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> From: Jeff Kell <JEFF@UT*.UT*.ED*> > As another of my possibly botched reality checks... > > If we, as readers of this list, were about to enter the Autobahn, it would > be really nice to have a nice Porsche, Ferrari, or what have you, but... > > That's some serious bucks for non-commercial divers. > > It would also be nice to have the credentials to get custom mixed racing > fuel and take the exclusive driving school courses, but... > > If we can't afford either of the above, must we drive our Volkswagen Rabbits > at a meager 55 mph? I mean, that's the law, right? I know several people who had Volkswagon Rabbits catch fire when they tried to speed past 70mph in them. Something about the fuel injectors and heat from the engine or something. I think the catching fire aspect should also be included in your analogy. There are a couple of problems with deep air and narcosis. (1) You're not always guaranteed to be narced or clear headed at <x> depth on any given day. A friend of mine used to be the starting center for the gators. I heard a story of him being totally narced at 30' one day after practice then diving the "Ballroom" at Ginnie. 30', that's pretty shallow. (2) Narcosis has the subtle effect of making you believe your in control. At first when you hit 170' it hits you like a shotgun blast to the head, then after a minute, you feel you're ok. You feel like you're now able to function ok. The problem is you're not, you just think you are because you're getting aclimatized. (3) If you have a stress situation (emergency, entanglement, free flow of octopus, whatever) you may find yourself suddenly losing that mental control you just had a minute before. It's tougher to keep focused on multiple tasks when you're narced. (4) Higher partial pressures of Oxygen. At 218 on air you're at 1.6. I think the majority of people here on this list agree that 1.6 (even 1.5) is just pushing the envelope a little bit. When you tox, there's a strong likelyhood you'll die. If that's a risk you're willing to take, then you should be able to. However, you should NOT be told in classes that 1.6ppO2 is the maximum for any type of diving (except maybe deco stops, and that's questionable). Yes, arbitrary numbers such as 130' EAD and 1.3ppO2 are difficult to agree on. Maybe 3 years from now we'll be saying 100' EAD and 1.2ppO2. You never know. However, those numbers are not necessarily written in stone. THEY SHOULD BE WRITTEN IN STONE FOR THE INEXPERIENCED. However as a person develops more experience, if they are willing to accept the risks of what they want to do, then maybe they can bend those numbers a little bit. My personal limits are 150' in overhead, 170' in OPEN WATER (no penetration), ppO2 at 1.4 until my 10' stop. With a lot of the deeper stuff clearing up the past 6 weeks I've been trying to establish my own depth limits for cave diving. 150' I was quite comfortable (I felt pretty clear headed), 170' I had a good buzz but felt I could function (which is a fallacy, but in open water my probability of killing myself was less then if I was in overhead), and at 200' was where I really started feeling confident in my abilities at that depth (which told me it was too deep). However, those limits are my own personal limits. Those are limits I feel comfortable with, and I would stick to within those limits. What was the old saying all too often forgotten, "No your limits and dive within them"? Too many people DON'T KNOW THEIR LIMITS. The numbers George spouts off are not "arbitrary numbers pulled from his ass". They are excellent limits. If a person doesn't know their own limits, a 130 EAD and 1.3ppO2 will probably keep them out of the serious "danger zone". It's a matter of safety. I have to agree with George in that I don't see why anyone would keep preaching unsafe practices. One thing that really ticks me off about the whole "deep diving" issue is that people think you are only Mr. Stud Diver if you dive deep. This false belief seems to be ingrained into divers heads from day 1. Magazines given out to OW1 students around the state (Sport Diver) have articles on deep diving and technical diving in almost every issue. I'm holding in my hand one issue where we have Tom Mount talking about air sharing through a restriction in a cave system and another guy writing about taking free diving lessons with Pippin. THE SAME STUDENTS WHO ARE NOW TAUGHT THAT BUDDY BREATHING IS AN OPTIONAL SKILL ARE BEING TOLD THAT TO BE A "STUD DIVER" YOU MUST DIVE DEEP. These people do not know any better. They are not told about how dangerous (fatal) diving can be; it's bad for business. Because they are not taught to think and evaluate dive situations it's better to give them limits which are "safe" in comparison. 130' is a fairly decent number in that regard. 1.3ppO2 is fairly safe as well. Yes, there will be people who these numbers are too dangerous but for the majority these numbers are not soo bad. You know, I don't hear anyone running around saying, "I have unprotected sex with prostitutes". It's probably just as safe as deep air too. Does that make any sense Jeff? Ken -- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ken Sallot "Sallot's law of patches - A person's diving CIRCA ability is inversely proportional to how (904) 392-2007 many patches(stickers) they have on their kens@uf*.ed* jacket(car)" http://grove.ufl.edu/~ken -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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