48 replies to this topic

[Basslet]

Would you also get water in your mouth if you were using an Air2?

[intotheblue]

Would you also get water in your mouth if you were using an Air2?

Y'a might, laddie, y'a might!



(depending on the cause of the problem). If it's a first stage problem, it would be likely... since the intermediate pressure hose goes to the same first stage as your primary. Only a "redundant" rig... with a separate reg would avoid that type of symptom, assuming you don't have TWO regs with a similar problem at the same time. If that is the case... you're having a particularly bad day... and I'd get out of the water!

ITB...

[Basslet]

I'm the one in the middle, so I'm a lassie.

[Dennis]

If the failure was a first stage problem, it wouldn't matter what second stage you have, it would get water into it. The failure isn't one I am familiar with, but like I said, I'm not an expert. I don't like to rent gear, but I have on occasion. So far, so good. I don't think I would rent any gear in Mexico. Although I have never dived cozumel, from the stories I hear, there just isn't the focus on safety that there would be in the US. This is just another one of those stories that makes me leary.

[intotheblue]

I'm the one in the middle, so I'm a lassie. 

Well, that's MORE cool!!! My mistake... I only have seen one of the three of you in film... so I wuzn't sure... and these days... with monikers... I don't make any judgements... :lam:

Guess I should take off my dark glasses so I can see better...

ITB...

[scubafanatic]

....it's stories like this that make me glad I bring ( 2 ) complete reg sets on all my recreational dive trips (when I dove the caves of Akumal, Mexico in '03 with AL80 'doubles', I brought ( 4 ) reg sets...no kidding! :-)

...sure, it's a slight pain to lug a pair of regs in my carry-on, but I get a nice warm feeling knowing I'll not have to resort to rental regs......I've seen / heard way too many stories such as this one to chance that happening to me.

...I'll bet the only reason the gentleman who started this thread didn't get severely bent / killed was it must have happened early in the dive, before a significant deco obligation had accumulated..........had he been at 90 ft. for 30 min or 45 min prior to the event, or had this happen on a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th dive of the day, I doubt he'd be here with us today.

Karl

[Walter]

I sincerely hope folks with 8 dives aren't diving to 90 feet for 45 minutes.

[intotheblue]

I sincerely hope folks with 8 dives aren't diving to 90 feet for 45 minutes.

Hopefully not at 90 feet... but we know it happens all the time at dive resorts.

45 minutes??? Well, most people think of dive time now as "computer" time... over a multi-level profile... (or in the "tech sense", allowing for deco). Once out of the OW classes, most people these days lose sight of the "square profile limits" of the tables. 45 minutes actually at 90 feet would put someone squarely into underwater deco... (in a sense, all dives are "deco-dives", we just manage recreational dives within a time frame that allows us to come to the surface by controlling our ascent rate and then further decompressing during our surface interval).

It is wise to not put forth too many references on a recreational board to things tech/cave divers are doing in a way that may confuse recreational divers into trying to do things they don't have a full understanding of... Tech diving is exciting and "safe" only when practiced according to the extensive training and "practice" required. But, these things should not be practiced by people without proper experience and training. "Safe" is a relative term. When you have required "deco", it is a "ceiling" over your head preventing you from reaching the surface without SIGNIFICANT risk of serious problems, including death. For an extreme example of this, read "The Last Dive", by Bernie Chowdury <sp?>

I don't mean to sound like I'm chastising anyone for their posts here, but I'm trying to add context for newer divers so they don't misunderstand the posts.

We've all made "learning curve" mistakes... and most of us have had little serious consequence from them other than to hopefully learn from them. However, I have known people to have more serious consequences too. I like the fact that this board takes a more reasonable approach to responding to peoples' mistakes than most, and that we don't usually kill the messenger... and the experience of the board helps people learn from those learning curve "blips".

ITB...

[nuroc]

Thanks for all of the input ITB, Walter, Karl. It wasn't clear to me why I didn't get bent. I know some of the factors involved limited bottom time (10-15 minutes) and the fact that this was my first dive of the day. I also swam up fast rather than shooting up like a corkscrew and dropping weight or inflating. Some of the dm's at the resort said that being fit also came into play.
In this scenario, how many minutes on the bottom would have necessitated safety stops?

[Walter]

In this scenario, how many minutes on the bottom would have necessitated safety stops?

Safety stops are always optional by definition. Staged decompression stops are required. I don't have the tables handy, but the NDL for 90 feet is approximately 25 minutes. When I started diving the NDL for 90 feet was 30 minutes and there were no safety stops. At 90 feet with a 10 - 15 minute bottom time, I wouldn't expect you to get bent, although a rapid ascent could push you over.

[Blublood]

I sure don't have the expeirence that these other guys posting here do but I do know that a "safety stop" is just that...It's not a neccessity stop....bottom time and depth can necessitate one or more decompression stops....Those can be determined by consulting your tables for depth and time when planning your dive.

Just saw Walter already answered the q in, of course, Walters more concise way.... Took me some extra time as I had to go to the dictionary to spell neccessity!

[Diverbrian]

Sorry to say, from that depth I would be just as concerned with air embolism as DCS. In the last fifteen to thirty ft., if you aren't breathing out, it can get rather ugly.

And up here, many boats and operations would still put you on pure O2 for a while just as a precaution.

[nomosolodiver]

Hi, I am brand new here (to the board, but not diving). Sorry your trip didnt turn out so well, maybe you will have a better experience the next time.

[DandyDon]

ITB is right, I meant my octopus. It wasn't a trickle. It was a 90 foot assent, not 90 feet per minute. It was also my 8th dive overall and the first in over a year. I didn't have a designated buddy, we were put in two groups. I came home a day early because I had had enough of cozumel and the crap equipment they rent to you; too bad I didn't have my own bc. The amateur divemasters onboard thought it was a faulty o-ring.

I was also a little ticked to start because I had booked my trip through the moderator of this webiste. I had no transfers, as promised. I wouldn't recommend Hotel Cozumel for a solo diver. Last time I book a trip through an amateur travel site.

Thanks for the concern and feedback. I'd like to find out the possibilities of what went wrong with the equipment. One more thing, the octopus had the same result as the regulator when I pulled it....no trickle...a lot of water coming in. And I purged, a lot.

Hi. I have not been active her in a while, but this is just too much...

This just sounds sloppy. Too many Cozumel operators are just too interested in raking in the dollars from the steady flow of tourists, operating away from the oversight of US regulations, renting out marginal equipment, etc. Regs and BCs are the two most sensitive pieces of equipment for diver safety, and I see you had problems with the typical cheap Coz BCs, too.

For a brand new diver, I can't see that you made any mistakes in your planning. Sometimes we have bad trips and learn from the experiences. I am glad you lived to do so and were uninjured. 200 dives later, I'm still a fumbling diver, but I am learning. I own both of my reg sets, I have them serviced by a local whom I know well and trust, and like Rich - I even go so far as to carry a pony.

Good luck on owning and maintaining your own kit. I screw up on my own enough that I don't need to take extra chances with junk equipment.

And good luck on diving with better operators. I've tried several in Coz, but only one I would suggest to a newbie. If she's booked up - which she often is, I ask her to refer a competitor worth trusting.

And next time someone gives you a cheap bid offer, ask how much more it would cost to do it right.

[jextract]

.... Took me some extra time as I had to go to the dictionary to spell neccessity!

Wow ... and what dictionary are you using?