Posted by mike on April 13, 2001 at 18:14:11:
In Reply to: Re: Immortal Diver? posted by seahunt on April 13, 2001 at 14:33:06:
I have spent some time with marine biologists and others for whom diving is a part of the job, rather than something they look forward to on the weekend and believe me, complacency is a big problem with a lot of folks! Look at Bret Gilliam bragging about what he does! I know some of my old professors who have run out of air at 60fsw more than once, and continue to brag about it! If i ran out of air at 60 fsw while studying reef organisms, i'd be too embarrased to show my face at having been so stupid and neglectful, yet some people brag about this sort of stuff!
Pyle sure wasn't, isn't, and won't be the only person to get into this kind of trouble! And of course, while it's nothing to glorify (i too agree /w/ GI's term for such behavior), there are lots of folks out there who could stand to take a second look at their diving practices.
Some people likely as not, really can function well enough at 300 fsw on air, some folks likely as not really can endure more than 1.6 PPO for long periods of time /w/o getting Oxtox to the brain, and obviously, Pyle may be one of them. There are a lot of others out there who find out that they don't automatically die a horrible agonizing death just because they go past 130fsw, 165fsw, 218fsw...240...300...400 but sooner or later, their will find their limit (or it'll find them) if they keep pushing the envelope. Pyle's account of his misadventures (hey, we've all been 19 once, and a lot of us have been there done that etc) are a useful cautionary for those who think that they are physiologically immune/genetically immune/or conditioned or acclimated to this, that and the other.