Yet another Roatan question: Nitrox?

[CODMAN]

Hey all, it's me again... I was just wondering since I've never done 3 dives/day, if you all feel that Nitrox would be a benifit on allowed bottom time for such diving? On my 2 dive/day trips, I've never had a problem with this; I usually went to 80-90 feet the first dive, then 70-80 the second. Usually my air consumption was more of a limit than my nitrogen level! But with 3 dives, that may become a limiting factor!? Do you feel that using Nitrox procures you an important increase in bottom time on these 3 dive trips? I'm wondering if I should do my Nitrox class before going?

Just for the record, I generally feel quite good after 2 dives, and am in good physical shape, so the added" feel better" bonus of Nitrox is not that important to me.

Thanks again for your help! I really appreciate the constructive comments I receive!

Luego!

 

[Scared Silly]

The mods might want to move to another area of the board for greater band width.

But to answer your question doing three dives a day on air works fine - I do this quite often sometimes throwing in a 4th dive during the night. But remember it is both time and depth that will add to your loading. So if you are doing three deep dives per day (say in the 100+ foot range) you will get pretty loaded. But then if you are doing three dives per day in 60-80 foot range with good intervals then you will be fine.

If you are interested in Nitrox you might see if the place you are staying/diving at will add into your package. Many will add it in for a nominal cost.

 

[fda483]

Did up to 5 dives a day in Roatan (3 boat and 2 shore) on Air and never got close to NDL. Most of the dives are multi level so it never really became an issue. The only exception was the day we did the shark dive as dive #3. Since we spent over 30 minutes at a level 70 feet we got within 3 minuets of the NDL on air.

 

[Damselfish]

Whether you get any additional bottom time depends on how long these dives are, and what your whole profile is like (not just the max depth) depending on how you are planning them (tables, computer.) For 3 dives spaced out it may or may not do you any good, 4 it probably would, hard to say for sure. If you are new and limited by air you may find as you get better on air your dives can be longer it would make a difference sometimes. Have you dove warm water before? You may find yourself using less air. (There's not much in your profile but I know it's not letting some stuff be filled in right now.)

It wouldn't hurt to do the class to give yourself the option.

 

[herman]

The other factor to take into consideration is not only are your doing 3-5 dives a day but you are also diving every day for 5 or 6 days. Thats a lot of N2 loading. Is nitrox necessary? Not likely by the tables or your computer but I like the added safety factor I get by diving nitrox on air NDL's. You may also be underestimating the value of the "feel good" factor if you have never dove 3 to 5- 60 minutes dives a day for several days. I consider the extra $100/wk it cost me to be well worth the expence.

 

[CODMAN]

Yeah, I've done caribean dives before. The dives I described above were multi-level with a computer. generally, would descend within th first 5 minutes to max depth, spend maybe 5-10 minutes there max, then gradually bring it less deep, generally finissheing around 40-50 feet.. I was never less than 10 minutes away from my NDL. Total dive times were in the 37-40 minute range.

We will surely be doing 3 dives a day, with an occasional 4th night dive.

I do want to do the nitrox, but am a little tight on cash now and would rather put the $$ towards the trip. And to boot, using Nitrox all week will run up the bill even more...

I really appreciate your efforts to answer me despite my lack of details!

 

[fda483]

I do dive nitrox at times but in places like Roatan with "guided dives" typically it does not make sense for me. But either way you will have a blast - stay close to the walls and look for the tons of the small stuff. It amazed me how many divers would stay 20 -25 feet out from the walls - not real sure what they were doing out there all the action is close in!

 

[CODMAN]

Hm... this has brought up another question for me... Sorry for anoying you all with my querrys!

When diving at these Roatan resorts, do you absolutely have to follow a DM? Or can you buddy dive independently? Even though the DMs can point out a lot of stuff to you, I still prefer the independant exploration and the freedom to stay away from large groups. I'm going to be there with my girlfriend who has quite a bit of experience (well, much more than me anyways) and we are used to buddy diving together.

Just wondering!

Thanks again to all!

 

[red_barbarian]

In response to your first question, I was there last week. Nitrox gave me extended time, but I had issues w/ all the non-Nitrox divers hitting thier no-deco limits on the third and fourth dives while I still was only needing to watch my gas supply. We were consistently diving to 30m and doing 50-70 min dives. DM's pretty much left us alone except on a few dives where you had to go somewhere in particular. (Marys Place). I second the above posters response about staying close to the walls. I'd add that there are a lot of ledges/overhangs to look under so 25-30m seems to allow you to see a bit more. Found 5 lobsters in one little overhang just packed into a space so tight I couldn't believe it! Have a great time.

 

[Doc]

I can't think of any AI resort that would force you to dive with the DMs. (other than specific dives, as above)

It would be about the only way you are going to ever find the little hidden stuff that Roatan is best known for, but if you want to "explore on your own", have no fear, you shall be free!

Stick with a good DM. On the South side, that would be one who is finding you a SeaHorse on every other dive, and even better stuff like PipeFish, Arrow Blennies, Neck Crabs, Cryptic Crabs, Teardrop Crabs, etc.

It takes a skilled local to find the cool stuff.

Here are some great pix and critter logs:

http://www.docksidedivecenter.com/WeeklyLog.html the Jul 1-7 set is spectacular and quite representative of what a great DM can provide.