Good point, actually we did cover that in the presentation. This is precisely why I chose to do some "breath hold dives" first, to get a feel for them,before using them on full scuba. That way I would not run any risk of embolism if I were to acsend too quickly. But I found that they were fairly easy to control, after a little practice, so this was not really an issue.Yeah they do sound like a blast. I think the only thing that worries me about them is you might ascend to fast or travel to far away and then have a malfunction.
Rod did tell us that if you are scootering below the surface and the terrain is varied (hills, valleys, depth changes), that you want to go slowly, or even stop the scooter and fin your way up, or pulse (stop and start) the motor, until you are over the hill and level again. This way you avoid shooting up like a torpedo. This was prudent advise. But it's not as bad as you might imagine, since they only go about 2-3 knots.
Two other things to reassure you- the scooters have a trigger that makes them go, and it's equipped with a "dead man's switch". This means that as soon as you let off the trigger, the motor stops running. On longer dives, some people over-ride the dead man switch, but if they do this, they clip a line from themselves to the scooter, so it won't run away on them. They can disable the over-ride easily, as to always be in control.
There is always the slight chance of a malfunction. If this happens, you can tow two divers on one scooter, although it will use up power faster, and obviously your speed will be reduced. Rod also taught us that you must be prepared for the possibility that you may have to abandon your scooter. Yes they are expensive, but your life is far more valuable.
So my advise would be go for it! Give them a try, they are a blast!
Laura
Edited by Laura, 12 July 2004 - 09:19 AM.
