Koh Tao project "Buoyancy World"

[mgmonk]

I think the monsoon's here early

J

Wait a minute! I'm the one who said that last Sept/Oct was much drier and calmer, and YOU told me I was getting nostalgic about Mars Bars. Sheeesh, forget what I said about people coming together for good will.

 

[mgmonk]

Mr Monk,

Where are those pictures???? Please...

Well, I was hoping they were going to post them on the website, but that's not happening. I'm off the island right now, but when I get back I'll grab a camera and get some shots of the stuff that's finished. Nothing has been deployed yet because of wind, but we better get our arses moving cuz it's just gonna get a lot worse real soon.

Right now, everything is lying in a field looking like a really fun fish playground.

 

[Bowmouth]

...I'm off the island right now...

I'm off "the island" too. and am now in camel-country

Sorry to say that where I am going I may not be able to get online for a while and watch your pics when you finally post them.

:merryxmas: and a

 

[Bowmouth]

Yes, part of Buoyancy World is to see what, if any, marine life adapts to these structures as nurseries or artificial reefs...

I think you do not want too much "stuff" to grow/sit/live on on the structures if their purpose is a training-aid for divers.
Corals, hydroids, urchins, scorpion fish, oysters and even some sponges may grow/live/sit on them and become "hazards" for the divers. Or, from a marine-life point of view, the divers may become a hazard to the marine-life's well-being and very existence.

Now that's something to think and ponder about...

And uhm, what if a "new" Trevor or Annie will make the training area its lair???

 

[ptyx]

I'd like to see pictures as well! It sounds like an interesting project.

One one hand I don't like the idea of an underwater attraction park, or too much modification in the environment.

On the other hand, we do artificial reefs already - and it can be a great training aid for beginners and no-so beginners. I've seen that kind of buoyancy training environment done in pools only, but choosing the right underwater site is probably less destructive than building a dedicated pool! I'd rather see divers train to squeeze and turn on concrete than on coral...

One concern that I'd have is entanglement hazards. One of the classic pool buoyancy exercises I've seen was going through a series of hula rings, with sharp turns and depth changes. Sometimes, a diver gets stuck - and comes back to the surface dragging the whole setup. Actually, NOT catching anything with your tank or fins is part of the exercise.

A fixed setup providing the same exercises could prove quite deadly to [-]beginners[/-] divers.

 

[mgmonk]

I think you do not want too much "stuff" to grow/sit/live on on the structures if their purpose is a training-aid for divers.
And uhm, what if a "new" Trevor or Annie will make the training area its lair???

The first point has come up, and I agree. It's still a bit of a point of contention, but that (ostensibly) is the reason why there are both "training aides" (PVC pipes for squares, permanent lines for kick cycle measurements, CESA lines anchored down) and the "structures". The latter are supposed to be a combination of aesthetic and experiment. One of the main issues, I think, is having a very detailed layout to avoid the two getting in the way of each other. Then it goes right back to your point. Swim through a square and land on a giant fake octopus covered in scorpionfish. Thinking about it now, I also wonder what kind of regular "maintenance" plan is set up.

Keep this in mind, I'm just a soldier on this one. While my shop is involved, we're the smallest one, and, I, personally, am only a pair of hands.

As for Trevor..... what a better way to teach people to relax than to have a whale sized grumpy Titan waiting at every corner.

Enjoy Egypt. Where are you going an for how long?

 

[penguintom]

Impossible!

Agreed some things it is impossible to avoid our effects on nature, as other species have an effect on what we do as they go about their life.
But to avoid intentional meddling such as this project quite clearly is not impossible.

 

[jamiemac]

Wait a minute! I'm the one who said that last Sept/Oct was much drier and calmer, and YOU told me I was getting nostalgic about Mars Bars. Sheeesh, forget what I said about people coming together for good will.

It's a joke,

You said monsoon was early, i made a big deal of saying it wasn't.

Then................. i said monsoon was early!

You must be Canadian not to get it

J

XX

By the way, weather was very nice today, no monsoon in sight

 

[mgmonk]

It's a joke,

You said monsoon was early, i made a big deal of saying it wasn't.

Then................. i said monsoon was early!

You must be Canadian not to get it

J

XX

By the way, weather was very nice today, no monsoon in sight

It's a joke,

I made a comment about monsoon, you ruined my childhood imagery of mars bars, you said monsoon was early, and I pretended not to get your joke.

You must be English to think your humor is that subtle.

and.... I think you're lying about the weather today because I was in chumporn, so I have no way of verifying these so called "facts" of yours.

 

[mgmonk]

Agreed some things it is impossible to avoid our effects on nature, as other species have an effect on what we do as they go about their life.
But to avoid intentional meddling such as this project quite clearly is not impossible.

No. Of course, NOT participating in this project is not impossible.

The impossibility is accurately weighing the benefits vs the drawbacks and coming up with an absolute answer. Which is why it's good that we're debating both sides.

I still think that taking an outright stance that we should avoid "meddling" in every case is just too black and white. There are clear cases where humans have gone too far and those where we haven't done enough.

I feel a project like this isn't an example of the first, and I hope that it avoids being an example of the latter.