Question for Divers

[lwrm23]

I have always wondered about this, but, how deep can scuba divers go? Can anyone really dive 330 feet? How about 1000 feet? Is there really any advantage of having a Deepsea over a Submariner when diving?

[Imtiaz]

Depends on the individual and the training.

Pear and abalone divers in Japan go down to 30Meters.

This seems to be pretty deep to me.

Good question. Hope you get some answers, would be nice to know.

[Xenophon]

Thes short answer is no difference unless you are a saturation diver. The deepest I've ever gone on air is 52m. I've even dived wearing an Explorer.

[Saladin]

Originally Posted by Xenophon

Thes short answer is no difference unless you are a saturation diver. The deepest I've ever gone on air is 52m. I've even dived wearing an Explorer.

what is saturation diver?

[mixedccr]

330ft? Yes, easy for recreational technical divers not to mention salvage and industry divers. 93metre dive requries a hypoxic trimix of approx 14% oxygen/54% helium/remainder nitrogen. For 20minutes at 93m, 1 would require 160minutes of in-water decompression (ie we would be saturated). We would take 26minutes to ascend on the trimix, switch to a 50% O2 at 18metres and decompress for a further 37minutes and finally switch to 80% O2 for 79minutes at 6 metres. Altogether 18 decompression stops so you've got to love those rollies and unidirectional bezels. (Zplan, ZHL16B, Mission 1:Dive 4. THIS IS A REPEAT DIVE PROFILE. PLEASE DO NOT USE)

[padi56]

Originally Posted by lwrm23

I have always wondered about this, but, how deep can scuba divers go? Can anyone really dive 330 feet? How about 1000 feet? Is there really any advantage of having a Deepsea over a Submariner when diving?

Most recreational scuba divers today would keep to around a maxim of 40m=(131Ft) or less on air today.Planned deeper dives with different mixes of gas need a lot of careful planning,and extra training and with good backup without decompression.

If I remember the deepest recorded dive just on scuba gear was in the Red Sea a few years back.By a guy called Nuno Gomes total depth was just over 318m=(1043ft) Now it only took him about 20 minutes to reach that depth.But because of breathing different gasses at that depth and pressure, a little over 12 hours with all the safety stops and changes to different gasses on the ascend to finally return to the surface safe, and without any decompression treatment.

Now at these extreme depths,there are several diving related problems to overcome nitrogen decompression sickness, oxygen toxicity,sheer dehydration and the different affects of the gases when changing over tanks containing the different gas mixtures.Now while breathing the high helium mix the gas wants to leave the blood while the nitrogen wants to rush in.Now this dive would have not been possible without a huge back up and very careful planning.

Gomes is in a very small group of guys that have gone over 250m=820ft.with just scuba gear. Fact there have been more guys have gone to the moon,than over 250m underwater just on scuba. But most recreational divers today stick to around 39m- 40m max depth on air.

Originally Posted by mixedccr

330ft? Yes, easy for recreational technical divers )

Well I would not call that dive easy for any type of diver especially for recreational technical divers.Even that depth
would have very careful planning.

[mixedccr]

Originally Posted by padi56

Well I would not call that dive easy for any type of diver especially for recreational technical divers.Even that depth
would have very careful planning.

Agreed, looking back, it does sound casual. Once you begin a foray into decompression dives [vs non-decom] it becomes equipment, knowledge and skill intense. There were 3 teams of 2 safety divers plus redundant supply of gas staged on the legs of the oil rig. And for each item of personal equipment, there is a minimum of 1 back-up if not 2.

[Deep Sea]

Originally Posted by lwrm23

I have always wondered about this, but, how deep can scuba divers go? Can anyone really dive 330 feet? How about 1000 feet? Is there really any advantage of having a Deepsea over a Submariner when diving?

Like others have said, the 30m/40m mark is what most recreational divers stick to on a normal dive, but it is possible to go deeper for short periods of time. You're generally limited by the tank on your back (either single or doubles), assuming you are not hanging tanks for decompression.

I've done two deep dives (what I consider deep) using a 100 cu ft single each time....in Belize, I dove the Blue Hole down to 145 feet; off the coast of FL, went to 196 feet. The Blue Hole dive was about 5 minutes of bottom time, and then a slow ascent looking at the sights. The dive off FL was literally a bounce dive, where we dropped to depth to ID an object, and then started our ascent after taking a few pictures.

Your question regarding the watch....well, you could do pretty much anything wearing a GMT or Explorer, which both are rated to 100m/330ft. Obviously the Sub and anything rated past 300m would be overkill, but we love overkill in watches.

Here's some food for thought....check out this reference from Wikipedia on the terms/specs for divers watches per ISO 2281 & 6425:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Resistant_mark

It's an interesting read on the standard and why watches are marked in certain ways (I think Seiko marks some of their dials "Divers 200m", or something like that.

[acce1999]

To sum things up: For anyone NOT doing saturation dives (using dive chambers) ANY Rolex Oyster is fine in water.

Experienced divers, please continue to fill in!

I'm one of the recreational divers, and I've only been down to 50 feet... many years ago... ;-) (But I did some math on the oyster cases from a materials perspective... and they are WAY over-engineered when it comes to pressure resistancy.)

Best,

A

[Flaxmoore]

Originally Posted by Deep Sea

Like others have said, the 30m/40m mark is what most recreational divers stick to on a normal dive, but it is possible to go deeper for short periods of time. You're generally limited by the tank on your back (either single or doubles), assuming you are not hanging tanks for decompression.

I've done two deep dives (what I consider deep) using a 100 cu ft single each time....in Belize, I dove the Blue Hole down to 145 feet; off the coast of FL, went to 196 feet. The Blue Hole dive was about 5 minutes of bottom time, and then a slow ascent looking at the sights. The dive off FL was literally a bounce dive, where we dropped to depth to ID an object, and then started our ascent after taking a few pictures.

Your question regarding the watch....well, you could do pretty much anything wearing a GMT or Explorer, which both are rated to 100m/330ft. Obviously the Sub and anything rated past 300m would be overkill, but we love overkill in watches.

Here's some food for thought....check out this reference from Wikipedia on the terms/specs for divers watches per ISO 2281 & 6425:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Resistant_mark

It's an interesting read on the standard and why watches are marked in certain ways (I think Seiko marks some of their dials "Divers 200m", or something like that.

That Wiki site confuses me. Why wouldn't a water-resistant Invicta, say, which is good to 200m be suitable for diving when a 100m "Diver" watch is?

[spirotechnique]

the wordwide record for a scuba diver is 330 meters = 1083 ft the record holder is Pascal Bernabé : http://www.pascalbernabe.com/ , the dive was acheived the 5th of July 2005



for info this dive require 8h and 45 minutes of deco to Pascal, for only a few minutes down

concerning my Seadweller the max depth it acheived was aroud 60 meters : about 200 feets, I'll need Trimix to go deeper (a mix including helium to reduce nitrogen narcosis)

souvenir of a recent dive at 55.6 meters = 182 feets with my SD and my D6 computer

[allanofcalifornia]

Just curious, are there any real divers on TRF?


Allan

[spirotechnique]

Originally Posted by allanofcalifornia

Just curious, are there any real divers on TRF?


Allan

what do you mean by real diver ? profesionnal ?

[RJC]

Deepest recreational dive for me - Dorothea Quarry in Wales, UK - 103m, using an Inspiration rebreather. Cold and dark!!

[mixedccr]

Originally Posted by RJC

Deepest recreational dive for me - Dorothea Quarry in Wales, UK - 103m, using an Inspiration rebreather. Cold and dark!!

Good on you! I had a Kevin Juergensen modified BMR 500. Triple O2 sensors with a logic package. Swagelok tubing for external supply and gas switching. But regretably, i never got to bring it down to depth.

[allanofcalifornia]

Originally Posted by spirotechnique

what do you mean by real diver ? profesionnal ?

No, not professional but TRFers who really dive. Most people buying diving watches don't dive and I was just wondering if we had many people who do dive and wear their Rolex watch. Also, wondering if there are any deep sea divers among the TRFers.


Allan

[spirotechnique]

Originally Posted by allanofcalifornia

No, not professional but TRFers who really dive. Most people buying diving watches don't dive and I was just wondering if we had many people who do dive and wear their Rolex watch. Also, wondering if there are any deep sea divers among the TRFers.


Allan

Yes I regulary dive and wear my SD



I am a sport diver CMAS***/divemaster logging 60 to 70 dives a year

and no that is not SO rare ;) see the other SD on my buddy ;)



but seriously Rolex watches are not common spots on dive boats, I would say that it is in fact very rare

[allanofcalifornia]

Originally Posted by spirotechnique

Yes I regulary dive and wear my SD



I am a sport diver CMAS***/divemaster logging 60 to 70 dives a year

and no that is not SO rare ;) see the other SD on my buddy ;)



but seriously Rolex watches are not common spots on dive boats, I would say that it is in fact very rare

Love the pictures!!


Allan

[Lowflight]

Originally Posted by allanofcalifornia

No, not professional but TRFers who really dive. Most people buying diving watches don't dive and I was just wondering if we had many people who do dive and wear their Rolex watch. Also, wondering if there are any deep sea divers among the TRFers.


Allan

Yep...but I traditionally wore my Panerai....

[Deep Sea]

Originally Posted by allanofcalifornia

No, not professional but TRFers who really dive. Most people buying diving watches don't dive and I was just wondering if we had many people who do dive and wear their Rolex watch. Also, wondering if there are any deep sea divers among the TRFers.


Allan

Yep, I used to dive a lot more than I do now (it was part of my job), but now I do about 8-20 dives per year, depending on the year. Since moving to the desert, it's more like 8, but a typical year will include at least one dedicated dive trip, where I'll log 12-16 dives in 6 days. My dive log is not with me at the moment, but I've got somewhere between 800-900 dives logged. While it may see hard to believe, it's actually pretty easy to get that many when your job entails you diving 5 days per week for months on end, over several years. Repet dives in 30' or less make for long days underwater.

Re deep sea divers, I assume you're talking about professional salvage divers, or oil patch divers. Yep, there's a few here. I'm sure they'll chime in.

[Jason71]

I just returned from a 2-week dive-trip where I went on 46 dives and wore the SD on at least half of them. If I don't go on a dive-trip at least ~6 months........I start to go into withdrawal. The only hobby I love more than watches is diving. I typically don't dive any deeper than ~30 meters, because I honestly feel like there is not as much to see (where I typically dive) and it is a little dangerous for my blood. I just like to go and look at the fishes





A couple of my favorite pics from the trip.........

[Subfiend]

Originally Posted by allanofcalifornia

Just curious, are there any real divers on TRF?


Allan

Yes.

[mixedccr]

[QUOTE=Subfiend;1183702]Yes.

QUOTE]

That Inspiration is super cool!!!

Heres my Halcyon and my twins

[bahamadoug]

Hi Jason, just saw your pics (including the SD). Absolutely breath taking. I was born and live in The Bahamas and I never cease to be awed by the fantastic underwater world. The colours are amazing. Wonderful pics; so clear and peaceful. Thanks a lot...........

[Jason71]

Originally Posted by bahamadoug

Hi Jason, just saw your pics (including the SD). Absolutely breath taking. I was born and live in The Bahamas and I never cease to be awed by the fantastic underwater world. The colours are amazing. Wonderful pics; so clear and peaceful. Thanks a lot...........

Thank you very much

The pictures are straight from the camera. No altering with photoshop or enhancement whatsoever. I have dove quite a number of places in the caribbean, but this was the best dive-trip ever.

The Bahamas is one of the places that I plan to visit in the near future.

[emmagee]

Deepest I've been on air is 184 fsw, I hit that in a hold of the San Francisco Maru, Truk Lagoon; yes, my old 16800 was on my wrist. Really, though, anyone going deeper than 150 fsw *should* be breathing tri-mix, I don't go that deep often enough to warrant getting a tri-mix cert.

[Subfiend]

I was diving in St. John, USVI last week and I would say about half the divers on my boat were wearing Rolex.

I have never seen a Panerai on a dive boat.

[allanofcalifornia]

Originally Posted by Subfiend

I was diving in St. John, USVI last week and I would say about half the divers on my boat were wearing Rolex.

I have never seen a Panerai on a dive boat.

Wow! Half the divers on your boat were wearing Rolex. That is impressive!


Allan

[Subfiend]

Originally Posted by allanofcalifornia

Wow! Half the divers on your boat were wearing Rolex. That is impressive!


Allan

To be fair, most of them were professionals involved with diving in one way or another. It was about as unusual as going to the hospital and seeing doctors wearing white coats.