HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: alliso@david.wheaton.edu (Bryan Allison)
Subject: diving in the US Virgin Islands
Organization: Wheaton College, IL
Distribution: usa,world
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1992 19:58:03 GMT

	I hope to be going to St. Croix, or St. Thomas in June and was wondering
if anyone knew what the diving was like down there.  Good dives? Good shops?
Good places to snorkel...etc.

Thanks,
Bryan Allison
From: schutz@rand.ORG (Karl Schutz)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: Nitrox Diving
Date: 17 Dec 92 00:36:54 GMT
Organization: The RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California

A short while ago a friend of mine completed a nitrox class.  His first nitrox
dive was a beach dive in Laguna Beach, CA.  As he and the instructor sashayed
toward the water's edge, one of two bistanders noticed the green and yellow tanks
with NITROX printed on them and questioned the other as to its meaning.  The
other responded that it's that gas race car drivers use (obviously referring to
nitro-class drag racing - Ed. :-) ).

True story.

 
-- 
Karl F. Schutz
PADI DM-50321
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: andrewt@watson.ibm.com (Andrew Taylor)
Subject: Re: Shark Attacks
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 15:16:54 GMT
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

In article <Af=rfWe00iV0A2xOI6@andrew.cmu.edu> "Peter A. Simon" <ps3p+@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:
>2.  Prior to WWII, shark attacks on swimmers was unheard of. Sharks were
>turned into "man-eaters" because of the easy pickings due to the carnage
>of war.  True?

Completely false. Records of shark attacks in Australia go back almost 200
years. I'm sure they go back much further elsewhere.

Andrew Taylor
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: graff@atux01.att.com (Christopher Graff)
Subject: Re: Nitrox Diving
Organization: AT&T Corporate Education and Training
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 21:11:24 GMT

In article <1992Dec15.180742.20550@mailer.cc.fsu.edu>, mayne@phi.cs.fsu.edu (William Mayne) writes:
> In article <1992Dec15.140405.11375@newssun.med.miami.edu> dbrown@newssun.med.miami.edu (Daniel Brown) writes:
> >In article <1992Dec14.160128.4711@cattnts.canada.ncr.com> craig@cattnts.canada.ncr.com (Craig Campbell) writes:
> >
> >>The risk is NOT new.  The cruxial question is, "How deep do you dive"?
> >>(Actually, the real question is "How deep and how long", but that's too 
> >>complex and unnecessary for this discussion.)
> >
> >The risk of O2 toxicity isn't new, that's true, but the risk of it occurring
> >at shallower depths is new.  I can't remember an air dive I've done where
> >depth was restricted by O2 toxicity.
> 
> I have. But I am a chicken and start to take the risk very seriously
> at 1.6 ATA O_2 (218 fsw on air). Others have gone deeper on air regularly
> and lived to tell about it - if they could remember. :-)
> 
> However the risk of O_2 toxicity using nitrox is grossly exaggerated.
> A 32% mix is fine down to 130 fsw for longer than anyone but a technical
> diver could stay down anyway. Except for wall dives the max depth for most
> sport dives is fixed by the bottom. And anyone diving in the 130 foot
> range who doesn't keep good track of their depth shouldn't be doing that
> kind of diving and isn't safe no matter what they are breathing. It is
> easy to control the risk from O_2. And the safety and health benefits
> from reduced N_2 are considerable. 

	An example. 140' with 29% Nitrox mix. Bottom time was 25 min.
	Hang time was 35 min. Obviously a technical decomp. dive.
	But apparently the hang was worth it. They came up smiling.
	I got a big 9 min. on air. But I didnt do a decomp. dive. This
	was my first time down to 140'. Plus I was using an 80 and you dont
	get much more time with that. They were using steel twin 80's and
	120's. It was planned very well though. 

	In case your interested the dive was off the Coast of NC in the
	Gulf Stream. Beauty of a dive.

	Chris


Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: jammer@eskimo.com (Lyle Harwood)
Subject: ***I need equipment***
Organization: -> ESKIMO NORTH (206) For-Ever <-
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 09:57:02 GMT
From: jdale@cats.ucsc.edu (Jonathan Dale)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: Marine Biology and related studies
Date: 16 Dec 92 07:48:28 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of California; Santa Cruz
NNTP-Posting-Host: si.ucsc.edu


In article <1992Dec15.225817.2116@news.miami.edu> spindler@monarch.rsmas.miami.edu (todd spindler) writes:
>|> When I was looking into marine science graduate programs back in 1987,
>|> I got information from the following schools:
>|> Florida Atlantic University
>|> Florida Institute of Technology
>|> Scripps Institute of Oceanography (UCSD)
>|> Texas A&M
>|> University of Delaware
>|> University of Florida
>|> University of Hawaii -- Monoa
>|> University of Miami -- Rosenstiel Institute
>|> University of New Hampshire
>|> University of Rhode Island
>A few other schools worth considering are:

>Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute/MIT
>University of Washington (Seattle)
>Oregon State University
>University of California, Santa Barbara

Just to add MY 2 cents.... I'm applying RIGHT NOW (yes, filling out apps as
I type....)

Boston University has a marine program through biology
University Of California, Santa Cruz has a master's program in marine bio
  (also a B.A., which is what I'm almost done with), and lots going on
  in biology (for a doctoral).  Also, lots of research diving.
University Of Victoria, U. of British Columbia, and even U. Alberta (inland?)
  in Canada all run a marine station (Bamfield) on Vancouver Island, along
  with two schools I can't remember, also in Canada.
OSU (above) has both a School Of Oceanography and a Zoology program with lots
of marine stuff.  UW has Oceanography and Zoology, but I think the Fisheries
program is undergrad only.

I'm sure there are others....

Jonathan Dale
U.Cal. Santa Cruz
From: gordon@meiko.com (Gordon Henderson)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: Tank sizes/capacities
Date: 15 Dec 92 11:17:39 GMT
Organization: Meiko Scientific Corp.

In article <1992Dec15.055150.3089@lclark.edu> dmw@lclark.edu (David Weingarten) writes:
>Howdy, y'all.
>
>I'm just wondering what different size/capacity tanks are out there
>these days.
> [ ... deleted ... ]

In the UK (and I guess Europe in general) we have been using mertic tank
sizes and depths and so on for quite some time, so I don't know how
these compare to your cubic feet sizes, however ...

Most moders cylinders nowadays are lightweight steel with a working
pressure of 232 bar (just under 3500 psi). Capacities are 10, 12.2 and
15 litres (the odd 18 litre pops up from time to time). I own a 15
litre cylinder. All these come with a standard A-clamp fitting.

The latest thing seems to be a lightweight steel 7 litre cylinder with
a working pressure of 300 bar (~4500 psi). I've seen a few people with
these mounted as a twin-set with independant 1st stages and regulators.
(From what I remember, these come with DIN fittings).

Enjoy!

Gordon Henderson
From: awright@gssec.bt.co.uk (Alan Wright)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: sharks in general
Date: 14 Dec 92 13:52:08 GMT
Organization: BT, Software Engineering Centre, Glasgow, UK

In article <0f9AYSi00iV2M2Xo9s@andrew.cmu.edu>,
ps3p+@andrew.cmu.edu (Peter A. Simon) writes:
|> There was an *excellent*, article in today's (Tuesday, Dec. 8) New York
|> Times about sharks.  It was pro-shark (which is why I thought it was so
|> good--it agreed with me).
|> 
|> Peter

I've been on holiday and have missed any recent discussion on sharks
so ignore this if it has come up already. I was wondering if "selective"
shark hunting to protect beaches might actually be counter-productive.
Assuming that the hunters really are being selective :-).

Going out in a boat will attract sharks for several reasons: low
frequency vibrations from the engines, any waste thrown from the boat,
baiting and any blood from captured sharks. Thus any sharks in the
region (tigers or not) will tend to converge on the boat and, assuming
that they are not selected for death, will probably follow the boat as
it returns to shore and make things worse. Does this make sense?

Another question is whether pregnant tiger sharks move in-shore and
stop feeding near the time of birth. If attacks were "investigative" only
(i.e. no removal of flesh) it may be that the incidents in Hawai amount
to nothing more than disturbed pregnant sharks waiting to give birth.
If I remember from earlier posts the bits of a surf board were recovered
which seems unusual for a tiger which is feeding. Don't they tend to
swallow just about anything?

A previous post said they were killing any tiger over 8 feet. This would
also suggest that mainly females will be killed since they tend to be
bigger. I think males grow to about 2.5m (8 feet) while females can be
up to 5m (or above) in length. Also, given that the tiger's reproduction
is ovoviviparous and it takes about 5 years to mature it would seem very
important not to kill pregnant ones. Do tigers give birth to more than one
baby at a time (i.e. does one embryo eat the others in the womb)? This
would seem natural in a species as aggressive as the tiger. I can't
remember how long the embryo remains in the womb but it is probably
between 1 and 2 years. Which means that whatever damage we do now will
take of the order of 10 years minimum to recover.

In summary, IMHO it would be relatively simple for man to accidently
make the tiger extinct in a short period of time.

Please feel free to correct any of the above.

-- Alan
--------------------------------------------
awright@gssec.bt.co.uk (Alan Wright)
BT, Software Engineering Centre, Glasgow, UK
--------------------------------------------
From: dmiller@monod.Biol.McGill.CA (Diane Miller)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: diving in southern Australia
Date: 19 Dec 92 16:18:54 GMT
Organization: McGill University

Dear scuba_netters

	I am moving to Adelaide  (Australia) in January, and am wondering 
about diving there.  Can anyone provide me with information about diving 
in South Australia?  I particularly want to know what kind of equipment 
people use (ie. thickness of wetsuits), how common an activity it is, 
and possibly the name and address of any dive shops people recommend.  

Thanks.

Diane 

--
Diane Miller

dmiller@monod.biol.mcgill.ca  (where I read news)
dmiller@ulam.generes.ca       (where I now live)
From: jewett@hpl-opus.hpl.hp.com (Bob Jewett)
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 00:54:55 GMT
Subject: Re: DI VERSI VESHI TEM ?
Organization: HP Labs, High Speed Electronics Dept., Palo Alto, CA
Newsgroups: rec.scuba

> What is the meaning of these words?

I think it means "I'm having fun with the divers."  -- Bob
From: Mahan_Stephen@lanmail.ncsc.navy.mil
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Harrassment dives (was instructor entertainment)
Date: 16 Dec 1992 08:30:11 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu


During my Scuba training at NDSTC (Naval Dive and Salvage Training 
Center) in Panama City, we had a whole week devoted to "problem solving" 
dives.  An instructor would descend upon you and give you problems.  
Typical problem was that you had lost your second stage, the hose was 
fouled on the manifold (twins), your mask was gone, your air was turned 
off, some tank straps were undone, your reserve was tripped, and you had 
been spun around a couple times.  Successful solution of the problem was 
to restore order to your equipment within three minutes.  To pass 
this portion of the course, you were graded on seven problems in 
succession.  The only passing grade was perfection; one student was 
dropped because on ONE problem he failed to return his reserve valve to 
the proper position.

Please also note that during this portion of training backup facilities 
included:

An observing instructor standing by (one for each student with a 
problem) with a dual regulator setup to offer air as required.
A recompression chamber and team on line and ready, 50 feet from 
poolside.
A trained paramedic present with emergency gear.


I would like to suggest the name, "problem solving", as a replacement 
for such terms as "harrassment dive" and "instructor entertainment".


steve
From: ljm40@spa.amdahl.com (Lisa Malachowsky)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: LOOKING FOR INFO on Key West
Date: 18 Dec 92 01:33:00 GMT
Organization: Amdahl Corporation  Sunnyvale, CA

I'm also looking for recommendations for experienced divers diving in
Key West. I would like to find an operator who won't baby me and will
take me to interesting spots (wrecks and reefs both).	

Any recommendations???
From: ps3p+@andrew.cmu.edu (Peter A. Simon)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: Shark Attacks
Date: 18 Dec 92 21:43:25 GMT
	<1gomkeINNdng@fido.asd.sgi.com>
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

leej@sgi.com (Lee Jones) writes:

>On the other hand, there is another
>(urban legend?) claim that echos of gunfire from WWII are still rattling 
>around in the deepest parts of the ocean occasionally confusing whales 
>communicating over the miles.

What do you mean "urban legend?"  Of course that's true!  Haven't you heard it?

Peter Simon
NAUI I #1434
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: dunbar@boulder.Colorado.EDU (S Dunbar)
Subject: Re: Coco View, RoatanCoco View at Thanksgiving
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: 15 Dec 92 19:55:55 GMT

leej@sgi.com (Lee Jones) writes:

>In article <liqb03INNhiq@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM> narad@nonsequitur.Eng.Sun.COM writes:
>>One other comment on Roatan; Skin-so-Soft repels the no-see-ums as 
>>well as or better than DEET, and might be better for your bod.

>For what it's worth, the Army (?) did a controlled study of bug repellents
>(I suspect they have a serious interest in that topic).  Skin-so-soft worked
>no better than a placebo.  As I recall the test results (from Undercurrent),
>the effectiveness is highly correlated to the amount of DEET in the juice.


i guess its funny, my brother in law just closed Subic Bay Naval Base
in the Phillipines and he said that the bugs were bad there and
the marines, he is a security person in the marines for the navy,
passed out skin so soft..... who knows!!!
i have never tried it, but if i go to where the sand fleas are bad
i will bring it with me along with some deep woods off.


 
Scott\      /\/\  /|email: dunbar@boulder.colorado.edu
  /***\  /\/*/**\/*|Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
 /  /\ \/**\/    \ |University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO  80309-0347
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1992 12:12:03 -0500 
From: "Peter A. Simon" <ps3p+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: missing deco stop ... re-entering

Excerpts from netnews.rec.scuba: 9-Dec-92 Re: missing deco stop ... r..
by Dave Waller@hpdstma.ptp. 
> In article <gf9EBrq00UzxI3tFMa@andrew.cmu.edu>, "Peter A. Simon"
<ps3p+@andrew
> .cmu.edu> writes:
>  
> |> Wrong!  At any given depth you are outgassing gas ingassed at deeper
> |> depths.  The decompression tables used by commercial diving tables are
> |> based on this FACT.
>  
> In keeping with the style...
>  
> Wrong! Whether a tissue is ingassing or outgassing is a function of the
> ambient pressure and the current tissue loading status. As such, a diver that
> descends to 150 feet and stays there one minute, then ascends to a shallower
> depth of say, 100 feet, will still be ingassing because the time spent at
> 150 feet was not long enough to allow the tissues to sufficiently load
> up so as to have a higher partial pressure of inert gas than the pp
> at the shallower depth of 100 feet.
>  
> Please be more careful about disseminating FACTs, as incorrect facts are
> not facts at all.
>  
> -- 
> Dave Waller
> YMCA Instructor

Noted.

Peter Simon
NAUI I #1434
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: s32905u@saha.hut.fi (Jouni Ilari Polkko)
Subject: Re: Tank sizes/capacities
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 20:24:50 GMT

In article <1992Dec15.055150.3089@lclark.edu> dmw@lclark.edu (David Weingarten) writes:
>Howdy, y'all.
>
>I'm just wondering what different size/capacity tanks are out there
>these days.  I'm afraid I haven't been keeping up with recent equip.
>changes, so I don't even really know what's out. ................
>.....  I've heard that some places in the EC have come up with tanks
>that hold like 140-170cf at something like 4500psi, but have not had
>this reputably confirmed.  If this is so, what are they made of?
>How much do they cost?  Can they be filled in the US?

These 300 bar (~4500 psi) tanks are available even here in Finland,
and we are not member of EC (yet). These tanks have been used here
over twenty years, so I wouldn't call them recent equip. change at all.
My 2x7x300 tanks were built 1969. They are manufactured by IWKA (Germany)
and Faber (Italy). There may be other manufacturers too, I don't know.
They are available at least in 3, 4, 6, 7 and 10 liter sizes. This refers
to the water volume of course (10 liter 300 bar tank is about 100 cft).
Smaller than 10 liter tanks are always used in twin configuration.
When you calculate the capacity of 300 bar tanks, you must decrease 10 %
of the value given by ideal gas law, becouse air is not any more ideal
gas in 300 bar pressure (3% in 200 bar pressure). These tanks are steel. 
Not everybody here uses 300 bar tanks, most of divers still have 200 bar 
tanks, but they are becoming more and more popular. About 40 % of divers 
in our club have 300 bar tanks. I don't know prices in other countries, 
but here 10 liter 300 bar tank costs with valve about 400 USD.

>Most of the instructors that I know these days use steel 92's or 94's.
>I believe these are 3500psi tanks, and have standard K-valves. 

I don't understand why many people call 3500 psi tanks high pressure
tanks, I would call them low pressure tanks. We fill always 200 bar
tanks to 220-230 bar (around 3400 psi).

>On a similar note, are DIN valves popular in Europe?

Both DIN and INT valves exists in europe. DIN valves are maybe more
common in north europe. Many valves sold today are convertible between
DIN and INT standards.
 
> I've only seen
>one in my life, here in the US.  Pretty funky lookin' things.  I've
>heard that they can hold pretty incredible pressures, like 5000psi or
>something like that.  Anybody know for sure?

DIN valves, which are used in 300 bar tanks, must stand 450 bar (~6750 psi),
so I suppose, that they can hold incredible 5000 psi without problems.
(I have even tested that)

There are different DIN valves for 200 bar and 300 bar tanks. 200 bar
tank can not be filled from compressor's 300 bar outlet and 200 bar wp
regulator shouldn't fit to 300 bar tank.

Jouni Polkko
jpolkko@niksula.cs.hut.fi
From: lowe@fnx.uucp (Phill Lowe)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: Nitrox Diving
Date: 14 Dec 92 16:41:29 GMT
Organization: I/Ovations

The gear requirements vary depending on how the mix is produced.  I 
understand that one approach is to fill to a certain level with
100% oyx and then fill with air.  This requires "oxygen clean" equipment
to handle the temp presence of 100% oyx and the explosion possibility
of normal lubricants.
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: jammer@eskimo.com (Lyle Harwood)
Subject: ***I need equipment***
Organization: -> ESKIMO NORTH (206) For-Ever <-
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1992 12:37:14 GMT


Hi, guys, I need some advice on equipment. I just became qualified, and
would like to dive here in Seattl.e
I've been told that to do any serious diving around the PNW, I need a
dry
suit.
So, I need some advice on how & where to buy a dry suit, and what else
I'd need to start out.

Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh boy...
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: "andrew comello" <andrew.comello@canrem.com>
Subject: marine biology and relate
Reply-To: "andrew comello" <andrew.comello@canrem.com>
Organization: Canada Remote Systems
Distribution: rec
Date: 16 Dec 92 15:36:21 EST

Newsgroup: rec.scuba
Subject: Marine Biology and related studies

CK>Anybody out know of any Canadian schools offering similar (marine or
CK>freshwater studies) programs?

U. of Guelph in Guelph Ontario
U. of Halifax
U. of BC
U. of Delhousie
U. of Queens
U. of P.E.I.
U. of Nova Scotia
U. Newbrunswick
U. Newfoundland
U. of Alberta
U. of Victoria
various places in the Yukon and N.W.T.
and I think U. of Toronto
---
  SLMR 2.0  I Have To Stop Now, My Fingers Are Getting Hoarse!
--
Canada Remote Systems  - Toronto, Ontario
World's Largest PCBOARD System - 416-629-7000/629-7044
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: mayne@dup.cs.fsu.edu (William Mayne)
Subject: Re: Nitrox Diving
Reply-To: mayne@cs.fsu.edu
Organization: Florida State University Computer Science Department
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 92 21:23:18 GMT

In article <1glblbINN9in@transfer.stratus.com> gd@gehenna.sw.stratus.com (Greg Dawe) writes:
>In article <1992Dec15.180742.20550@mailer.cc.fsu.edu> mayne@cs.fsu.edu writes:
>>
>>However the risk of O_2 toxicity using nitrox is grossly exaggerated.
>>A 32% mix is fine down to 130 fsw for longer than anyone but a technical
>>diver could stay down anyway. 
>
>Hmmm.  Yes, it's true that the NOAA Oxygen Exposure Tables for a Working Diver
>were padded a bit for conservatism, but I'm surprised you came right out and
>said that... Still, I think it's not in anyone's best interest to say that 
>those limits are grossly exaggerated.

I didn't say that the limits were exaggerated. I am all for
conservative limits. What is exaggerated is the fear of oxygen
toxicity, mostly by people who know very little about the limits.  (I
know you are not among them.) From several articles here it seems some
people think that you convulse and drown the instant the partial
pressure of O_2 reaches 1.60001, or if you go 1 foot deeper than
planned or stay one second longer than planned. For reasonable profiles
it is not easy to reach even the conservative limits of O_2 exposure.
This does not mean that people don't need to know what they are doing.
But doing it right is not that difficult. The risks are much less than
the benefits. Within usual sport diving limits with any care at all the
risk of CNS O_2 toxicity are vanishingly small.

Those doing very aggressive repetitive dives schedules do need to give
more attention to all considerations. They also constitute a group with
a bigger need for the benefits of nitrox to reduce the risk of DCS.  As
you said, the risk of DCS is much greater for these types of
schedules.  I would have to see some numbers before concluding that O_2
exposure on, say an aggressive sequence of no-decompression dives
keeping the partial pressure of O_2 under 1.4 ATA would become a
problem. If it is a problem at all my intuition is that chronic (or
"whole body") toxicity, rather than the feared CNS toxicity would be
the problem.

Bill Mayne
From: mike.meyer@dwarp.sccsi.com (Mike Meyer) 
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: KEY WEST RECOMMENDATIONS
Date: 13 Dec 92 22:18:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: Data Warp Premium BBS - Spring/Houston, TX - 713-355-6107
Reply-To: mike.meyer@dwarp.sccsi.com (Mike Meyer) 

I'm planning on taking a trip out to Key West, FL in late April of 1993.
A buddy of mine want to take in some wreck dives while there, and if the
underwater wildlife is nice, I'd like to visit a local reef.  Any
recommendations?

I'd like:

1)  A good, reputable, local dive shop.  I'm still a novice, and will
probably rent tanks, etc down there rather than carry them on the plane.

2) A wreck dive under 100' if possible, and a location for a reef dive.

3) A good place to spend the night.
                  
Newsgroups: rec.scuba