| Imported post
just finished Bernie Chowdhury's book. Thought it was a good read but sad too - I am amazed at how many accidents there has been, especially in the Doria - was a bit shocked at the number - I certainly dont remember that many accidents in UK diving during that time or that one single wreck could take so many lives. I know that there has always been a bit of -we're better than everyone else cause we have to dive in soup most of our lives- in Brit divers and that the yanks dont know there deco and stuff, but I think that at some level I understand why there are those who say that. Although this mostly took place at a time when guys were diving the Doria on air - that is nuts and if you did it today you were certainly be seen as nuts. Guys in the book said that they felt comfortable on air at 230 feet and penetrations into the wreck were carried out often wihout guidelines - not on you nelly!. Bollocks to that. I admire their balls but to me alot of it seemed foolhardy - was that the way the early deep wreckers got on? - I was just new to diving then and dont recall this period well. The Rouse dive team that the book is based around dived to U-Who (U-869) in very poor conditions and on air and then penetrated the wreck - a U-boat which is notoriously difficult and tight. They were highly skilled divers but to be honest I it sounds that they bit of more than they could chew that fateful day. i know with hindsight is fine and all but alot of those deaths were seemingly needless. Was alot of this due to the experimental nature of that time or was alot of it due to very bad diving skills? - like staging your deco gas on the shot and then not getting back and getting bad bends? Suppose as with alot of accidents its de to a combination of events and what was noticable was taht people tended to dive in poor conditions cause they had paid to get out there and sod the weather - wrecks aint going anywhere fast. I eally enjoyed the book but did find it sad. thank God that we now have agencies and we do tend to be better divers and that hopefully we will not ever suffer so many deaths in such a short period of time again.
Dinger  |