Can I dive to 40m (130ft)?

[boulderjohn]

I would think someone should have called the dive when it became obvious that the effected diver was very uncomfortable. I don't just mean that he was cold, but at one point he asked if they should surface, and he kept making references to how there was nothing to see, it was boring, etc.

Just so you know, the diver you are talking about is one of the most famous and most accomplished divers in the world. His "nothing to see" comment is frustration because their purpose in the dive was to find new fish species. That diver and his team have probably identified more new fish species than any other group in the world, and so they probably spend a lot of time seeing nothing and being bored before they make a big discovery.

 

[J322Y]

Just so you know, the diver you are talking about is one of the most famous and most accomplished divers in the world. His "nothing to see" comment is frustration because their purpose in the dive was to find new fish species. That diver and his team have probably identified more new fish species than any other group in the world, and so they probably spend a lot of time seeing nothing and being bored before they make a big discovery.

I did not know that. Now that I do I feel even stronger that the dive should have been called. For such an accomplished diver with a keen scientific mind to be spouting inanities/vulgarities at 400 fsw is enough I would think. If he was functioning normally I'm sure he wouldn't have been focusing on what had not been seen yet, and instead would have been carefully searching for a new discovery. My thinking is based on whether this captured typical behavior on his part or atypical. If it's atypical then I say call it, renown person or not.

Of course I'm a novice diver who has paid attention in class and so I'm probably a bit conservative about safety at this point...

 

[kelemvor]

You should dive the Florida Middle Grounds. 80-150 ft. Warm, clear water, relatively untouched by man due to the distance from shore. Coral heads the size of a house. My buddy was out there a couple weeks ago diving with manta rays.

I hear the deep dives in Hawaii are pretty amazing as well.

Perhaps some areas don't have many deep water corals. Where I live it's all about bottom structure. A good bottom machine, fish finder and patience will put you on top of excellent diving.

Middle grounds is on my bucket list. Tackle Shack recently bought a 55' boat they were running day trips to middle grounds. $600 a head for 3 dives in middle grounds. I think I'm going this summer.

 

[RainPilot]

I did not know that. Now that I do I feel even stronger that the dive should have been called. For such an accomplished diver with a keen scientific mind to be spouting inanities/vulgarities at 400 fsw is enough I would think. If he was functioning normally I'm sure he wouldn't have been focusing on what had not been seen yet, and instead would have been carefully searching for a new discovery. My thinking is based on whether this captured typical behavior on his part or atypical. If it's atypical then I say call it, renown person or not.

Of course I'm a novice diver who has paid attention in class and so I'm probably a bit conservative about safety at this point...

If you search Youtube for "Richard Pyle" you will see many funny conversations between him and Brian and others. His behaviour is not atypical at all for him, he is just using swearing as emphasis, it makes me feel better when I hit my toe on the furniture...

These guys spend MASSIVE amounts of time between 100-150m, I suspect Richard may have on- and off gassed more nitrogen and helium than anyone alive.

 

[J322Y]

If you search Youtube for "Richard Pyle" you will see many funny conversations between him and Brian and others. His behaviour is not atypical at all for him, he is just using swearing as emphasis, it makes me feel better when I hit my toe on the furniture...

These guys spend MASSIVE amounts of time between 100-150m, I suspect Richard may have on- and off gassed more nitrogen and helium than anyone alive.

In that case what is the significance of this video and why is it titled "Hypothermia Induced Tourette Syndrome"? Does he routinely exhibit these traits, or is it an anomaly?

 

[boulderjohn]

In that case what is the significance of this video and why is it titled "Hypothermia Induced Tourette Syndrome"? Does he routinely exhibit these traits, or is it an anomaly?

I think he was just having fun. Did you see how firmly the tongue was in the cheek for the opening warnings? Is he not allowed to have some fun?

I first ran into this video many years ago on ScubaBoard. The thread was about deep stops, and this was about the time they were first getting popular and before they stopped being popular. Someone posted that the idea of deep stops had been invented by Richard Pyle, and they are often called Pyle Stops because of it. The next post started something like this: "Actually, I did not invent them." After that, Pyle participated in that thread in a very light hearted, amiable way before posting the video himself, just commenting that people might find it amusing.

Despite his accomplishments, Pyle is humble and not afraid to poke fun at himself or honestly admit to problems. He has been badly bent twice, and he wrote detailed explanations of each event, fully blaming himself for mistakes he made that led to the DCS. The last I checked, they are still out there for people to see.

Several years ago I was creating a high school marine biology course, and I wanted to get permission to use a picture of him in one of the lessons. I sent an email, and he responded quite graciously in a matter of minutes.

 

[J322Y]

I'm confused. Was this video a tongue in cheek farse, or did the man exhibit anomalous mental symptoms?

If it's a farse, you got me!

If it shows unusual behavior for this individual at 400 fsw then why the hell didn't one of his colleagues at least say "Hey Richard, are you just messing with us? Because joking around is fine, but safety is a big concern at this depth, even for seasoned divers like us...

 

[Youssef ElNahas]

Wow I never thought the thread would get this many responses!

I don’t have time right now to respond to individual replies but I’ll get to it soon. I think I’ll postpone the 40m dive to next time and focus on trying to plan my own dives in detail in this trip as preparation... (better safe than sorry)

I have the information I need but feel free to keep the thread alive. It seems to be resulting in some productive conversation!

 

[MichaelMc]

I'm confused. Was this video a tongue in cheek farse, or did the man exhibit anomalous mental symptoms?

If it's a farse, you got me!

If it shows unusual behavior for this individual at 400 fsw then why the hell didn't one of his colleagues at least say "Hey Richard, are you just messing with us? Because joking around is fine, but safety is a big concern at this depth, even for seasoned divers like us...

It seems included here as just a visual example that there may not be much to see deep, and bonus info that it is often colder.

A bonus is that it is funny. I did not know the diver or his experience when I first saw it. I think the Tourette ‘link’ is just they’re using helium to get deep, which means it’s cold, and they’re expressing how ****ing cold it is. Sort of like ‘ice on windshield induced Tourettes’.

On safety focus, they’re just at work. Where they have apparently been often. Yes, they have to be careful, but hours of hyper, nerves on edge, focus will just leave them wiped out and unable to respond to events. Relaxed looking around is much better. And normal conversation about lunch later, how ****ing cold it is, and how few fish there are. It did not seem like 'should we go up' was calling the dive, more is this productive, do you think we will find some.

 

[Chilly_Diver]

I did not know that. Now that I do I feel even stronger that the dive should have been called. For such an accomplished diver with a keen scientific mind to be spouting inanities/vulgarities at 400 fsw is enough I would think. If he was functioning normally I'm sure he wouldn't have been focusing on what had not been seen yet, and instead would have been carefully searching for a new discovery. My thinking is based on whether this captured typical behavior on his part or atypical. If it's atypical then I say call it, renown person or not.

Of course I'm a novice diver who has paid attention in class and so I'm probably a bit conservative about safety at this point...

You must be fun at parties...