Do you see people diving with pony bottles?
I see them occasionally when people are on deeper dives. I also encounter divers who are firm believers in the buddy system, and who are concerned about the safety problems pony cylinders can cause. There was a fatality caused by a poorly configured pony bottle configuration in one diving club where I was a member for a while. Most of the members quit using pony cylinders after that.
You mean there are people who still don't dive with a pony, or another redundant source?
On most dives, the surface is my redundant air source.
Could you explain why. I use the same gas plan with or without a pony. I carry the pony as emergency bailout, not as additional back gas so I can extend the dive. Don't get me wrong, I have used a pony to extend a dive, however I was under no illusion that the pony was for safety at that point.
I don't think there's a consensus on what constitutes proper gas planning with a pony cylinder.
If I do not have a pony cylinder, I will carry enough back gas that I can complete a normal ascent while sharing air ("rock bottom") at any point in the dive. With a pony cylinder, I will relax my planning somewhat, based on me switching to the pony cylinder before the ascent.
On just a regular recreational dive in the Caribbean vacation, I would not even get on the boat if someone was going to use a pony bottle. Just a sign that I am about to dive with an incompetent. Sorry.
Perhaps you could clarify how often you've actually encountered a recreational diver using a pony cylinder, and whether you actually disembarked in response in all these cases. I would be curious whether your fees are typically refunded by the operator when this occurs.
The people I meet while diving fall into two categories:
- People who dive as badly as I used to at some point in the past
- People who dive as well as I hope to at some point in the future
The more I dive the less importance I ascribe to the relative competence of the people around me. We are all pilgrims on a journey.
I guess having been a liveaboard operator I've seen way more regulator failures than just a few. No, I've never had one fail either, and yes, I also do my own maintenance, and my wife is the repair tech at a dive shop. The junk some folks dive with would truly shock you.
I think you'll agree that redundancy is not a band-aid for unreliable gear, bad habits, or poor maintenance.
There is so much wrong with your post I'm not sure where to start. .... Thanks for the opportunity to educate you and point out the ignorance in your post that indicates that divers who use additional gear that other divers may not feel is necessary does not equate to incompetance.
I agree with the substance of what you are trying to say but do not believe that you are being an effective advocate for our shared views because you are introducing side issues that are not relevant to the discussion.
It is not my experience that divers on a boat who bring redundant gas are worse divers or less attentive buddies. I find that recent diving experience and familiarity with the gear they are diving are the two most likely markers of a capable diver. I find that presence of an agenda at odds with my own is a harbinger of a dive where my buddy may be inattentive. Macro photography is one example mentioned upthread. Exploration of portions of a wreck that I do not wish to enter would be another example.
Great practice. I’ve been in swells so high, you could not see the divers from the boat.
Perhaps we should have a contest to see who has the biggest SMB. The tricky thing with big SMBs is that it's hard to keep them inflated enough that they stay firm and vertical in the water. Then again some people have difficulty boarding unless they find a way to use the wave action to their advantage.
Because I dive with trained, tame, friendly dolphins, I shouldn't plan for a catastrophic failure of my primary gas supply? Because you disapprove of divers swimming with trained dolphins, I shouldn't extend my gas supply to enjoy an even longer interaction? You think that's all that needs to be said? Because you disapprove of a particular thing, it's not open to discussion?
Dolphin dives are controversial. Perhaps you did not know this. I agree that it has little or nothing to do with the use of pony bottles. I am surprised you brought it up in this thread.
