I stumbled across this in my efforts to put off study. It's very long but also very deatiled and a good read. Regardless on your viewpoint regarding 'extreme' divers who are out to set records you can't help but feel for those envolved.
http://www.cdnn.info/news/article/a050716.html
three statements stood out for me:
"Deon had logged about 200 dives when he was invited to join some South Africa Cave Diving Association divers at Bushman's Hole over the 1994 Christmas break."
200 dives seems like jack all to be advanced so far in your diving. Obviously he was very good at what he did but still, 200 dives isn't many at all!
"As he reached his new depth, nausea hit him and he started to vomit. Shirley would feel the heave coming, pull the regulator from his mouth, throw up, and then replace the regulator."
I have heaved whilst diving and have always been told (and told others) to hold your reg IN and chuck through it. It's messy and tastes like shit but vomit will do no damage to your reg as it gets passed through the exhaust valves. To be removing your reg to spew at 151 feet is, in my opinion rather stupid. I know the circumstances were extremely tough and he was suffering from a multitude of physical and mental issues at the time but I still think I'd be holding my reg in.
"When he started putting the body in the bag and it didn't work, he should have immediately turned around and left," Gomes says.
Ideally, yes. I'm sure that Gomes meant it in an idealistic sence but if you have ever been in trouble underwater at depth and suffering from Narcosis changing your dive plan is out of the question, you just can't process any new concepts and you feel that you have to follow your dive plan to the word regardless of circumstances. If you're lucky you'll bail but from what I've heard (and experienced) this rarely happens (for a number of reasons).
http://www.cdnn.info/news/article/a050716.html
three statements stood out for me:
"Deon had logged about 200 dives when he was invited to join some South Africa Cave Diving Association divers at Bushman's Hole over the 1994 Christmas break."
200 dives seems like jack all to be advanced so far in your diving. Obviously he was very good at what he did but still, 200 dives isn't many at all!
"As he reached his new depth, nausea hit him and he started to vomit. Shirley would feel the heave coming, pull the regulator from his mouth, throw up, and then replace the regulator."
I have heaved whilst diving and have always been told (and told others) to hold your reg IN and chuck through it. It's messy and tastes like shit but vomit will do no damage to your reg as it gets passed through the exhaust valves. To be removing your reg to spew at 151 feet is, in my opinion rather stupid. I know the circumstances were extremely tough and he was suffering from a multitude of physical and mental issues at the time but I still think I'd be holding my reg in.
"When he started putting the body in the bag and it didn't work, he should have immediately turned around and left," Gomes says.
Ideally, yes. I'm sure that Gomes meant it in an idealistic sence but if you have ever been in trouble underwater at depth and suffering from Narcosis changing your dive plan is out of the question, you just can't process any new concepts and you feel that you have to follow your dive plan to the word regardless of circumstances. If you're lucky you'll bail but from what I've heard (and experienced) this rarely happens (for a number of reasons).
