in the
regulator". Me thinks, "what the FUCK are you talking about???" NONE of
the Divers in team 2 do a pre-dive leak test upon entering the water.
NONE of them check their team-mates for anything. NONE of them reviewed
a dive plan (if they even had one) before the dive.
Approximately 6 minutes into Team one's first dive, at a depth of
approximately 260 ffw, Diver E's primary HID light fails. Diver E pulls
out a $15.00 backup light with double A batteries (Barely enough light
to read ones gauges). All three CONTINUE the dive. Within 2 minutes,
Diver E is hung up on rigging on the port side stern, in his manifold
because he didn't see the rigging mess. Diver D gets Diver E untangled
but subsequently gets tangled up. Diver F is off somewhere taking video
and is apparently unaware of what's transpiring. They get untangled,
but run out of time and end the dive. Diver D, reports that the the
dive was "unnerving".
Diver D, surfaces from dive with extreme head-ache, blue lips ... Diver
D, blames it on the cold water, CO2 blah, blah, blah. My colleague
suggests to Diver D to go on oxygen...their response..."fuck-it". Both
Doppler and neurologic tests are declined by Divers D and F.
Diver E, upon surfacing, feels fine save the usual moaning and groaning
when exiting an ice-cube dive. 20 minute post-dive doppler test reveals
diver has extreme decompression stress. Diver starts to complain and
reveal expected symptoms. Examination of the usual turns up nothing.
Later that evening, Diver E tells me that when Diver F was mixing his
bottom mix, he accidentally overfilled his tanks to 3900 psi from the
compressor, instead of the intended 3300 psi. They bleed the tank back
to 3300 psi, and Diver E (a Phd and a chemistry professor at an Ohio
University), asks the Blender (Diver F) if the helium and oxygen in the
mix would still be ok. Diver F tells him "sure, no probs...minor
variance..." and Diver E accepts the mix, as is. Diver E asks me, "Do
you think that might have been the problem?" My eyes could not get any
wider, and with eyebrows raised, and contorted face I asked him, "Is
this the fucken twilight zone?" He looked at me straight faced and said
he didn't get it.
Day 2 highlights:
Divers A and C of team one don't dive on day two -- One reports bad
sunburn. Teams get modified.
Diver B, decides to use the same decompression schedule, but this time
he's gonna shave a few minutes off the bottom time. Anyways, he gets
spooked on the bottom, about 10 minutes into the dive, abandons his team
mate(s). We were the first team in that morning and I'm already 55
minutes or so into decompression and I can see Diver B soloing the deco
below me. At one point he struggles to unclip his deco regulator which
he's contorted in some fucked up manner to the tank valve, and is
getting visibly distressed. My buddy descends, asks if everything is
"OK". Does not get an "OK" back. OK is asked again, and Diver B
responds with a salute. Assistance is offered, but Diver B manages to
deploy the deco regulator and ascend.
Needless to say, Diver B reports, back on the surface that physically,
he felt great at depth. NO MORE PAIN! So we ask, "Gee, I wonder why
that is?". He doesn't know. I have to check my pulse -- its that
twilight thing again. It was truly surreal. Diver B's 60 minute
post-dive doppler test sounds like a popcorn popping machine gone
crazy. Diver B is getting fatigued quickly again with 60 minutes
post-dive.
Later that night we watch video of the days dives. Diver D, the one
with the BBQ flavoured bottom mix, is on video for 20 continuous
minutes, nearly the entire length of the bottom time and never once
unclips the SPG to look at the pressure.
Day 3 highlights:
By this time, I'm seriously questioning my presence with this group.
But this is the straw that broke the camels back.
Diver C has extreme buoyancy complications while egressing for
decompression which continued on to the staged decompression portion of
the dive. NOT one of the divers she is with (Diver A and B), recognize
her distress. I can just barely see Diver A and B, on the line, but I
can see another bubble stream. I think to myself, "why aren't these
bone-heads together?" I descend from my shallower stop vantage point
and can see Diver C in obvious distress. She has lost hand dexterity
once again, and cannot unclip and deploy her regulator. She's
struggling terribly from a loss of buoyancy control and her one hand is
hanging onto the line for dear life. Her team-mates DO NOT HELP HER.
They are oblivious morons. I pass the dip-shit twins (Diver's A and B),
and my buddy deploys Diver C's regulator for her. Finally, Diver B
clues in, descends, and clips a negatively buoyant camera to Diver C's
D-ring to offer more weight. My buddy assists and corrects her buoyancy
problem.
Diver C had apparently already lost several minutes of decompression on
the proper gas and skipped the first two stops altogether, in a vain
effort to elicit help from her team mates, who had all but abandoned
her. Upon surfacing, her two brain lesioned buddies chastise her and a
dispute ensues. She was PISSED OFF because they didn't help her. There
was some choice expletives exchanged on the boat and some really
interesting dialogue that would grow hair on the back of your hands.
Quietly, I proceeded with the Doppler tests. Diver C was bubbling a
grade 3~4 (no surprise). Diver B was his usual popcorn popping feast of
bubble pings and Diver A we never bothered to examine because he was too
busy lighting up his cigarette, trembling from his nic fit.
Sad part of this, is that the 3 worst fuckups in that group (Divers
A, B and C), apparently dove with MHK last year on the Andrea Doria, and
apparently, two of them are about to join MHK and Michael J. Blitch on
their up-coming Doria expedition. If one of those divers DIE, I will
not be the least bit surprised. MHK, I wish you the best of luck!
--
Randy F. Milak
Windsor, Ontario
~A conclusion is simply the place where one got tired of thinking!~
--
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