Mailing List Archive Mailing List Archive
Larry, Some points in no specific order on your planned decents to hell: 1. I'm not a tech god, just a weenie. Many people on this list will confirm that for you. 2. Recent evidence suggests that anything deeper than 140' EAD has some downsides in terms of developing rigidity of the red blood cells that leads to capilliary damage. This always occurs, doesn't kill you but gets your immune system worked up because it believes an infection has developed all over your body. No specific medical studies that I know of have confirmed this, but apparently many of the senior diving physiologists suspect that this occurs. The tiredness one feels on deep EAD dives has been linked by some to this physiological response to high ppN2. 3. Turning your dive when you start feeling narc'd is very poor methodology. I believe that narcosis takes some time to develop. So if your comfort limit is at 140', you may not feel it until you are at 160'. By the time you turn and head up you will become additionally impaired and most probably in a poor condition to handle emergencies or even normal tasks. 4. When I was less than a weenie, this was the poor methodology that I used: picked a site that had a bottom at the max depth I planned on. Like that there is no temptation (rapture of the deep) that will make you go deeper than intended and you can always use the bottom to stop your decent if you start losing it to the point of not being able to work your equipment properly or in time. 5. There are a number of books available to help you with the many important subjects you should be intimately familiar with (equipment, deco theory, techniques, etc.) before attempting anything so hazardous. Do not rely on someone else's knowledge of these subjects - ever. 6. DM's and instructors probably make up the largest segment of people hurt in either tech diving or cave diving. Not because they are bad divers, just because they are so comfortable that complacency becomes an issue when attempting dives beyond their standard EAD limits. I do not have the stats at my fingertips to bicker over this so (no one) waste my time over this. 7. There are courses out there that you can take, at least you'll have the benefit of diving with divers who have experience beyond your own. They have worked through the issues that are important to consider. Whether that experience is good or bad is sometimes open to question, but in my opinion is probably better than "just doing it". 8. Put on a flame proof suit because you just sorta admitted to being a duck and it's duck hunting season on this list. However, rest assured that the flamers probably have done more idiotic things than what you are attempting. 9. Equipment redundancy: better have a secondary air source other than your buddy. 2 narc'd divers take a while to start buddy breathing. 10. Keep the trailer to a minimum, many people use different fonts for their e-mail software and any artwork looks garbled unless its on a very similar set-up. 11. Dive your deep equipment set-up on your regular dives before trying the new config under new conditions. 12. Please consider being an organ donor before its too late. 13. Better have 80-100% O2 on the boat for potential mistakes. 14. Probably want to get yourself checked for PFO. Not mandatory, but rather wise I'd say. good luck, John
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]