My first real trial with the Nitek-He was a grand success. Walter and I went to the Maria Bahn on Wednesday morning. We planned a very conservative schedule calling for a total of 84 minutes dive time for actual on the bottom time of 18 minutes with a max of 200 feet.
I found the Nitek-He to be easily programmable and exceptionally easy to use throughout the dive. The gas switch went without a hitch. The LCD display is easily readable and gives all the information one needs for a safe and enjoyable dive. At a glance I kept track of mix, depth, run time, tissue saturation, oxygen tolerance units, gas partial pressure, deco ceiling and deco time.
We swam out on the surface and descended directly on top of the wreck. There was a rather nasty thermocline about 165 feet but I acclimatized quickly. I arrived at the stern and went directly to the aft crows nest. Depth was 188 feet and the tar field was awesome. The view of the wreck was equally impressive. I swam directly to the forward crows nest and the corals and fish were grand. The depth gradually increased as I went forward on the wreck. My dive continued to the anchor I thought it was out away from the wreck but it actually lies against the hull. Then for the best part I went to the end of the bowsprit and could see the whole bow. The depth at this point was 200 feet and max depth for the dive. I ended the wreck portion by swimming to the hawsers on the side of the hull. Take-off was about 160 feet instead of the planned 200 feet so run time had to be adjusted slightly.
Most interesting was the trip up. The Nitek-He showed me my ceiling and deco time for each stop. The computer matched the V-Planner schedule almost exactly. Best part of the computer was a graphical countdown of the time remaining at each stop. Nice! As we got to shallower depths we extended stop time to make the dive more conservative. The Nitek-He was finished with the profile at 70 minutes but we stayed an additional 14 minutes for a total dive time of 84 minutes counting the very slow ascent from 10 feet. Its fun to watch divers enter the water, do their whole recreational dive and get out while youre hanging at 10 feet.
Normally when I dive this wreck I just cruise slowly and easily. With the plan to visit both crows nests and the bowsprit I did some more aggressive swimming and used slightly more than the planned back gas but with the 120 cubic foot steel I had plenty of reserve. The 70% Oxygen mix allowed us to begin deco at 40 feet and cut total time considerably. By the way, the 120 cubic foot steel tank was absolutely primo not much bigger or heavier than the aluminum 80.
Downside was the cost of Helium. Shipping to an island paradise becomes a double whammy full cylinders must be brought in and empty ones must be returned. By-the-way, Walter says that if anyone has a Haskell lying around, hed gladly accept. It was more than $50 for the rather lean mix in the table.
However, I experienced absolutely no tingling lips, no dizziness, no ringing of the ears. At each level in the dive I felt clear headed and in control. Often times I dont have that feeling on the surface.
The Maria Bahn is one of the most beautiful wrecks a rust diver could ask for. This was my fifth visit to her resting place and I cant wait to go again. The absence of nitrogen narcosis, the Nitek-He combined with V-Planner, and some common-sense conservatism made for a safe and comfortable dive.
I found the Nitek-He to be easily programmable and exceptionally easy to use throughout the dive. The gas switch went without a hitch. The LCD display is easily readable and gives all the information one needs for a safe and enjoyable dive. At a glance I kept track of mix, depth, run time, tissue saturation, oxygen tolerance units, gas partial pressure, deco ceiling and deco time.
We swam out on the surface and descended directly on top of the wreck. There was a rather nasty thermocline about 165 feet but I acclimatized quickly. I arrived at the stern and went directly to the aft crows nest. Depth was 188 feet and the tar field was awesome. The view of the wreck was equally impressive. I swam directly to the forward crows nest and the corals and fish were grand. The depth gradually increased as I went forward on the wreck. My dive continued to the anchor I thought it was out away from the wreck but it actually lies against the hull. Then for the best part I went to the end of the bowsprit and could see the whole bow. The depth at this point was 200 feet and max depth for the dive. I ended the wreck portion by swimming to the hawsers on the side of the hull. Take-off was about 160 feet instead of the planned 200 feet so run time had to be adjusted slightly.
Most interesting was the trip up. The Nitek-He showed me my ceiling and deco time for each stop. The computer matched the V-Planner schedule almost exactly. Best part of the computer was a graphical countdown of the time remaining at each stop. Nice! As we got to shallower depths we extended stop time to make the dive more conservative. The Nitek-He was finished with the profile at 70 minutes but we stayed an additional 14 minutes for a total dive time of 84 minutes counting the very slow ascent from 10 feet. Its fun to watch divers enter the water, do their whole recreational dive and get out while youre hanging at 10 feet.
Normally when I dive this wreck I just cruise slowly and easily. With the plan to visit both crows nests and the bowsprit I did some more aggressive swimming and used slightly more than the planned back gas but with the 120 cubic foot steel I had plenty of reserve. The 70% Oxygen mix allowed us to begin deco at 40 feet and cut total time considerably. By the way, the 120 cubic foot steel tank was absolutely primo not much bigger or heavier than the aluminum 80.
Downside was the cost of Helium. Shipping to an island paradise becomes a double whammy full cylinders must be brought in and empty ones must be returned. By-the-way, Walter says that if anyone has a Haskell lying around, hed gladly accept. It was more than $50 for the rather lean mix in the table.
However, I experienced absolutely no tingling lips, no dizziness, no ringing of the ears. At each level in the dive I felt clear headed and in control. Often times I dont have that feeling on the surface.
The Maria Bahn is one of the most beautiful wrecks a rust diver could ask for. This was my fifth visit to her resting place and I cant wait to go again. The absence of nitrogen narcosis, the Nitek-He combined with V-Planner, and some common-sense conservatism made for a safe and comfortable dive.
