Bob wrote:

>The keyword in extending one's "safety envelop", "comfort zone", and
establish one limit SAFELY is 'GRADUALLY'.

But how do we define 'gradually"? Checked my logs recently and discovered
that while I did my first 100ft (30m) dive quite soon after being certed,
my first dive to 130+ (40m+) did not happen until I had well over 250
dives. Most new divers shoot for depth too fast, in my opinion, as depth
seems to be associated with being a good diver. Which is nonsense, a safe
diver is a good diver, depth has nothing to with it.

>I've gone through a VERY gradual and repeated process (in wall diving
in clear viz warm water) to have extended my OWN safety limit to
225 fsw (note I didn't say 218 to please the PPO2-pedants of 1.6 <G>).<

No need to be pedantic. A short dip to that  exposure will not cause anyone
to tox. But planning a dive to that ppO2, i.e. spending considerable time
at the corresponding depth,  is still a bad idea.

>I've reached that limit several years ago, and have NOT had any urge nor
intention to extend IT.<

I've done a good number of dives to that depth range myself, but I do not
intend to do it again on air. Which means that I have no problem with the
depth, but rather with the narcotic depth. One of the reasons why  deep
diving feels so "nice" is, of course, the fact that one is buzzed. In case
of a "warm" buzz, this is usually not a problem until things start to go
wrong. This is quite unlikely on a rec wall dive, since all you usually
have to do is ascend. On dives where that is not an immediate option, the
picture changes.

I'm not sure if anyone is really more immune to being narked than the next
person. I can definitely "feel" a considerable effect at 100 feet. Doesn't
impair me, but I can feel that it is there. I am certainly quite drunk
below 160. Example: about 2 years ago I did several 200ft dives in Sipadan
together with the resident videographer Steve Fish. When we looked at the
footage after one of the dives, neither of us could remember seeing the
large grouper (no, is wasn't Bob) that appeared in the video near the max
depth.

I've only experienced a "cold" narcosis, which is the feeling that can
quickly evolve into panic, twice. Both times where relatively "shallow", in
fact both times even shallower than 130. One of those times  was in a cave.
Nothing really happened, and both dives were continued as planned once I
got things sorted out, but narcosis was the main reason for the problems
that occurred. Task loading was the other reason, as you would expect. The
details aren't all that interesting, really.

Which is why I usually urge relatively new - whatever that means - divers 
to go easy on their diving depths. And no, not trying to be a scuba cop
here, I don't really care what anyone else does, since I do not teach
scuba.

But flooding a mask or having a freeflow a depth can cause serious problems
for someone inexperienced to deal with the problem intuitively. Many German
dive accident reports state the initial problem as "regulator freeze up"
and the subsequent  inability of the divers to deal with the problem.
Should they have been at the depth where the problem occurred to begin
with? Don't think so.

michael, delray

PS: sorry, no further Boynton/Boca dive reports for this past weekend. The
weather was not cooperating and both of my planned trips were cancelled.