Posted by Colin on August 31, 1999 at 19:40:04:
It’s always amazing to see one’s own name pop up in a setting where you'd least expect. I've always steered clear of posting on newsgroups or bulletin boards, because it is all too common to see information that is misinterpreted.
Let me set the record straight. First, I totally agree with both Mike Kane and John Walker. Diving deep on air will kill you. I do not advocate deep air in any way. Another popular newsgroup, crowded with extremely experienced divers, relates diving deep on air to driving drunk. Think about it... You may feel comfortable driving home drunk every weekend, and feel that you are building a tolerance, but everyone else and I can guarantee you that you're effected. Drunk drivers never intend to kill their victims. The only difference between driving drunk and diving drunk (deep on air) is that the victim in the diving incidents will in all cases will be the one who chose to dive deep on air.
Secondly, records... I don't claim any “records”, and I feel anyone that does so is foolish. Diving deep is a not a competition. Why dive deep? Because there are wrecks that are otherwise inaccessible, caves that are otherwise unexplored, and so on. And those that reach the previously unattainable are doing it with incredible amounts of training and experience. Our heroes in the WKPP are running an END of no greater than 130 feet (I believe that as recently been changed to 100 feet, excuse me if I'm wrong.) Why would these "record" setters dive trimix from such a depth? Because it brings them home alive. Here is a record; I drove myself home from that same bar for the past three years without an incident. It's not a record, it's luck.
“Ignorance is the root of most accidents. Ignorance is not stupidity. It is the behavior and reactions of someone who has not been properly informed, and is therefore unaware of critical facts and potential dangers. In the realm of technical diving, the only effective path to informed safety is through a formal, credible training program. Lack of supervised training, or inadequate training, is the number one cause of accidents in technical diving – be it cave, wreck, or deep diving.”
Keep it safe,
Colin
BTW, I haven’t had a drink in years.