Obviously if you assume you don't know anything... and were completely dependent on the computer, you should sit down for a while.. but not sure why Live aboards don't know or understand this.
Unfortunately, most divers do not understand deco theory, and ARE dependent totally on their computers. I think it's part of the dumbing down of divers, but that's part of another thread. I am ALWAYS willing to listen to the story the diver tells, and, yes, we will look at your runtimes and max depths. We are willing to make assumptions based on those numbers, as well as we know the dive sites. We know who is spending 10 minutes on their 15 foot stops, and will discount that as bottom time, and count it as deco time. I also know that a diver is almost always an A diver (PADI RDP) after a 2 1/2 hour SI. The question is does the diver understand this?
So the question for Frank, who I have a lot of respect for, and other operators is if I prove to you I am proficient and disciplined enough with my diving do I need to sit out a dive if my comp fails and I decide to go to tables for the rest of the trip? And just use my BT and back up analog gauges I also always have with me(watch, depth gauge).
As I said above, I am always willing to listen to the story. It doesn't take much to convince me to let you back in. I'm not listening to the part about how clean you are, I'm listening to see if you understand what went wrong, and how you are going to account for yourself going forward.
It can't be too much trouble to take along an extra computer on a live-aboard even if one must borrow...
Which is why we have rentals onboard.
It was very interesting to read Thal's post about the AAUS procedure for a failed computer. Taught me a few things. I like to learn new things, and plan to read the entire proceedings. Maybe it is my training as a tech diver, maybe it is being jaded from so many years of running a liveaboard, but in my experience, most divers strap on a tank without knowing what is in it, using regs that just came back from service without testing in the pool, and bought a computer that their sales person recommended based on price or the brand that the store sells, as if all computers were created equal. No one has ever taught them to use it, and they haven't read the manual until 11 PM after boarding. Then they ask me or Melanie to set it for them. This is not an aware diver, this is someone looking for an experience.
I would love for a diver with a failed computer to come to me with a plan for their deco. I'd be so excited I wouldn't know what to think. But I gotta tell you, those who would have a plan for a failed computer are the ones whose computers don't fail. They don't fail because the diver checked their battery percentage before the trip, brought a spare battery, resets the O2 percentage before every dive. They are also the ones with a dive watch or timer, and a mechanical depth gauge. They understand v-planner or some other dive software and can switch over to it on the fly. They do 10 minute stops on day 2, 3, 4, and 5. They don't run out of air. I don't have to worry about that type of diver. They worry about themselves so I don't have to.
