How Deep do you Dive?

LilmanHSU · April 29th, 2002, 11:51 AM

This might of been asked before, but I've never read the posts.

How deep do people here ususally dive? I know some like to keep it recreational and not dive more than 75 feet.. But then there are those die hard divers who want to stretch the limits on strange mixes of air, rebreathers and such.

Me personally. Ususally between 25-90 feet.. But it changes depending on the conditions.

scuberd · April 29th, 2002, 12:56 PM

My deepest so far has been 86, but I usually dive about 50

LilmanHSU · April 29th, 2002, 01:37 PM

Mine to date has been 107 but that was just for a few minutes.

WreckWriter · April 29th, 2002, 01:41 PM

I don't think you're going to get many answers here from folks that go truly deep. The main reason being is that many people, including myself, think that it can be dangerous to publically state such things because others might then think "Well, he did it so I can too" and then not be able to manage it.

I wouldn't want that on my conscience.....

Maybe I'll be proven wrong and folks will start giving you big numbers but I doubt it.

Tom

divedude · April 29th, 2002, 01:42 PM

My deepest was 180' on a wall. the wall go's to 240' but I was on air with a single 80 and a 13' pony.
No!! I wouldn't do it again I was a lot younger and a lot dumber
:stupid:
Now 85'-120' is were most of my diving is. That's the average depth of most of our dive sites.

moxie · April 29th, 2002, 01:54 PM

This question begs for some opinions.

I don't "usually" dive at any particular depth. I dive the depth required for the dive site, within the recreational limit of 130 feet, not to go to that depth as a reason all by itself. For example, if you go down to the Keys and doodle around on most of the reef dives, you'll be between 30-80 feet. If you dive the Eagle, you'll need to go to 120 or so, near to 130 on the sand. The walls on Grand Cayman regularly see dives of 130 feet with swim-throughs starting at 60-70 and exiting the wall just about at 130. We recently dove Dominica, however, and I don't recall going deeper than 85 feet. I know that deeper than about 80 feet is considered a "deep" dive and carries with it some extra issues such as possible narcosis and the need for better buoyancy control. This is why you have AOW training, to prepare you for these isssues, beyond what you learned in BOW. I can tell you, though, that I have seen many dive to 130 feet right after BOW because they were at a resort where the profile pretty much dictated it. "Don't worry, be happy, mon!" But clear, warm, water dives just finning along with a DM at 130 feet are not nearly as dangerous, potentially, as 70-80 foot dives in cold, turbid water with a bad current. Depth is only one of many factors you have to consider in planning a dive. Moxie

Scubarescuepd · April 29th, 2002, 01:56 PM

ok lets be rational.. most recreational diving is between 60-100
anything pass 100 i'd say you're getting into some dangerous stuff, plus lets be honest here what is there to see at great depths. most sea life is above the 75 ft range.

i personally think this is a dangerous question make a poll.

you're gonna get some young person thinking hell if he could do it then i can too.

Please think back to basics and Dive only within your certification and experience. Also don't forget that diving within your physical limitations as well.

i'll end with this a basketball player maybe good, but they are not Micheal jordan. same goes for diving...

a diver maybe good, but you are not Cousteau

Dive safe live longer and maybe you'll be 100 yrs old with stories of your own.

Uncle Pug · April 29th, 2002, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by WreckWriter
"Well, he did it so I can too" and then not be able to manage it.

Actually Tom's is a valid consideration....
Most of our dives are <110 fsw and almost always on EAN32....
Deeper diving for us pushes the logistics up to the point that the dive really has to be worth the effort....
Saturday we did a wall dive planned at 160 fsw for 25 minutes....
Total time including deco was 54 minutes with a max of 167 fsw....
We each had double 104s with 21/35 trimix and a single AL40 50/50 deco bottle...
***don't try this at home***
Could we have done the dive on a single tank of air?
Only as a meaningless bounce dive.
Could we have had just as much fun using a single 104 of EAN32 at 60 fsw?
Yes... definitely.

My point: don't do deeper dives just to say that you did them... that really is not wise... if you want to do deeper dives then you will need training, equipment, and lotsa $$ and soon you find that you could have just as much fun for less $$ and a lighter equipment load just by keeping it within recreational limits. In fact most of the good stuff (around here anyway) is <60 fsw.

Welshman · April 29th, 2002, 02:39 PM

Mostly in the range 40' to 90', which is where most of the sea life is. As others have said there is no point going deep just to say that you went deep. It cuts your dive time down and my aim is to have as long a dive as is commensurate with it being enjoyable.

LilmanHSU · April 29th, 2002, 03:26 PM

In regards to WreckWriter's point about not having a lot of opinions about it. And Scubarescuepd 's comment about being a dangerous poll.

The people who are checking off the boxes, but not explaining themelves are doing more harm than good.

We can use this poll just like we can use any other. If a person is reading this saying, if he can do it, why can't I? Is either 1. not certified, or 2. a beginner, and shouldn't even consider diving deep.

Same opinions hold true if they read posts on the Nitrox, Tri-mix, rebreathers (which as I understand, can kill you if not used correctly) or Cave Diving section of this board.

A person might describe their experience to a T about the latest ship wreck they ventured on at 250 feet, and not even mention the fact they were breathing special gas, had special training, and special gear.

Would I (as a recreational diver only) say, "I can do that?" and do it.

No way, diving 101 described in good detail the effects of depth, DCS, and pressure on the human body. Not to mention the training, equipment and experience required to acomplish something like this.

I was mainly curious in this board to see if a majority of the users were recreational or technical divers and what their experiences are. Maybe a comment or two from someone will spark some interest in other readers and get them out there to take their AOW or Technical courses so they too can do this.

Also, many people have already been saying its not a good idea to dive deep without the knowledge necessary to do it safely. ( I tend to find that this board places a high value on safety, because everyone is always talking about safety when discussing an aspect of the sport) For that I totally agree, and many people make references to that all over the place on a variety of subjects.

Everyone who dives or is thinking about it should always remember to stay within limits.

I, for one, am enjoying this discussion.. Its sparking a lot of interesting comments about our sport.. Why not discuss it? It is a part of diving right? And why not give some positive information to new divers.
-Paul