Think I Bottomed Out at 300' on OC

[nereas]

That is just silly.....'work' it is know doubt.... but you HAVE to be enjoying it (fun) or you had better back off the dives totally as you are approaching them in the wrong frame of mind. Remember that these profiles are formal in approach and part of the enjoyment received is the prep and carry throw.

I remember you, the guy from texas who needs to borrow $5 in order to fill his argon bottle ... .

That is what I call "silly."

Silly is obviously different things to different people.

 

[Blackwood]

Man, you have to want to see something real bad to do two hours and forty minutes of deco for a twenty minute bottom time . . .

Maybe that 2:40 of deco is great in-and-of itself.

I wouldn't want to do that in blue water. In a cave? Maybe.

Well, I guess you can count me in as one of those who like the process as much as the dive itself. Because, reading your list of gasses... that just sounds like a lot of fun!

I'm the same way. I enjoy planning dives, and executing plans. I enjoy playing games with decompression algorithms. It's all fun (well, all except for the bill at the end of the day).

 

[battles2a5]

Well kids, I just did a 300' dive, and I think that's about the bottom for me on OC. All that gas, all those bottles to haul around for such a short bottom time... For me, I think I hit the effort/return/risk limit. I don't know if a RB is in my future, and you still need to carry bailout, but it seems that anything deeper just isn't for me unless something changes.

I'd be interested to know if anyone is doing regular dives beyond 300' (non-commercial), and if so, on OC or RB?

I dive in a mixed team quite a bit. I have my primary OC buddy and we have a CCR diver that has been mentoring us as we "grow up". After schlepping doubles and 3 deco/ stage bottles back and forth from the shop (x2 or 3 for multiple dives), huffing through 250cf of gas on a single dive, and breaking our backs lugging it on and off the board, our CCR buddy will point at his 2 bail-out bottles that he hasn't had to touch in 6 months, then point at us and laugh. Then he'll usually pelt us with a handful of used sorb for good measure. There comes a point where CCR makes sense. I'm not doing these types of dives often enough yet where it is "too much". There is still plenty for me to learn on OC and I'm not at a point where I fully trust the technology in CCR. But I think I'll get there soon enough.

Oh, and congrats on the dive, BTW. That's good stuff

 

[wedivebc]

Man, you have to want to see something real bad to do two hours and forty minutes of deco for a twenty minute bottom time . . .

Ahhh, just think of it as a 2hr 40 minute cave dive that you start from the bottom up

 

[nereas]

After all of the 1 min deep stops, when the longer EAN 50 stops begin, I like to start planning the rest of my afternoon, and weekend, and coming week, while hanging on deco. It is great quiet time to relax, think about what went right and wrong, make a mental list of things to do, etc.

It is nice to bring a Jon line, and attach yourself to the anchor line, if you are on the anchor line. Then with your hands free and not worrying about the current, you can practice valve drills, mask removal and replacement with your spare mask, deploying uplines from your spool, and other such practice routines.

Some people get all strokie about Jon lines. But I love mine.

 

[Gilldiver]

It is not only depth that brings you over to the dark side but expedition complexity can get you there also. If you are way away from the local dive shop, like the Dry Tortugas, someplace in Mexico, or 50+ miles out for 3+ days, a RB is just simpler.

f you are on a boat, the fuel savings from the weight reduction can be an added bonus when you are looking at the fuel surcharge.

As for the long deco hangs, reading is something you can do, clip in on a John line and pull out a magazine – Playboy used to be good for that being stapled instead of glued.

 

[CompuDude]

Just pick up an iDive case and an iPod Touch, and your deco stop entertainment needs can be fully met.

 

[SCUBA_Phil]

Rick,
Other rebreather thoughts:
1) Single gas works for 25' dive or a 250' dive. Dil of 15/55 It's just a question of what bailout tanks you bring.
2) Never trust the RB. Its job is to kill you, your job is to stay alive.
3) Very cheep to start filing your own tanks. Filled my double 100s with 15/55, this along with a T of O2 and a booster, I'm set for the next 6 months! I no longer feel guilty buying online any more!

PS: I met Mark L last month, you had a great instructor for you deep wreck class

Phil

 

[Rick Inman]

PS: I met Mark L last month, you had a great instructor for you deep wreck class

Phil

I should be down to dive with him around the holidays. Maybe we can dive.

 

[nereas]

...
2) Never trust the RB. Its job is to kill you, your job is to stay alive.
...
Phil

Exactly! Exactly! Exactly!