TO INFINITY AND BEYOND – NOW WHAT?

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND – NOW WHAT?

No posts for a while, but plenty going on… in my head, at least:

A couple of months ago, I finished a Trimix course (TRIMIX COURSE - PART 1).  I learned more over that couple of days than I had for years.  It was bloody hard work and by the end, I felt like I really earned my certificate.  But I gained more than just another qualification because somewhere along the way, I rediscovered my passion for diving.

For the last few years, the majority of my diving was in shallow water.  I mostly shore dived to take photos of the pretty fish and reefs.  I did deeper dives, but for a few reasons, I didn’t really push myself.  The result: I was getting stale.

The good news: my diving enthusiasm is more than rekindled – it’s blazing.  The conundrum: what to do next?

DECO DIVING THE WRECK OF THE SS NORD

As the SS Nord sailed down Tasmania’s east coast, Capt Maurice Mackay set a course close to the Tasman Peninsula. With the ship pushing into rough weather, he consulted his navigation chart; it was only a year old and showed deep water between the Hippolyte Rocks. He altered the heading to pass between the islets, expecting some shelter from the seas. But the Nord hit an uncharted rock (now known as the Needle), tearing a hole in the ship.

CONVICT RUINS AND EXPENSIVE BUBBLES - TRIMIX COURSE - PART 3

It’s taken me a few weeks to finish this, but here it is: the final instalment of my Trimix course report. 

Last weekend I did two days of solid diving, including putting much of what I learned into action.  But, I’ll tell you about that weekend, later... for now, enjoy!

In case you missed them:

Trimix Course Part 1

Trimix Course Part 2

TRIMIX COURSE - PART 3

DAY 1 (CONT.) 

Our Day 1 dives were done, but the day was far from over.  We were in for a fine session of gas mixing and dive planning, not to mention Rubens’s critique of our

TRIMIX COURSE - PART 2

I am a Trimix diver.

Wow, what a course.  Everyone asks me if I had fun… the thing is... I’m not sure I did! 

Although I finished a few days ago, it’s taken me this long to get my head sorted out.  This was easily the most challenging course I’ve ever done, and because of this, the most rewarding.  I thrive on a challenge, so I certainly enjoyed myself, but ‘fun’ never entered into it.

I went into the course expecting to go beyond my comfort zone.  At this level of diving, the course is as much about testing the diver’s mental abilities as physical skills.  Task-loading and simulated problems add to the stress level and test the diver’s ability to cope.  I knew all this, and at times still found myself questioning whether I should be there. 

In many ways, we are our own harshest critics.  It was only when I reminded myself that I did achieve what was asked, that I felt better.

 

DIVE 1 45M TRIMIX 18/35

TRIMIX COURSE - PART 1

The last few days slipped by in a blur.  Home from work, assemble new tanks, get packed for Trimix course, collect family from airport, drive to course site… and here I am.

THE TITANIC AND AVOIDING THE EVIL TWINS

Just seven days to go until the start of my Trimix cert course…  I just realised it will be the day after the 100^th anniversary of Titanic’s sinking.  I’ll use my wreck fascination to interpret this as a good omen!

My spare time is full of revision… gas laws, deco schedules, emergency procedures… oxygen toxicity, nitrogen narcosis, decompression illness…  And the abbreviations: EAD, HPNS, OTU…alphabet soup for divers.  It’s all come back, but it needed work.

I’m planning numerous dive scenarios, considering gas mixes, calculating oxygen exposures and allowing for contingencies.  I usually do all this stuff with a spreadsheet and software, but I find running through longhand brings it to the front of my mind.

I still enjoy ‘playing’ with dive plans, which is a good thing… it’s not unusual for planning of a technical dive to take longer than the dive! 

Warning - the theory that follows is a bit dry…

IDEAL GAS MIX, OXYGEN TOXICITY, EQUIVALENT AIR DEPTH

Avoiding deep-diving’s evil twins, oxygen toxicity and nitrogen narcosis, is the whole point of Trimix.

Why I Do What I Do (Part 2)

In Why I Do What I Do (Part 1) , I talked about how I started and the three things that influence my diving.  I continue that discussion here...

SOLO DIVING

I live close to one of the planet’s best diving regions, Bicheno.  On Tasmania’s east coast, the colours and diversity of the marine life are spectacular and Bicheno is the jewel in the crown.  Despite this, I struggled to find someone to dive with.  Most divers work during the week and dive on weekends.  I like to spend my weekends with my family, who are at school during the week, so I found myself diving on my own.

What is this Voodoo Gas Called Trimix?

Trimix is a mixture of helium, oxygen and nitrogen.  Divers use Trimix for deep diving to depths where the effect of nitrogen narcosis is no longer acceptable and normal oxygen concentrations are toxic.

Air is mostly nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (21%).  Humans don’t use any of the nitrogen we breathe; biologically speaking, it’s an inert gas.  We need oxygen to live, but at high pressures, it causes seizures and unconsciousness.

And so it begins...

I started diving in 1998.  My then-fiancée (now wife), Sandra, worked at a gym in Launceston and one of the guys in her classes was a dive instructor.  She suggested we do an open water diver course with him, before our honeymoon.  After the course, our first dives were on the coral reefs of Samoa!  Simplicity is: diving in the tropics with nothing but a BC and bathers.