Tag Archive
Stress in Diving
I don't want to participate in any sport in which my species is not at the top of the food chain. Ken Fonte Stress in diving is probably the central problem in the accidents and resulting injuries and fatalitiesthat occur to divers . . . Art Bachrach and Glen Egstrom STRESS Many divers do not seem to place traditional activities in the context of stress-inducing scenarios. Diving is supposed to be fun, right? The following passage is excerpted from Bachrach and Egstrom's (1987) Stress and Performance in Diving: "We will cover your nose and eyes with a rubber and glass cup that will give you tunnel vision and prevent breathing through your nose. A snorkel which is partially filled with water will increase breathing resistance, especially when you work harder. A rubber suit will increase your surface area and your buoyancy while creating a restriction over each of the body's joints. (A partial adjustment will be made by fastening 15-20 pounds (6.8-9.1 kg) of lead to your waist.) Fins for your feet will make walking more difficult and require more energy when swimming. A buoyancy compensation device will provide additional drag, especially when it is inflated to increase your buoyancy. Approximately 40-50 pounds (18.2-22.7 kg) of steel or aluminum will be fixed between your shoulder blades by means of a backpack with a series of straps and buckles, which will terminate somewhere under the buoyancy compensator near the weight belt buckle. A regulator with various and sundry hoses and gauges will be attached to the tank and will cause you to breathe against an added resistance both during inhalation and exhalation. Various other items, such as knives, gauges, goody bags, cameras, spear guns, gloves, hoods and booties will be added for your comfort and convenience." These learned authors (by this... More »
A response to “A Divemaster’s thoughtful Rant”
I am glad to see that I am in the good company of Bret Gilliam in wishing to respond to the anonymous JD (are you scared to say who you are, JD?) with a few home truths about divemasters, gleaned from my nearly 50 years of scuba diving. I have experienced all of the following behaviours from professional DMs, some many times: DMs with limited experience, but who think they know it all and treat you like a simpleton DMs who lack flexibility of approach to their job- the 'do-it-my-way or not at all' type DMs who apply silly limitations to one's dive time and depth so one returns to the surface with over half a tank left; some really stupid behaviours in this category DMs who think they are Ian Thorpe & swim like hell, expecting everyone to keep up, thus depriving clients of the opportunity of having a real look around DMs who allocate divers to buddy pairs for their dive, but then insists that everyone start to ascend when the first diver has used their air to 100 bar DMs with no ability to cope with a group with mixed diving skills/experience DMs who do not know the environment they are guiding in DMs who just float around looking bored and making no attempt to look for critters for their clients DMs who use horns, beeps or tap their tank constantly throughout the dive as though they were in the middle of the Paris rush hour traffic DMs who are demonstrably anxious DMs who run out of air before their clients do DMs who give you a harangue at the dive briefing about care of the coral, then proceed to knock the hell out of it themselves because they have no idea where their fins are or who... More »
Nitrox and Other Gases
A reader of Britain’s Diver Magazine recently wrote to me complaining that I had admitted in print to using independent twin tanks, one tank with air (MOD 182 feet at 1.4 bar ppO2) and one tank with nitrox 32 (MOD 108 feet) for a dive to 165 feet. He congratulates me on effectively using a single tank of air at 165 feet and asks what I would have done had my regulator failed? Well, I would have used the one on the other tank! Bear in mind, regulators and other equipment subject to high gas pressures usually fail when that pressure is at its highest. That is to say at the very beginning of a dive, not half way through it, unless it's caused by icing. In a history of a great many dives I have yet to experience a true failure in seawater other than within the first moments of turning a tank on. He goes on to ask what I should tell newly trained divers about going to 165 feet with only one tank. I answer that newly trained divers should stick to the depth limits of their certification and that if a PADI Open Water diver can go to 60 feet on a single tank, I believe a suitably trained and experienced diver with a twinset can go 60 feet below the MOD of the gas in his second tank providing he is breathing a suitable supply of gas in his first. Even then, the ppO2 limit of 1.4 bar is a limit currently set by training agencies with an eye on litigation. When we started using nitrox around fifteen years ago, we all used at least 1.6 bar as a limit. A limit of 1.6 bar ppO2 gives an MOD for nitrox 32 of 130 feet, so at 165... More »
My Top 10 Tips on Teaching Kids to Dive and Diving with Kids
Sharing my strength, experience, and hope with you. Margo Peyton 1. Kids have very short attention spans, they learn better visually and by doing repetitively. Its one thing to tell a child his max depth is 40 feet for example, but go beyond that with kids. Tell them why; and don't make it about their ability or knowledge, make it physical! Tell them what can go wrong and what can happen. Give them an example. Don't scare them but inform them enough to make a difference. There is a fine line here. Kids are competitive and want to outdo their parents and each other at anything they can, so explain the mandates are about safety, not skill. Example: "Jennifer, your max depth is not 40 feet because your just learning or not a good diver, its 40 feet, because based on all the research we have with nitrogen effects on bone growth at your age, internal organ development and tissue saturation limits, that it has been determined to be the safest depth for your physical composition at this age." ( I even explain to 10 and 11 year olds, that it's like when they go to a doctor and get a certain dosage of medicine based on their age, weight etc. The amount of medicine has to be adhered to, because more than that can be dangerous.) I tell them nitrogen is similar, too much can be dangerous.) This takes the skill out of it and puts into perspective for both kids and adults the real risk factor of not following standards. 2. Gauges and depth. Once most kids are certified, it's all about skill to them. The deeper they go the cooler they think it is. They are constantly talking about depth. So I turn this around and try to make it all about... More »
So You Want to Climb Mt. Everest?
Many divers who emerge from initial diving certification programs with an “open water” certification choose not to pursue further formal training, going forward by acquiring practical experience though their diving activities. Often, this works well since practical “real life” experience arguably is just as relevant in producing a qualified diver. At least, in warm water, and under not-too-difficult, conditions. Many traveling divers are 55 years or older now in today's demographic. For some, sport diving was still in its infancy when they decided to jump in. A single “checkout” dive satisfied the criteria for a c-card and they went on to enjoy the sport without ever dipping a fin back into a training program. While certification agencies would now prefer that divers progress at least partly through an enhanced system of ratings, there is no requirement that they actually do so. Still, with age and prosperity also comes limitations that should be recognized as serious considerations. The 55-year-old plus diver has to take into account the realities of aging that include reduced stamina, possible high blood pressure, cardiac problems, reduced flexibility and mobility, arthritic joints, vision and hearing loss, deteriorated muscular strength, postoperative limitations, side effects of required medications, and general reduced physical fitness. Of course, there are exceptions to such broad-based generalities, but within the general population I’m identifying, possible limitations exist that can affect their fitness to dive. Hey, I’m soon to be 60 and certainly am aware that I’m not the specimen I was even in my forties and diving was my full time profession until just recently when I sold the last of my diving companies. I'm still active in diving, usually at remote areas... More »
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