EUROTEK'95
Mike Busuttili reports from the first European Conference and exhibition on technical and new wave diving.
EUROtek - the first all-embracing conference and exhibition dedicated to New Wave and Technical Diving to be staged in Europe - brought together the world's leading figures in the advanced diving field for a dynamic exchange of ideas and experiences.
Organised by Diver Magazine in association with the US journal aquaCorps, this breakthrough weekend event took place alongside the highly successful DIVE 95 show at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, which incorporated a special Planet Tek section dedicated to technical diving.
EuroTek was not a typical Tek Conference, like those that have already taken place in the USA. Although it featured almost all the big guns from the States, it was distinctly European in character, with considerable input from the North Sea diving industry and the European cave diving scene.
The programme was studded with star personalities and specialists from all sections of the diving community, including cave divers, wreck divers, explorers, and representatives from most of the training organisations concerned with nitrox and mixed gas diving.
If you ever had a question to ask on technical diving, this was the place to find the answer, for presentations were offered for those thinking of getting started in new wave and technical diving, as well as for those practised in the art.
The opening session asked the question: 'Where is Technical Diving Going?'. Mike Menduno, Editor of aquaCorps kicked the conference off by defining Technical Diving as "a set of disciplines that utilise appropriate tools and methods to improve underwater safety and performance and allow divers to conduct dives in a wide range of environments'' - otherwise described as 'mission-oriented diving'.
In answer to 'What's next ?' he saw future developments first encompassing rebreathers, and then moving toward one-atmosphere suits, and even submarines. He quoted Alan Kay, from Stanford University, who said, "The best way to predict the future is to invent it.''
Other panel members offered their views on the current state of technical diving and its future prospects within Europe. There is, at present, a low level of participation in most countries in Europe, with the notable exception of the UK, where over 2500 divers are estimated to have already undergone nitrox training, and this before the BSAC introduces its nitrox programme. But steady growth is anticipated, allied to the availability of training both from specialised agencies and national federations. The big question of when rebreathers will really become available on the scene (which was to become a recurring theme throughout the weekend) was answered differently by different speakers. But the consistent message was that when they do arrive they will demand additional discipline and training, as well as additional cash, and will not necessarily solve all today's problems. "So don't throw away your open circuit set yet", said Billy Deans.
Talking about risk assessment, Rob Palmer asked the controversial question: "Are you prepared to die under water at great depth alone in the darkness?'' to point out the importance of being aware of risks before accepting them or avoiding them.
The conference continued with Olivier Isler, a Swiss cave diver who has been exploring caves for more than 20 years using a rebreather which he developed with his friend Alain Ronjat. This has allowed him to make record dives into some of the deepest and longest sumps in Europe, some of which lasted more than 8 hours. Carrying out these dives with a rebreather avoided the need to deploy or carry the colossal number of cylinders which would have been necessary for an exploration on open circuit.
Practical advice on rigging a set for technical diving was next on the agenda. Speakers described the importance of setting up equipment for the special needs of technical diving, with extra buoyancy and extra safety features. Chris Hellas, BSAC Equipment Adviser, described the UK approach with its heavy emphasis on remaining as snag-resistant as possible during wreck penetration.
Billy Deans, of Key West Diver Inc, shared his long experience with the audience, giving a mass of valuable advice and opinion in his 'no-holds-barred' style, but always with the emphasis on improving dive safety. He returned later to talk about his company's experience of using tech diving techniques for commercial diving operations. On some projects his open-circuit trimix techniques had proved more effective than traditional hard-hat techniques, except that they did not fit the current regulations covering commercial diving within US waters. Billy was strong in his condemnation of the practice of deep diving on air, even by the most experienced and most highly qualified instructors.
Experience in the North Sea, and in particular the Aurora '93 470m deep diving experimental project, was the theme for Dr Sam Brooke's presentation. The decompression period required after this experiment was 18 days, leading to a special form of isolation for the divers. Even astronauts can return to Earth in 4-5 days; but these divers knew they were committed to a programme which would keep them out of touch with the surface world for far longer, since the entire project kept them under pressure for a total of 32 days. He also spoke of the role of different gases in a variety of trimix combinations, and the different problems and advantages introduced by nitrogen, helium, and hydrogen in mixed gas applications.
In Understanding Dive Computers, two manufacturers from the USA, Mike Cochrane (Cochrane Consulting) and Lamar Hires (Dive-Rite) shared their thoughts on developments in dive computers. It was interesting to hear that a move was seen towards all future dive computers being initially designed as mixed gas or nitrox computers, with the option to use them in an 'air mode'. Air users would be offered the same product with the mixed gas feature hidden or 'locked out', perhaps available as a future update.
The session entitled Advances in Decompression covered the development of decompression tables for use with gas mixtures, both from a decompression and an oxygen exposure point of view. Leading decompression physiology specialist Dr Bill Hamilton reviewed the development of decompression computing since he first installed his DCAP programme on a computer that filled a room. The publication of Professor Buehlmann's book had led to work on decompression programs for more general us. Two of the authors of such programs had since died as a result of diving accidents. Nowadays desktop computing had moved to a stage where it was accessible to most enthusiasts, giving a new freedom from printed tables, much to the horror of members of the commercial diving fraternity.
Noted French cave diver described his attempts to draw new conclusions from the work done on oxygen toxicity by Professor Kenneth Donald and published in his book Oxygen and the Diver. His conclusion that oxygen toxicity problems are rare during decompression using pure oxygen in the dry down to 12m has significant application in cave diving, where bell habitats are sometimes used. Pure oxygen decompression in the water, however, needs to be restricted to 6m.
Author of the BSAC 88 decompression tables, Dr Tom Hennessy, revealed for the first time in public the results of experiments carried out by the Royal Navy into trimix diving in 1976. The purpose of the study was to generate trimix tables for naval divers engaged in mine clearance. He told of the anxious moments experienced by all members of the trial team as they sought to verify a table which would allow trimix dives to 80m with decompression on oxygen. Attempts to eradicate the onset of oxygen toxicity problems led to a series of further experiments, both in chambers and in cold, dark, deep Scottish lochs. It transpired that the audience at this session actually included some divers who had participated in these trials. The tables were never distributed, although Tom felt that their use could now be justified.
French consultant Jean-Claude le Pechon spoke of his experience with, as diving manager for the French contractor C.G.Doris, and the evolution of decompression tables to bring safety to this activity. He emphasised that it will never be safe simply to borrow a copy of an organisation's specialised tables and to attempt to use them without the full back-up and safety procedures that go with them. It is a mistake to take a table tried and tested on divers in heated suits with a surface-fed gas supply and to apply this to free-swimming divers in conventional suits.
The Sunday morning session attacked the problem of . BSAC Vice Chairman Chris Allen introduced the session by pointing out the continuing number of avoidable accidents reported each year and calling for eternal vigilance to improve diving safety. Accidents were already occuring which were related to mixed gas diving, emphasising the importance of appropriate training.
Georges Arnoux of Comex illustrated his presentation with many examples from the North Sea, pointing out the . An important point was complete preparedness for the dive in hand, both from a personal condition and equipment point of view. Part of this process is risk analysis, which will help to identify and possibly eliminate some of the foreseen hazards. He showed a video sequence of a diver suffering a hyperoxic crisis at depth, followed by blackout, to be saved only by the fact that the surface crew were able to quickly send his buddy diver to his assistance. The diver was breathing a mix giving 1.5 bar PPO2, but had not slept for two days and this was seen to be a major contributory factor.
Leading British cave diver and author Rob Palmer spoke of the importance of to the technical diver and everyone involved in diving. One of the reasons for developing a proper attitude to diving was to prevent the introduction of further legislation. He emphasised the need for training standards to be international in their vision and to recognise the wide range of conditions existing around the world.
Mike Menduno asked the panel and the audience to list the main factors liable to compromise dive safety. The killer factors were :
complacency, attitude, O2 toxicity, exceeding personal limits, ignorance, and complexity
- with the need identified for greater emphasis on responsibility, investment, comfort, planning.
HSE representative Ralph Mavin pointed out the importance of the diving community as a whole maintaining good and complete statistics on dives and incidents. This would prove invaluable in identifying problem areas and also in preparing a defence against future legislation.
The question Should I buy a rebreather? was covered by Lloyd Tracy Robinette, a long-term rebreather manufacturer and user, who discussed their development over the last 20 years, some of the equipment available, and the problems involved in their use and selection. He emphasised the importance of getting equipment-specific training, since the requirements of each set are different. His recommendation was to try to get a copy of the instruction manual before buying a set so that you can gain an impression of the thoroughness of the manufacturer's approach and the complexity of the diving and maintenance procedures.
Some of the deepest open-circuit diving is done in Mexican cave systems, where the water is warm, clear, and deep. Jim Bowden and Dr Ann Kristovitch described their work at Zacoton, a deep cenote in the Mexican jungle which they have been exploring for some time. In looking for the bottom of these caves the team has already passed the 1000 ft (300m) level and is planning ever deeper dives. The dives are made on open-circuit gas mixtures down a near vertical shot line. The specialised nature of the deep dives into these vertical caves created the need for specially adapted equipment and procedures. Normal pressure gauges stopped working as water pressure forced the glass on to the needle. Underwater lamps implode if not built for these depths.
A series of carefully calibrated gas mixes is used during the dives, either carried by the diver or staged at the appropriate depths. Jim Bowden uses 7 different gas mixes, including air and pure oxygen, with a total of 1277cu ft of gas on a dive planned to take 594 minutes (only 12 of which are descent and bottom time).
Keeping warm in the water becomes a greater and greater problem as the length of dives increases. Do different gases give an advantage when used for suit inflation? They could do, but only if used properly. Bob Stinton from DUI summarised the information available on the subject. After hearing his presentation, you would never consider using a wetsuit for a deepish dive in cool waters.
Rebreathers were a constant topic of conversation during the conference, with keen interest from divers wanting to know just when, and for how much, they could dream of getting a rebreather. Sunday afternoon tried to bring some reality to this situation. The assembled specialists pointed out the advantages and the problems of all the different types of rebreathers, and what promise they hold for the future of technical diving. If you had arrived at EuroTek enthusiastic to own a rebreather, you certainly left with a more circumspect view of the possibilities on offer, and better equipped to make a sensible decision. At most times during the weekend conference there were three sessions running in parallel.
Sessions in the Technical Breakout category covered a range of special topics. Those wanting advice on blending gas mixtures were introduced to the hazards, solutions, and realities of the procedures by those with experience of this in a UK context.
In the session entitled Regulating Diving, representatives from the HSE described the progress being made towards the establishment of approved codes of practice for each of the different sections of the diving community. It was clear that the continuing close relationship between HSE and the diving organisations is set to bring stability to the industry.
A wealth of experience in the treatment of decompression illness was presented by Dr Maurice Cross and by Dr Phillip James, drawing on their practical experience in the North Sea and continuing research.
EuroTek brought together an enormous amount of experience and knowledge on diving techniques and technology. The exchange of information between the speakers and the audience left most participants more knowledgeable, but also helped to underline the areas where knowledge runs out. It was a significant opportunity to profit from the experience of other divers and specialists in the field and to stay up to date on current thinking and developments.
The wide variety of speakers from different sections of the diving community also introduced many :
The message became clear: technical diving is a serious business requiring further and specialised training, followed by the steady accumulation of experience in a programmed fashion, and the adoption of steely disciplines combined with the correct attitude. Fitting the right technique and equipment to the dive being planned is the first step. Here, technical divers - who seem always ready to share the results of both their successes and their failures - can show us the way.
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