Posted by MHK on June 28, 2001 at 09:39:43:
In Reply to: Re: Written for those that are considering getting into tech diving... Long posted by seahunt on June 27, 2001 at 21:57:26:
Seahunt,
First off let me try to address the NUMEROUS issues in your post.. I've found over the years that it is entirely to difficult to answer your numerous issues item for item.. Plain and simple, your posts just go on forever and it's damn near impossible to answer every question, short of a thesis..
Overall, not surprisingly, you missed the point of my post with respect to the cave diving numonic.. I was referring to a mind set, not necessarily the specific item for item application.. Do you ever think outside the box or see the bigger picture???? I'm really not trying to flame you it's just that you are so anal that it is impossible to advance a theory by speaking in generics when you are involved..
Furthermore, you keep going on about diver's in California don't dive deep.. You have admitted to not frequenting charter boats so I'd suggest you defer to Chris in this regard. As I noted Chris is on charter boats all the time, as are we.. Deep diving is happening with WAY more frequency than you are willing to acknowledge..
Every time we go to the rigs, farnsworth, Moody, Palawaan, ship rock etc. etc. you have MANY, MANY divers that are exceeding the recognized 130' limit.. My position is that rather than ignore the fact that it is happening, I say confront it and encourage them to do it right ( no pun intended)...
Furthermore, you keep insinuating that wreck diver's don't exist out here.. Once again, you are incorrect.. Dives such as the Yukon, Olympic, Valiant, Moody and Palawaan are dived EVERY single weekend.. You just ignore the fact that there is an emerging market and you bury your head in the sand..
Whether we like it or not, now that PADI has thrown there hat into the tech diving arena the number of tech divers are going to increase.. That's a fact you can either accept or ignore, but they will be turning them out in droves..
The title of my post was specifically written for those considering getting into tech diving. You've stated that you have no such intention so one must question why you continue going back to the sport diving issue??? In your world, everyone dives solo, swims as far away from the boat/buddy as can be humanely possible, wear to much lead and stick your head into a reef looking for bugs.. That's your way.. Good for you, but as much as you keep saying that my way is inapplicable out here, I would very, very strongly suggest that your way is much more in the minority than mine.. Given that bug season doesn't start again until October, one must wonder why the boats are sold out every week right now if they were following your diving habits... This may surprise you but there are more diver's that do NOT hunt for bugs than that do.. It isn't the be end and end all of diving...
You also say that deep diving is *foreign* to California, then I'd ask you to check with your buddy Chris. He, and his club [Sea Diver's] dive deep all the time.. I mean all the time... You are advancing a baseless accusation and your own buddy is dispositive of the theory...
I've had many disagreements with Dale Sheckler and Ken Kurtis over this very issue.. I'll allow Dale and Ken to add their own views but the fundamental difference is that they believe that by saying that diver's should stay above 130' and then basically ignoring that they routinely dive deeper than that, that somehow insulates themselves from the issue. Since they staunchly denounced the practice.. I, on the other hand, believe that is irresponsible. We know absolutely that diver's are diving deeper than 130' so why not encourage it to be done safer???? ie; proper mix, support diver's and the like...
So I see that you are somehow trying to advance the theory that we are encouraging diver's to dive deep.. I say just the opposite, I say if you are already doing it, do it safer... If you think that my little diatribes in this list are promoting deep diving, then what do you think that PADI's marketing machine is doing with their deep air class???
As for solo diving and it's association with the subject matter of this thread [ ie; tech diving] since you have no experience in tech diving it's hard for me to take your ideas seriously.. Again, it's not a flame inasmuch as it is a statement of fact.. You have never been faced with hours of deco before you can surface and then having to solve a problem at depth.. You have never been task loaded with double tanks and multiple stage bottles.. You have never had your body stressed from the added ATA's.. You have never been faced with mutliple gas switched at varying depths.. You have never been faced with missing the line and doing floating deco for hours... Tech diver's are the epitomy of self-reliant diver's, we just aren't so consumer with our own ego's to recognize that at some point we may need help and we may not be able to surface if a problem arises.. Seriously, until you know what you are talking about you should really be silent when advancing a dangerous practice.. Remember, this thread is about tech diving and what applies [ or more accurately ] what you can get away with in the recreational diving environment, does NOT mean it applies to tech diving...
I'm trying very hard to not be harsh with you, but plain and simple you should not be advancing theories when it comes to tech diving because you are ill-equipped and you lack the appropriate experience, training and mind set...
Later