Dahap Blue Hole, the cemetery

[Tigerman]

The arch freedive video is actually a very good example of both how insanely good some freedivers can be as well as the gear you SHOULD have for a dive like the Dahab blue hole arch (and beyond).

 

[SandyDiverCur]

Remy,

Who did you do your deep dives with?

Who is/was your instructor? Karel or Alex?

You know people didnt come back from the dive that you want to do your 50mtr wreck dive? ( I assume its the wreck at vearssenbaai)

Do you know that you sound exactly like those people?

Do you know that you sound like 99% of the people that decide to die while diving on Curacao?

FFS stop planning on killing yourself.........

 

[Remy B.]

If your profile is correct, you should not even consider it without quite a bit more experience and training. The arch is, if I remember correctly, at about 180 feet. That makes it a trimix dive (if you want to remember what you experienced afterward) on doubles, and preferably a deco bottle of EAN50. Sure, there are plenty of people who do it on a single tank, using air ... and many of them are still down there. They gambled and lost.

Going deep is easy ... it's coming back to the surface that's the tricky part. If you want to go that's great ... set it as a long-term goal and work to develop the skills and experience to do it properly. Deep dives are alluring ... and a lot of people take shortcuts. As long as nothing goes wrong, you'll probably end the dive OK. But we don't train for everything to go right ... we train for how to deal with things going wrong. And that's really rather the point. If something goes wrong that deep, bolting to the surface isn't an option ... you'll be dead long before you get there.

EastEndDiver gave you very good advice ... slow down. The Blue Hole will still be there when you've attained the skills to dive it safely.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Can you show me where I said that I wanted to try that dive with my little experience or with a lot of experience, even If I get to the point of technical diving, I don't see the point of looking at sand and rocks.

I just posted, as an awareness post for the ruckies like me so they can see what happen with what I believe it is a unsafe dive, again that is my perspective of that dive thru the arch, and exposed that I didn't understand what they were trying to do with one tank at 53m on top that they needed to swem across 26m tunel.

In the videos and reports it say there can be currents in the arch, read CAN, so with my poor and inexperience planning and diving, I will take in account that always there is current, at least I believe it will be better to plan a dive like that taking in account current, that not taking it in account, but that is just my perspective.

---------- Post added October 6th, 2014 at 09:43 PM ----------

Remy,

Who did you do your deep dives with?

Who is/was your instructor? Karel or Alex?

You know people didnt come back from the dive that you want to do your 50mtr wreck dive? ( I assume its the wreck at vearssenbaai)

Do you know that you sound exactly like those people?

Do you know that you sound like 99% of the people that decide to die while diving on Curacao?

FFS stop planning on killing yourself.........

No I didn't, I appreciate your inputs, do you know under what circumstances that happen ??

I have a No Go from Karel and Alex, I will not try that dive without them, other instructors they want to, but until I don't have the consent from both Alex and Karel and that they come along I will not do it, again please everybody read the circumstances of the planning, it will never happen under my circumstances of training, the deep dive is with other instructores, but I ask for my OW instructors and they say NO, get more dives under your belt.

The deep dive course will take some time, before I do it, and plan to do it with 3 different agencys, my opinion is that even it is basically the same course the instructors may add their experiences and extras, I just have to get the best out of each one of them.

 

[Anthony Hayes]

the divers graveyard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFGYJ1KYLYM

 

[Lorenzoid]

Can you show me where I said that I wanted to try that dive with my little experience or with a lot of experience, even If I get to the point of technical diving, I don't see the point of looking at sand and rocks.

I just posted, as an awareness post for the ruckies like me so they can see what happen with what I believe it is a unsafe dive, again that is my perspective of that dive thru the arch, and exposed that I didn't understand what they were trying to do with one tank at 53m on top that they needed to swem across 26m tunel.
. . .

Remy, I think the reason some of us questioned your motivation for posting this thread about the Blue Hole because we were familiar with your other recent thread, strongly implying that you intended to incur what you consider small deco obligations without getting the formal training normally expected of "deco divers."

I am a recreational diver, so I don't have much to say on the latter subject or on the Blue Hole. But the fact that you've started a total of, what, two threads since joining SB, the second one relating to a deep dive site that has claimed numerous lives, led me to leap to the conclusion you have some sort of morbid fascination with deep or otherwise advanced dives.

I still don't completely understand the new diver's (and you're not the first) fascination with deep dives or incurring deco obligations, but I think at this point you have made it clear that you don't intend to do any of this without obtaining the proper training. If that's correct, then I agree others should back off now. Your earlier posts in the other thread were ambiguously worded--it seemed that you kept saying you felt you would be capable of exceeding the recreational no-deco limits at your level of experience and without any formal instruction. Apparently our understanding was mistaken.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Can you show me where I said that I wanted to try that dive with my little experience or with a lot of experience, even If I get to the point of technical diving, I don't see the point of looking at sand and rocks.

I just posted, as an awareness post for the ruckies like me so they can see what happen with what I believe it is a unsafe dive, again that is my perspective of that dive thru the arch, and exposed that I didn't understand what they were trying to do with one tank at 53m on top that they needed to swem across 26m tunel.

In the videos and reports it say there can be currents in the arch, read CAN, so with my poor and inexperience planning and diving, I will take in account that always there is current, at least I believe it will be better to plan a dive like that taking in account current, that not taking it in account, but that is just my perspective.

Generally when someone asks questions about a dive, and says they're planning the dive, it's because they're considering doing the dive. So any confusion as to your intentions are understandable.

I cannot speak for current ... I have only done the dive once, and there was no noticeable current that one time.

The cautions you're receiving are well-intentioned. As noted, this particular site tends to attract people who have no business being there ... and several of them never came back. That, in itself, should be something you factor into your dive plan ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[EastEndDiver]

Remy, I think the reason some of us questioned your motivation for posting this thread about the Blue Hole because we were familiar with your other recent thread, strongly implying that you intended to incur what you consider small deco obligations without getting the formal training normally expected of "deco divers."

I am a recreational diver, so I don't have much to say on the latter subject or on the Blue Hole. But the fact that you've started a total of, what, two threads since joining SB, the second one relating to a deep dive site that has claimed numerous lives, led me to leap to the conclusion you have some sort of morbid fascination with deep or otherwise advanced dives.

I still don't completely understand the new diver's (and you're not the first) fascination with deep dives or incurring deco obligations, but I think at this point you have made it clear that you don't intend to do any of this without obtaining the proper training. If that's correct, then I agree others should back off now. Your earlier posts in the other thread were ambiguously worded--it seemed that you kept saying you felt you would be capable of exceeding the recreational no-deco limits at your level of experience and without any formal instruction. Apparently our understanding was mistaken.

Not so sure our understanding of what he stated was mistaken with statements like this from him

"My worst fear is that I loose my mask, no good at all, since you can't read no press gauge, no depth gauge, no DC, no watch for time trancking, even If I can count on my dive buddy, I still don't take it for granted."

"I know I suppose to not pass the 32m, I already had been to 39.6m, always staying in my NDL, there are plans for a 50m, to be combined with a deep dive course, still I know the deep dive certification allows 42m if I'm not mistaken."


"Why have I been where I been, I was allowed, after they saw how I manage my self in the water,"

"I didn't choose to be certified PADI, dive tables for air go to 42m ( US Navy Standard air decompression table ) I believe Most agencies/shools use the same, you can stay 15min on BT and only need 2 min DECO stop at 5m,"

"That is the reason of what I post, to learn those things, thanks I appreasiate that light, I got me a DC for safety but I use the dive table for planing in case the DC go south on me, ascent rate is what I pay attention the most, and of course the required safety stops and DECO stops."

 

[Remy B.]

Guys, I can say any of us, wanted an objective on any determined subject, not necessarly diving, we wanted to do something, plan for it and put in the equation, what need to be in plase for that to happen in order to execute what we want, first come the plan, it start with gathering information and opinions, then a bunch of other stuff, in this particular case of that 50m, under my own perspectives and standards for my own safety it is very remote for my plan to be executed at this point in time.

In every sport we want to do something, we see the more knoledgeble and experienced doing it, then one say if they can I can, what do I need to do to get to their level, for sure you need training, adventuring in to something without the proper training is madness, regardless of what I want, I may want to do many things in live so do others, then you see how fisable they are to take plase, it doesn't mean it will happen.

---------- Post added October 7th, 2014 at 12:24 PM ----------

The cautions you're receiving are well-intentioned. As noted, this particular site tends to attract people who have no business being there ... and several of them never came back. That, in itself, should be something you factor into your dive plan ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I agree, and I will be asking information on what went wrong, if nobody have the facts, then collect opinions of what they think went wrong.

---------- Post added October 7th, 2014 at 01:23 PM ----------

the divers graveyard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFGYJ1KYLYM

---------- Post added October 7th, 2014 at 01:25 PM ----------

the divers graveyard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFGYJ1KYLYM

Thanks for sharing, not far from what I knew was happening, one tank at 50+ and 26+ to go thru and then 50+ to get to surface, and you still need to do your safety stops, more likely a Deco stop, poorly planned dives, they didn't gather the info and facts right, more strange there is experienced people doing it, I only have over 3 hands full of dives and with 5min of gathering info I already knew it is not doable with one tank, aftee looking at that documentary I will say it is not doable without trimix, to my perspective of what I considere safe.

 

[jboneng]

... more strange there is experienced people doing it, I only have over 3 hands full of dives and with 5min of gathering info I already knew it is not doable with one tank, aftee looking at that documentary I will say it is not doable without trimix, to my perspective of what I considere safe.

Air at 50m is still doable, at that depth the PP02 is 1.26, it is not strange that experienced divers do it, they know what they are doing, knows their SAC rate and the MOD of their mix, they dive with people who is equal experienced and know what to do if something happens, they have a thoroughly dive plan and sticks to it, they have bailout bottles waiting for them on the deco stops, they have been in bad situations before and can keep their head cool when the FUBAR hits the fan. That said, no matter how experienced you are there will always be a risk, all you can do is minimize it. Most of the divers who die on dives like this is the inexperienced diver without the necessary qualifications to do the dive, who jumps into the water with a equal inexperienced buddy, with the dive plan "Descend to 50m swim around for a bit, then head up again". I haven't dived the blue hole, but from the pictures and videos it doesn't seem any more dangerous than many other places with clear and warm water and superb visibility, But I think dive sites like this attracts a lot of divers, and therefore also attracts a fair share of inexperienced and reckless divers that results in higher then normal accident rates.

 

[Tigerman]

Air at 50m is still doable...

...if you can handle the narcosis in a safe manner.
No, the po2 is not extreme, you have a higher po2 at 30m with ean32 so that part is well within whats considered safe.
The problem is that the narcotic effects of both nitrogen and oxygen play a bigger part the deeper you go...