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Scuba Forum / General / September 2004is diving in Cuba safe?
I usually go with either a PADI or NAUI scuba operator when I travel in order to hopefully make sure that the dive operator I'm using is up to some type of standard. Since these two agencies are not in Cuba, I do have some concern diving there. Has anyone dived in Cuba and is so, do you think their standards were safe enough? Clint Free Spirit Gallery http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca Exquisite Inuit (Eskimo) & Native American Art >I usually go with either a PADI or NAUI scuba operator when I travel in > order to hopefully make sure that the dive operator I'm using is up to [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > concern diving there. Has anyone dived in Cuba and is so, do you think > their standards were safe enough? If PADI makes you feel safer: http://www.habanasol.com/scuba/padi-havana.htm Otherwise, SSI certainly has a presence there and there's nothing more wrong with SSI than there is with PADI or NAUI. As for standards, I felt much safer than with a lot of dive ops I've used in Mexico. Hi Clint, I found the dive shop on Cayo Coco to be quite good. The instructor sent out on the boat was an ACUC instructor who demanded to see the divers log-book and certification cards prior to diving. I can say that there were no hyperbaric facilities on the island, which may increase or decrease ones opinion of "safety", however I was certainly not trying to violate my computer on any of my dives. Brad > I usually go with either a PADI or NAUI scuba operator when I travel in > order to hopefully make sure that the dive operator I'm using is up to some [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca > Exquisite Inuit (Eskimo) & Native American Art > Hi Clint, > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Brad That's good to hear. Violating one's computer is generally frowned upon regardless of the culture involved. Not this week. Hey Chris, I'm trying to demonstrate the difference between riding that red line on your computer for absolute maximum bottom time (which some divers tend to practice), or alternatively, a more relaxed profile showing a significant bit of caution towards that NDL. Brad > > Hi Clint, > > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > That's good to hear. Violating one's computer is generally frowned upon > regardless of the culture involved. >I'm trying to demonstrate the difference between riding that red line on >your computer for absolute >maximum bottom time (which some divers tend to practice), or alternatively, >a more relaxed profile showing a significant bit of caution towards that >NDL. Computer selection has the same result - picking a Suunto versus a Pelagic. But sure...keep the ascent rates lower than it requires, keep the nice 15' hang in, and most of the risk is removed.  SignatureJason O'Rourke www.jor.com > >I'm trying to demonstrate the difference between riding that red line on > >your computer for absolute maximum bottom time (which some divers tend to practice), or alternatively, > >a more relaxed profile showing a significant bit of caution towards that > >NDL. Wise divers don't follow such a foolish path, greasshopper. Extend your stops to retain your health. > Computer selection has the same result - picking a Suunto versus a Pelagic. Half true and, in my opinion, poor advice. The Suunto line does some truly wierd things when the PPO2 gets above 1.4 ata. I have always believed, and still do, that it is better to chose to be conservative in ways you understand than to buy a computer that forces you to be conservative in ways you don't. > But sure...keep the ascent rates lower than it requires, keep the nice 15' > hang in, and most of the risk is removed. This one has mixed reviews, particularly as significant depth . . . whatever that means to you. There does seem to be a consensus that, during the shallower portion of the dive, slow is better. Lee >> Computer selection has the same result - picking a Suunto versus a >Pelagic. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >understand than to buy a computer that forces you to be conservative in ways >you don't. There's little difference between diving a Pelagic within the green, using the yellow as a buffer, or using the Suunto down to the limit. BTW, my data plus did weird things period, esp if I pushed the button. As for exceeding 1.4, if you want to do it, fine. But then you probably should be using a table plan anyway, esp in a country that has no deco chamber. For the context of the original poster, the issue is irrelevent. If he's worried about the agency affiliation, he shouldn't be doing that sort of diving. SignatureJason O'Rourke www.jor.com > As for exceeding 1.4, if you want to do it, fine. But then you probably should > be using a table plan anyway, esp in a country that has no deco chamber. For > the context of the original poster, the issue is irrelevent. If he's worried > about the agency affiliation, he shouldn't be doing that sort of diving. Who is this really. Jason surely knows better than to equate a PPO2 of more than 1.4 ata with the need for a deco chamber. Lee >Who is this really. Jason surely knows better than to equate a PPO2 of more >than 1.4 ata with the need for a deco chamber. I don't see a need to exceed 1.4 on a recreational dive. I'm going to conclude that if it's a problem for you having a computer get weirded out, that you have greater plans in mind. It's not like it suffers that badly if you temporarily spike it past. Dive planning is always important. More so when you don't have a safety net. SignatureJason O'Rourke www.jor.com > I don't see a need to exceed 1.4 on a recreational dive. I'm going to conclude > that if it's a problem for you having a computer get weirded out, that you have > greater plans in mind. It's not like it suffers that badly if you temporarily > spike it past. That's better. Having a computer that gets weirded out at any PPO2 within the range recognized as safe by everybody else is, for me, a problem. It's a problem on at least two levels. First, I don't want a computer that I believe, in advance, is wrong. Second, I don't want a computer that ,if I should happen to exceed a PPO2 of 1.4 for even a short period, will give me bogus information that effects all subsequent dives during the same day. My problem with the Suunto computers and nitrox goes beyond that. They are also unexplainably conservative at all PPO2s, approximately the equivalent of diving at a PPO2 of .1 ata higher than the real one. > Dive planning is always important. More so when you don't have a safety net. Given, but we're not talking about diving without a safety margin. The standard for PPO2 is 1.6 for at rest situations, lower for more strenuous times. 1.6 already has some safety margin built in. 1.5,. 1.4, etc. have progressively more. I prefer to plan by safety margins myself, based on my knowledge, my diving preferences and my risk tolerance rather than having a computer company force it on me. As far as I'm concerned, the only significant advantage to the Suunto line is their gauge mode and that's not what I buy a computer for. YMMV. Lee > Hey Chris, > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > a more relaxed profile showing a significant bit of caution towards that > NDL. Ummm... oh, never mind. >Subject: Re: is diving in Cuba safe? >From: "Chris Guynn" >> Hey Chris, >> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >Ummm... oh, never mind. Just send him a comb. :-) Capt. Bill >From: "Chris Guynn" chris.guynn@sbcglobal.N.O.S.P.A.M.net >Date: 9/13/2004 10:33 AM Eastern Daylight Time [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > >Ummm... oh, never mind. I ride my computer like a dirtbike. Popeye "God, God, why did you put so many a.sholes in the world at the same time?" Major Santini >>From: "Chris Guynn" chris.guynn@sbcglobal.N.O.S.P.A.M.net >>Date: 9/13/2004 10:33 AM Eastern Daylight Time [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > I ride my computer like a dirtbike. Feet on the pegs, a.s in the air? > > > Popeye > "God, God, why did you put so many a.sholes > in the world at the same time?" Major Santini Signaturedillon When I was a kid, I thought the angel's name was Hark and the horse's name was Bob. >From: Dillon Pyron dmpyronINVALID@austin.rr.com >Date: 9/14/2004 7:23 PM Eastern Daylight Time [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > >Feet on the pegs, a.s in the air? And right over what ever's in front of me. If the computer says I have 18 seconds of bottom time left, I use it. What else is the fxxkin thing for? Popeye "God, God, why did you put so many a.sholes in the world at the same time?" Major Santini "Clint" <pepmax@videotron.ca> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :I usually go with either a PADI or NAUI scuba operator when I travel in :order to hopefully make sure that the dive operator I'm using is up to some :type of standard. Since these two agencies are not in Cuba, I do have some :concern diving there. Has anyone dived in Cuba and is so, do you think :their standards were safe enough? I have dove in Cuba twice and consider it safe. I disagree with your philosophy about judging a dive op by the certifications they issue. Cert agencies are a training thing and have nothing to do with the part of the business that involves taking people out diving. Dan Bracuk Is it my imagination, or do Buffalo Wings taste like chicken? The Best of rec.scuba http://www.pathcom.com/~bracuk/RecScuba/ > I have dove in Cuba twice and consider it safe. > > I disagree with your philosophy about judging a dive op by the > certifications they issue. Cert agencies are a training thing and > have nothing to do with the part of the business that involves taking > people out diving. Thanks everyone for your comments. It's just that I had heard some horror stories about dive ops down in Cuba taking people out on wooden boats that were not well equipped. Clint Free Spirit Gallery http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca Exquisite Inuit (Eskimo) & Native American Art >> I have dove in Cuba twice and consider it safe. >> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >stories about dive ops down in Cuba taking people out on wooden boats that >were not well equipped. THAT can happen anywhere. While Cuba may not be the most advanced country in the world, it's far from third world. >Clint > >Free Spirit Gallery >http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca >Exquisite Inuit (Eskimo) & Native American Art Signaturedillon When I was a kid, I thought the angel's name was Hark and the horse's name was Bob. > I have dove in Cuba twice and consider it safe. > > I disagree with your philosophy about judging a dive op by the > certifications they issue. Cert agencies are a training thing and > have nothing to do with the part of the business that involves taking > people out diving. Thanks everyone for your comments. It's just that I had heard some horror stories about dive ops down in Cuba taking people out on wooden boats that were not well equipped. Clint Free Spirit Gallery http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca Exquisite Inuit (Eskimo) & Native American Art > > I have dove in Cuba twice and consider it safe. > > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > stories about dive ops down in Cuba taking people out on wooden boats that > were not well equipped. LOL. Do you really think that Cuba is the only diving in the world that takes you out in "wooden" boats that aren't that well equipped? You are going to miss some great diving, if that's what you are worried about. Not this weekend. Lee |
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