Drinking & Diving

[Bubbletrubble]

I don't read it that way at all. The liveaboard was used an an example of how a rule is implemented.

I just reviewed the thread. Buried somewhere in the middle of it, the OP clarified that his question occurred to him while on a Bonaire trip. He also clarified that the liveaboard situation was a separate one.

I'll edit my previous posts appropriately.

@billmosel: Sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[Rhone Man]

I used to regularly drink beer before diving and I'll tell you one thing: if you thought you always needed to pee whilst diving before...

Sadly, by the end of the 80s this was just "not the done thing" and a beer between dives went the way of the mullet haircut. Funnily enough although I used to enjoy it, I don't really miss it.

 

[Thalassamania]

I don't believe that this addresses the the OP's question. The article seems to address binge drinking while on vacation. That's stupid even if you DON'T dive.

Lee was being tongue in cheek when he wrote that, but he was addressing (in an exaggerated way) exactly what I was talking about, increased DCS risk due to dehydration. How much is too much? Who knows? Clearly the situation Lee was describing would be too much and while I doubt that one beer a few hours before a dive would be, is the additional risk justified? Would you prefer to dive with a buddy who willingly and knowingly took on additional and unnecessary risks or one who toed the line even on possibly marginal items?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Would you prefer to dive with a buddy who willingly and knowingly took on additional and unnecessary risks or one who toed the line even on possibly marginal items?

Depends on the buddy ... I would trust some to handle additional risk better than others. I prefer to make that judgment on a case-by-case basis ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[The Chairman]

Would you prefer to dive with a buddy who willingly and knowingly took on additional and unnecessary risks or one who toed the line even on possibly marginal items?

Is this a serious question?

I would prefer to dive.

By definition, the simple act of diving can be described as willingly and knowingly taking on an additional risk. A beer (or two) three hours before my buddy splashes would increase that risk only a negligible amount.

That being said, I often dive with a buddy who is impaired. Sometimes they are impaired by knowledge and sometimes by their lack of common sense. Quite often we can be seen jumping into holes in the ground, a ship or wherever it looks interesting. I probably only avoid those who are fun impaired.

 

[KWBuddy]

This is a copyrighted document, but it was paid for with Sea Grant money.

I found it while doing research on Drinking and Diving. I has an interesting perspective on the topic as seen from the mid 80's.

I don't believe that this addresses the the OP's question. The article seems to address binge drinking while on vacation. That's stupid even if you DON'T dive.

@NetDoc, Oh my gosh, you are so correct. I *ass*u*me* too much sometimes.

@billmosel, Sorry about not addressing your original question specifically. "If I have a beer at lunch (noon) and want to dive at 3:00, how is that going to impair my judgement or dehydrate me?"

Given the need for the Sea Grant program to pay for an article about binge drinking and diving, that kind of behavior must have been common enough to be a concern in the mid 1980s. Since divers were not "dropping like flies" at the time my guess is that a beer at lunch with a three hour surface interval would be fine.

By the way, at that time I had been certified for about 10 years. I did not engage in "resort diving" as the author of the article did. I lived here in the Keys at the time and can say from personal observation that there were a lot of divers who drank and dove. It wasn't that big a deal. But then there was a higher rate of DCS hits back then too.

Of course, the "rule of thumb" was not to rise faster than your bubbles. That rate sends off the alarms in my current dive computer like crazy. Additionally, almost nobody had a pressure gage that they took anywhere near the water. So, often your first hint of "low air" was not being able to suck a breath from the tank. That meant quicker ascents in addition to all the other confounding factors.

All in all, if modest drinking were a real (not manufactured) problem, it would be obvious by just looking at the statistics of 30 years of dive accidents.

--

Bud

 

[KWBuddy]

This is a copyrighted document, but it was paid for with Sea Grant money.

Lee was being tongue in cheek when he wrote that

I had no idea that Sea Grant money was being used for humorous, whimsical, flippant or tongue in cheek research.

It must have taken some effort to get a lighthearted parody past the peer review process at Sea Grant. Even back in those days. Dr. Somers deserves a lot of respect for that.

--

Bud

 

[scubadiverbob]

Everyone seems to be missing the point here. It is the effect of water pressure on your body that prevents you from being able to drink alcohol 24 hours before diving. That's why if it takes one six pack to get drunk on the surface; it's two bottles at 30 ft. (maybe less). It can have worse effects than drunk driving. Your using a life support system (scuba). Hope that is simple enough to understand .... Hope everyone understands how pressure effects the human body ... if not, better take a refresher scuba class.

 

[boulderjohn]

Everyone seems to be missing the point here. It is the effect of water pressure on your body that prevents you from being able to drink alcohol 24 hours before diving. That's why if it takes one six pack to get drunk on the surface; it's two bottles at 30 ft. (maybe less). It can have worse effects than drunk driving. Your using a life support system (scuba). Hope that is simple enough to understand .... Hope everyone understands how pressure effects the human body ... if not, better take a refresher scuba class.

Perhaps you would be so good as to save people the trouble of going back and retaking their OW course by giving an explanation here yourself. I for one would be most interested.

 

[phillybob]

... if not, better take a refresher scuba class.

I never got my 'Drinking and Diving' c-card. Has to be PADI.