World's Largest Waterbed

[AzAtty]

Dr. Deco:

I live in the dead center of the heat source for Hell's furnace (Arizona). Needless to say, a drysuit and undergarment aren't terribly comfortable on surface intervals. On my last couple dive trips to the lake, I had an epiphany that substantially increased my comfort level. I spent the surface intervals with my wing and drysuit inflated and floating on my back in shallow (2-3 feet) water. Most of my body was out of the water. The benefit is that I stay nice and cool, I don't have to lug heavy gear around, and I'm more relaxed and comfortable when the next dive rolls around. Additionally, I don't have to spend fifteen minutes at the surface before the next dive decreasing my breathing rate and cooling off before we submerge.

Before I decide to adopt it as a practice, I thought I'd run it up the flagpole and see if the professionals salute. So the question is, will floating horizontal at the surface with six inches of my body submerged decrease tissue offgassing during a surface interval to any substantial degree? Or is floating during the entire surface interval plain farm animal stupid to begin with?

 

[Walter]

I wouldn't hesitate to use that method.

 

[Dr Deco]

Dear AzAtty:

The Hidden Stop

This is not a bad idea. Not bad at all. If you add a little kick and paddle motion, you would also increase the blood flow and promote off gassing even more.

[You might even get a few kids to climb aboard, charge a nickel and pick up some extra change to help pay for the dive trip.]:mean:

Dr Deco :doctor:

Please note the next class in Decompression Physiology :grad:
http://wrigley.usc.edu/hyperbaric/advdeco.htm

 

[AzAtty]

Thanks for the replies. I saw Uncle Pug's thread (which I plagiarized for the title for this thread) after I had tried this a few times, but I didn't want to take it to an extreme without some knowledgeable review. For obvious reasons, it might not be the best of ideas to implement in the open ocean.

I suppose the next question would be, if I started charging a nickel per ride, would I be considered a commercial carrier and become subject to all those regulations? :bonk:

 

[Uncle Pug]

... I have always floated around on the surface after our boat dives periodically whacking my fins together and barking.

Never have gotten an Orca to take the bait.... yet. ut:

 

[MantaRey]

drysuits in az? man and I have a hard time with my shortie 3.5mm in florida.

diving with orcas? luuuuucky, what's that like?

 

[Uncle Pug]

MantaRey once bubbled...
diving with orcas? luuuuucky, what's that like?

The only time we jumped in with them around they immediately left the area.

 

[AzAtty]

Shoot, I used to wear a 3/2 full body while jetskiing in 110 degrees. I'm just wierd, I guess.

The water on the surface is a balmy 75-80 degrees in the summer, but ten feet down you hit the thermocline and it can drop into the mid-50's. And then in the winter, the morning temperatures will drop into the 30's, so it can get nippy here.

Anyhow, I've decided to name the procedure the "Uncle Pug Surface Interval", or "UPSI" (pronounced "oopsie") for short, which is what UP might be saying if an orca took the bait.