Why is that? Even if the diver flew to 1,000' immediately after exiting the water, the additional risk of DCS would be insignificant. Given additional time at sea level between ascent and driving away, plus the relatively slow pressure change during the drive to altitude, that "insignificant" risk is lowered to non-existent.
Diving Kona, Hawaii
- Thread starter ScubaRok
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smellzlikefish
Contributor
Mossman-The altitude gain on the Big Island has caused its fair share of DCS hits. The dive shops will warn you against heading over to Volcano or Hilo side too soon after diving. I personally know one victim who spent some time in the chamber from this mistake and have met others. I believe this is because pressure doesn't change linearly with altitude, but the greatest pressure loss is in the first few thousand feet. I also believe the drives across the island take you well above 1000'.
Here are some charts for reference. Note that for low-stress 1,000' altitude, no delay is necessary even after multiple or deco dives. That changes, however, if there is moderate stress or for going over 1,000'.
ALTITUDE EXPOSURE RECOMMENDATIONS (waiting time in hours)
| Maximum Altitude After Diving | Minimum Delay Single, Low Stress Dive | Minimum Delay Multiple or Deco Dives |
| 1000 Ft. (300 m.) | none | none (low stress) 6 hrs. (mod stress) |
| 2000 Ft. (600 m.) | none | 2 hrs. (low stress) 8 hrs. (mod stress) |
| 4000 Ft. (1200 m.) | 8 hrs. | 12 hrs. |
| 6000 Ft. (1800 m.) | 12 hrs. (F.A.D.) | 24 hrs. (F.A.D.) Altitude Exposure After Diving |
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First of all the current recommended altitude limit is, I believe, 2,700 feet. Secondly, I can make a dive at, say, South Point and then drive for Hilo, in less than 45 minutes I'll be at the summit at over 4,000 feet.
smellzlikefish
Contributor
Thal-I am still digesting lunch and may be a little sleepy, but could you expand on the idea of "recommended altitude limit?" Who sets this and what does it mean?
Sure you could, you could even drive up to the Mauna Loa observatory at 11,141 feet after your dive, but I'd gather that most tourists diving Kona stay on the west side. What's the maximum altitude reached driving from Kailua-Kona to, say, Waikaloa?
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Sheesh, I like my hypothetical of going up to the observatory instead.
I can also see someone going diving and then flying less than 18-24 hours later, but then again I can also see some very dumb divers. Hopefully divers who are continuing their sightseeing day by post-dive treks in the mountains know that driving to high altitude can be similar to flying at high altitude. After all, it's easy enough for SoCal locals in the winter to dive local waters in the morning and then be skiing in the mountains at 8,000'+ in the early afternoon, but you don't hear of anyone, tourist or local, dumb enough to do so. I was thinking instead of the more likely case that a diver might want to go back to his/her hotel post-dive to take a shower and change clothes. If the drive back to the hotel does exceed 1,000' of altitude, it might be a concern. If not, it's probably not.
[edit: I take back use of the word "dumb" as I forgot where I was, thought this was in a Hawaii forum where it should be, not in Basic where we're supposed to be instructive and not demeaning. Please substitute "naive" for dumb, and you're right, it's possible a "naive" diver might not realize he or she is getting into trouble by visiting Volcano NP (or the observatory, etc.) after diving, either not realizing that the roads attain altitude (and ignoring the road-side altitude signs as well), or not realizing that reaching altitude by car can be just as bad as reaching altitude by plane.
So, to all naive divers, new divers, or senile old divers, please remember whether you're in Kona, California, or anywhere on earth where you can potentially dive and then drive to altitude soon afterward, that it might not be a good idea to do so without waiting a certain amount of time as recommended by something like the chart I posted in an early reply. If you have to drive back over an 8,000' mountain pass to get back to your hotel tonight, you're probably sleeping in your car.]
[re-edit: Now I realized this is in Advanced, not Basic. In that case, I re-replace "naive" with "dumb". "Advanced" divers should know better
]
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Well, I didn't mean to create such a stir or kill anyone's buzz. May I simply refer to Mossman's post with the Altitude Recommendations chart. My wife and I do multiple dives on successive days at every dive destination we get to. We are also both pushing 60, and pushing it pretty hard. We are not in the habit of "seeing what we can get away with." I recommended caution and conservative profiles with good cause. Have a great time diving Kona; just be aware of all factors you should account when planning your diving. Does anyone out there disagree with that? I didn't think so. Happy diving everyone!
DivemasterDennis
DivemasterDennis
Hi, ScubaRok,
Lots of good info in the other posts in this thread! We've been diving on the Kona Coast for around a dozen years--usually twice a year--and we love it. Now, it is not Carib diving and do not expect lots of soft corals: the currents of Hawaii have led to there being mainly hard corals on the reefs.
We used to do boat diving exclusively until about 8 years ago. Then we began doing shore dives and they are now our favorites. One that is close to Kailua is at Pahoehoe--just off Ali'i Drive. It is a fairly easy entry, HOWEVER (and this is a big HOWEVER), for all shore diving off Kona--and especially at Pahoehoe, you need to be aware of tides, surge, and surf. Here is a site that will help you with the first two:
Current Tides for Oahu, Hawaii
As far as surf is concerned, just look toward the horizon: if you see lots of surfers enjoing themselves, you probably should not go shore diving at that site!
The dive shops we have used are Sandwich Isle, Jack's, and Pacific Rim. Beyond that, we have heard good things about Big Island Divers. Jack's does an "Advanced 3-Tank Dive" that we love! But there are prereqs:
Advanced Certification and been diving in the last 6 months or 50 logged dives and have been diving in the last 12 months or 20 logged dives and have dove with Jack's recently
If you qualify, this is a great dive tripi!
One restaurant that we can recommend without hesitation is the Big Island Grill. And, if you want to try that quintessential Hawaiin dish, Loco Moco, this is the place to do it. But be sure to swallow a few fish oil pills first...Loco Moco is not on the cardiologist's list of favorite foods!
However, all the dishes are wonderful there!Now, there is one more thing you absolutely need to do: buy one of Iz's CDs and play it alot. The late Iz (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole) was a true icon of the Islands and his music is still amongst the favorites on all the Islands. We tend to favor "Facing Future" and the song, Ka Huila Wai, is an absolute favorite. If you become a fan of Iz, you may want to find a CD of from his original group, The Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau.
So, as they say in Hawaii: Aloha Nui Loa! And have a great trip...
joewr...UA MAU KE EA O KA ‘AINA I KA PONO O HAWAI'I...amen to that, brudah...:cool2:
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