Fishkiller
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As far as running out of air,, Where's your buddy??
Spare air will get you there.
Should I get a Spare Air?
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As far as running out of air,, Where's your buddy??
Spare air will get you there.
Nobody plans on losing track of their buddy, just as nobody plans on running out of air - and yet both happen. All it takes is one mistake to cost you your life.
Accidents are more likely to happen when divers become too confident in their ability, their planning planning, their equipment, or experience.
"The Last Dive" by Chowdhury provides several great illustrations, and I think it's a must-read by anyone serious about the sport.
Iguana Don
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"The Last Dive" points out nothing except how stupid (yeah that's right) two people can be. From the very start of the book red flags raise and give clues as to what will happen.
And any diver worth their weight in salt can see this. Tell me the imortant lessons you learned from this book that you didn't learn in OW. I know of only one.
As for me, I will stay with the buddy approach, we dive as a team and practice teamwork on a constant basis. He is my Spare Air. But then again I watch my SPG religously. We practice, practice and practice some more. We are never out of contact and always know where each other is, and that is never more than 1 breath away.
Makes our diving more fun, less stressful, less worries and don't have to lug that pony bottle around.
But like I said earlier, in the instructors and DM arena it is a good IDea.
ID
PS. BTW I am not heartless and cruel and I feel deeply for the family of the two dead divers.
And any diver worth their weight in salt can see this. Tell me the imortant lessons you learned from this book that you didn't learn in OW. I know of only one.
As for me, I will stay with the buddy approach, we dive as a team and practice teamwork on a constant basis. He is my Spare Air. But then again I watch my SPG religously. We practice, practice and practice some more. We are never out of contact and always know where each other is, and that is never more than 1 breath away.
Makes our diving more fun, less stressful, less worries and don't have to lug that pony bottle around.
But like I said earlier, in the instructors and DM arena it is a good IDea.
ID
PS. BTW I am not heartless and cruel and I feel deeply for the family of the two dead divers.
The biggest lesson to be taken from The Last Dive is the danger of machismo. Divers that get lulled into thinking their methods, equipment, and experience are flawless, that they've nothing left to learn - are divers on a dangerous path. The Rouses made a chain of poor decisions stemming from machismo which ultimately led to the accident which cost them their lives.
Anyhow - that's quite a tangent from the real discussion at hand. Pony Bottles have their place outside of the Divemaster/Instructor role. Many New Jersey dive boats will not let you dive without an alternate air supply, even if you have no intent on penentrating a wreck. The reasons are sound (for both the boats and the divers.)
Calling a pony a crutch for bad-technique is wrong, in my opinion. Sometimes things just happen. Plenty of great divers make what seem to be uncharacteristic mistakes in spite of their training and experience. Well maintained equipment can fail. The pony is a tool that has broad ranging applications.
Well said.
ID,
I read the book, and all it did was re-affirm my already pretty entrenched views of the rec and tech agencies.
These guys were accidents waiting to happen. Unfortunately for the Wife/mother she lost her Husband & son. However, it is a clasic case of 'evolution in action' - nature has ensured they can no longer add to the gene pool.
PS appologies to any who don't believe in darwinism, although this is pretty good evidence for Darwin's theories!
Jon T
Iguana Don
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Jon T
In this instance I don't think agency would have made a difference. But as you said Darwin was correct.
ID
ID,
The more I hear about certain agencies, the more I start to think that they never fail people. For me, having read the book, even if these people had been able to pay the money and do the checkout dive, they should have been failed the course for not having enough 'mental maturity' to dive to these depths. Untill I hear of an agency that is more than prepared to make you go through a course 3 or 4 times untill you are mature enough to pass, or better, to turn you away untill you are ready (I admit that GUE is almost there with their requirements) then I will revise my oppinions upwards.
Jon T
The more I hear about certain agencies, the more I start to think that they never fail people. For me, having read the book, even if these people had been able to pay the money and do the checkout dive, they should have been failed the course for not having enough 'mental maturity' to dive to these depths. Untill I hear of an agency that is more than prepared to make you go through a course 3 or 4 times untill you are mature enough to pass, or better, to turn you away untill you are ready (I admit that GUE is almost there with their requirements) then I will revise my oppinions upwards.
Jon T
first question.....
I know you can't carry a standard tank on a plane with out removing the valve, and you should get the tank visually inspected when you get to your destination. Are the rules for a pony and spare air the same or can you keep the valve in place and have air in it. It may be worth it just to carry a pony and rent the primary I guess.....
Second question: Spare air 3cuft sells for about $265 (no I'm not trying to put a value on life) and a 6 cuft pony sells for about $100 the spare has a reg attached. If you buy the pony you have to buy a new first stage and a new reg. That would easily push the price of the pony well above the spare air.
I agree the pony makes more sense... but I don't see how spare air can be less expensive than a pony.
I know you can't carry a standard tank on a plane with out removing the valve, and you should get the tank visually inspected when you get to your destination. Are the rules for a pony and spare air the same or can you keep the valve in place and have air in it. It may be worth it just to carry a pony and rent the primary I guess.....
Second question: Spare air 3cuft sells for about $265 (no I'm not trying to put a value on life) and a 6 cuft pony sells for about $100 the spare has a reg attached. If you buy the pony you have to buy a new first stage and a new reg. That would easily push the price of the pony well above the spare air.
I agree the pony makes more sense... but I don't see how spare air can be less expensive than a pony.
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