Rodales 10 best "tech" dives

[100days-a-year]

Anybody else see this?I know Rodales is full of boneheads,but I saw no recommendations to pursue a He cert prior to diving this stuff .Not a particularly well thought out plan to send "budding"tech divers as deep as 190' on air or lean nitrox.I concede that many divers have safely returned from countless dives on air to these depths and beyond it still strikes me as irresponsible at best to send acknowledged beginners into a potentially dangerous endeavor without better info.In this day and age with the availability of He and preponderance of evidence against deep-air diving.The only saving grace was that these were typically tropical climes.

 

[bwerb]

What are you talking about? Perhaps we are on different pages. The only Rodale's list of "top 10's" I saw was in the January issue and it only listed the destinations, there was no editorial on suitability etc. Unless, there was another article which I'm missing, your comments about deep air etc. seem to be reading a little bit too much into it. Many people read Rodales, having a list of the top technical destinations certainly doesn't strike me as an open invitation to everyone and their dog to go see them.

Let me know if we're talking about different articles. If so, I recant and would like to know what was said.

Brian

 

[100days-a-year]

Bwerb,May 2003,p.31.Sorry,I just got it in the mail and was kinda miffed .It is a list with recommended certs of up to Advanced nitrox and Deco procedures.No where did I see any reference to He certs other than 1 blurb about "extended range".

 

[MikeFerrara]

hehehe...

I used to read Rodales just so I was prepared to argue the nonsenss they spread. Eventually I realized that it didn't require that much work.

That's all we need is for Rodales to start messing in "tech" diving. We'll have divers at 200 ft kneeling on the bottom with their alternate dangling, a consol with air integrated computer on a way too long hose dangling, wearing a baby blue Seaquest jacket bc, split fins, Air2, laden with retractors and toys hanging all over off the over abundance of D-rings.

Hey! maybe the'll generate enough interest that all the resort boats will start conducting tech dives.

Mike Ferrara
Team Leader of the You drop em in and we'll go get em equipment recovery team

 

[DocRCH]

I agree that they are remiss in not suggesting trimix trainning. some of the dives off of NC can be easily done with a 30% mix. The depths on the Papoose and U352 are in the sand and do not represent the normal profile of those dives.

Robert:doctor:

 

[MikeFerrara]

DocRCH once bubbled...
I agree that they are remiss in not suggesting trimix trainning. some of the dives off of NC can be easily done with a 30% mix. The depths on the Papoose and U352 are in the sand and do not represent the normal profile of those dives.

Robert:doctor:

I dived the Papose after some bad weather. The current was strong and the only way to stay at the wreck was to stay deep on the lee side. Vis near the bottom was only about 10 ft. This was before my tech life and we were down there with single 80's. What a wast of a dive!

 

[bwerb]

100days-a-year once bubbled...
Bwerb,May 2003,p.31.Sorry,I just got it in the mail and was kinda miffed .

I just couldn't figure out how your first post related to the January list...thanks for clearing it up. I'll have to go check it out. I think I've stopped being surprised by some of the crap which I read concerning recommendations for dive training...

I'll just wait for the GUE gear recovery diver 1 certification.

Has anyone noticed the diagrams in the PADI (AOW I think) showing that as a "deep diver" you should just kneel on the bottom if you get disoriented on the way down. That'll be great diving on walls in the PNW where the bottom is at 750 feet.

 

[ElectricZombie]

Yes, Roadales is a joke. The U-352 and Papoose is about 130' tops...and that is to the sand. I don't really consider that a "tech" dive as local Advanced OW students are routinely taken there for checkouts, using AL80s.

 

[TwoBitTxn]

I see quite a few people here stating anything over 100' should be done on mix. That would make the papoose a tech dive at 130'. The article states it can be done as a recreational dive on Al 80's but with a BT limits of 13 min. That's pretty short. The article recommends deco training to extend bottom time to 30 min.

What I don't understand is the section on Bloody Bay wall in Little Cayman states you need to be advanced nitrox trained to breath 37% on a deco stop. I was taught Nitrox is good up to 40%. Advanced is for anything above 40%.

In their tech training explained... "Full decompression. These courses have several names, including Decompression procedures, and Deep Air, and generally allow dives to a maximum depth of 150 feet" (p. 36). It gets worse in "Extended Range These courses expand upon the skills listed above to take divers to a maximum depth of around 180 feet on air..." (p.36).

TwoBit

 

[Munin]

TwoBitTxn once bubbled...
What I don't understand is the section on Bloody Bay wall in Little Cayman states you need to be advanced nitrox trained to breath 37% on a deco stop. I was taught Nitrox is good up to 40%. Advanced is for anything above 40%.

There is a difference between breathing 40% on a shallow dive and doing gas switch decompression diving using a 40% deco mix. Any time you carry a mix beyond its breathable depth it is a whole different game. A nitrox class doesn't teach decompression or gas switching techniques.