Maggie’s Motivational Pic Thread v2.0 - - New Rules - See Post #1
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I'm a tech diver and diving to that depth is not limited to that short of time, even if taking all your own deco gas with you. Cave divers going long / deep often stage gas along the exit routes and can have very long bottom times and the comparable deco times they cost. When you start considering rebreathers that custom mix the ideal blend for every depth it gets even easier to extend bottom time.Well, according to some research, divers did reach at least 155 meters (511.5 ft). Quite an accomplishment, given the deepest "pinacle" cave dive in Florida is "Diepolder II."
The "Grand Ballroom" you see here is at 270ft at the bottom. But it goes deeper than that (to 365ft.). I don't know how many people are able to get to the deeper portions because time at this depth is extremely limited (9 minutes at most) before you have to start back up and start your decompression schedule. And this is with you being on 10-70 Trimix for Bottom gas. You'll have 2-3 different gas switches enroute and upon return. It takes years to work up to this dive, even after trimix training.
Good article about how things have advanced.
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What am I seeing here?
What mix?
Maggot's favorite shop....
Yes, we cave divers do "stage" tanks but IME, most of it is more "horizontal distance" oriented than depth. FTR, I'm ANDP and Full Cave. Not yet Trimix certified but I have had practice planning said dives, including DII. But most of those types of dives do not involve depths below 200 ft and require only basic Trimix (18-35), not "Advanced" (10-70). Only a few select cave divers with the most experience get to do dives like Eagle's Nest and the Diepolders. And, yes, they do stage for depth on those becuse there isn't much in the way of "horizonal distance" to go on them. Just "vertical."
Just to see what would happen, I actually planned a DII dive on VPlanner, given my own parameters, etc. I allowed for a 50% O2 stage tank at 70ft. 100% O2 at 20ft (no lower), and the bulk of my "back gas" was 18-35 with a switch at 218ft to 10-70 for bottom gas. Even with that, VPlanner didn't want me "at depth" for more than 9-10 minutes before having to return to start the deco schedule. Maybe it (and I) were being conservative, but I'd rather err on the side of "conservative" (in more contexts than that, these days...)
I understand about rebreathers and how they are supposed to work. Have they resolved the CO2 issues with them? That (and the cost) is what kept me away from them. And having to have a "bail out plan" for them anyway just made me say, "Why bother?" I"ll stick with the proven technology of open circuit. That, and the fact that I've lost personal friends who perished due to rebreather issues. Not going there.
Perhaps, there are divers who can extend bottom time much longer. I suspect they'd have to be more physically fit and experienced such that their gas consumption at depth is minimized. Certainly more than I'll ever be. Like I said, DII is a "pinacle" dive for me. Perhaps. a "Holy Grail" dive (one I'll never get to) given my age, especially since I've yet to take my Trimix training. But I guess if we achieve all our goals, we'd get bored quickly.
Some things need to be left "unfinished."
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I believe it is Jordan Sprigg's...
