Posted by MHK on May 09, 2001 at 15:25:16:
In Reply to: Re: Another Fatality - need more info posted by seahunt on May 09, 2001 at 14:53:10:
Seahunt,
In all fairness, and I know we'll NEVER agree on most things but let's be clear about what I said..
First off, I said MOST divers GENERALLY use nitrox.. If you go to cave country ( and remember Steve was at one point the #1 guy at Ginnie) in other words he was immersed in the Florida cave dive community, air diving is a distant thing of the past..
I was also very clear in saying that from what I KNEW of Steve ( in other words I knew the guy ) he wasn't doing a stage dive, past the Henkel, to do a survey, and having his deco gas at the Ear, on air..
Is it possible, sure.. Is it likely, NOT!!!!!
Cave country equals Nitrox..
While it's speculation it's a pretty likely choice.. But moreover, the Henkel isn't that deep so even if he was on air, narcosis probably wasn't a factor, and since he didn't die from DCS it's probably a moot point.. I've done the Henkel and while I wouldn't do it on air, it could be done on air it isn't THAT deep.. I'd be more concerned about added BT's than narcosis during this dive..
The point is that this guy knew Ginnie like the back of his hand, he did it SOLO and still died...
Complacency kills in our chosen sport and that is the point, not whether it was Nitrox or air....
At some point one of the laxidasical diving practices will catch up with you and in this case it was the solo, not the deep air...
Later