Decompression stops with a Hookah

[goochi]

Hi Guys

does anyone have any experience with a Hookah and decompression stops. I am looking at doing a 19km underwater swim using a Hookah system and staying approximately at 1m depth. The information I have been able to source suggests that this is safe as at this depth you are still ~ 1 ATM.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Cheers

Goochi

[maytag]

Sorry I don't have the answers to your question, but I'm intrigued by your objective -- that's over 10 miles of swimming! Whereabouts are you doing this, and is it part of an organized event/challenge like an aquathlon?

Cheers and good wishes to you!

[island_sands]

Goochi

That's quite a swim! What's the purpose of it? even at 1m you should be careful. instructors have got DCS from doing hours of pool training in just 2metres of water.

[fcallagy]

and we all reckon david blaine did a "stop" on O2 after his submersion. Maybe some of the techies have a formula they could adapt for such an attempt. i would reckon a nitrox mix would be safer during the swim but would not feel myself to be qualified to say so. Good luck with the swim are you wearing fins or just feet ?

[goochi]

Thanks for the replies guys

I am doing the swim using a monofin I have been training with for the past 6 months. I have been sponsored by Powerdive to use one of their electric Hookah units which I have been training with in the pool. The battery life is only a hour so I swim just under 4km in that time. For the ocean swim to Rottnest (an island off our coast) I was planning on using the boat power for the hookah, which is easily connected.

The guys at the shop use the powerdive unit fo rdisplay, with a diver in a glass tank for over 4 hours! with no problem.

I cannot find any specific information for hookah diving on the web, any ideas?

Cheers

Gooch

[Jon]

Hookah would be the same as scuba, just a different delivery method.

If you at 1 meter I wouldn't worry. I've done some 3+ hour dives, swimming the whole time, with out deco stops- they were fairly shallow dives and I was triyng to swim around some lakes.

Nitrox wouldn't work with your hookah set up and wouldn't be worth the extra hassel for a 1 meter dive. If your worried about DCS I would just breath some pure 02 after your dive on the surface- breathing it at 1 meter depth wouldn't make too much of a difference so you might as well do it on the surface.

Good luck with your swim and post osme pictures when your done!

BTW: Which monofin are you using for the swim. Comfort would sem to be pretty important for an hours long swim underwater.

Jon

[goochi]

Hi Jon

thanks for your reply. Do you have any reference material for dive times at 1-2m where I might fllow up further information.

I am using a Leaderfins "Free Flyer". I was originally using a Free diving "Wings" from Leaderfins, but had to return it. They have sensation customer service! Both monofins were fitted with OMER footpockets, that I can wear all day!

I am swimming on my own as an organised underwater challenge to promote the awareness of Depression. It obviuosly hasn't been done before and it's a great view of the ocean bottom (I have swum to the island previously)

Cheers

Gooch

[Jon]

I just ran a profile through D-plan that called for an 8 hour dive at 20' and it said a 1 min stop at 10' was all that was needed. Since your shallower than this, and you might not be swiming for 8 hours, it should fall within this profile. You should double check this number with your own software if your going to do the dive that deep

You could also pick up a set of US navy tables to look at that. Your biggest thing will just be how tired you are after a swim that far, and that long, and the 02 will always help with that. I spent 10 hours in the water at the last Freedive-a-palooza and went on 02 at the end of the day so I wouldn't fall asleep in my dinner plate at night.

You might want to look up anything by Neil Watson. He did something like a 66 mile scuba dive a 20+ years ago to get into the record books. There's also a German Miltary diver who, now, holds the underwater distance reocrd on scuba. His name escapes me, but it shouldn't be too hard to find.

A surface 02 kit should be a lot easier to find than an underwater stage full of 02 with an 02 clean reglator.

Jon

[greendiver]

Hell!! That is a long dive!!!

[RuhRoh]

According to my understanding of my dive tables 1 m would have no effect. It would be like walking around on the beach. You might get fatiged from the actual swim but no Decompression. Where would you stop at? half a meter?

Most tables don't even start untill 40 feet because you really need to get aorund that double atmospheric range before it starts to build up. You Should not have any substantial build up of Nitrogen at 1 meter because it would be almost the same pressure as being on the surface. Now if you were at 15 feet well I might start to play it safe with things mentioned above but at 1 meter you are basically swimming on the surface and its down to what you can handle physically and how long your equipment can keep running

Have fun.

[goochi]

Hi guys

thanks for your help. I completed the swim on th 17th of March 2007. The conditions were good. Managed to do the distance in 6 hours and 40mins. Felt really good physically at the end, only suffering intense foot cramp. No need for 02, put it down to the training and the efficiency of the Monofin. PowerDive electric compressor unit worked very well, stayed at a depth of 1.5m.

Cheers

Goochi

[island_sands]

Originally Posted by goochi

Hi guys

thanks for your help. I completed the swim on th 17th of March 2007. The conditions were good. Managed to do the distance in 6 hours and 40mins. Felt really good physically at the end, only suffering intense foot cramp. No need for 02, put it down to the training and the efficiency of the Monofin. PowerDive electric compressor unit worked very well, stayed at a depth of 1.5m.

Cheers

Goochi

hey goochi well done
would you like to do a small write up about the event for a scuba article?

[greendiver]

WELL DONE!!!! impressive......

[omega3]

Well goochi as you found out no need for stops at 1m over any length of time. Your post has however opened a small can of worms and Haldane is turning in his grave Ruhroh seems closest to understanding his work on bubble formation.

2 things I just have to mention are that anyone suffering DCI in 2 meters of water was either really trying hard and/or has a very vivid imagination and should be treated with kid gloves . Secondly that the USN Tables, exposure and treatment are inherently flawed/outdated as demonstrated by Dr P James and should be used with caution or as a last resort. I don`t know of anyone who would use them professionally or intentionally in this day and age .

Good effort!! thats a big swim!