On Wednesday, April 11, 2001 11:19 AM, Chuck wrote:

(snip)
> Yeah, BTDT have the t-shirt probably wore it out.  Reliance on a J-valve
> is/was a really good way to become a statistic.

I didn't suggest that anyone 'rely' on a 'J'-valve!  What I did try and
point up was that faced with doing a dive without knowing how much gas you
were carrying, the 'J'-valve was a better option.  And in terms of popping
into an overhead environment, a 'J'-valve was a much better bet than a 'K'
valve.  Having that reserve allowed a person to descend and - hopefully -
find their way back out of a confined space, whereas a 'K' valve didn't
allow that luxury!

There was a twin fatality in Oz in '73, when a brother and sister - diving
in the sink holes of South Australia, (and using 'K' valves with SPG's) let
go the line and followed the wrong tunnel to the surface.  It was a flooded
dead-end.  It is/was presumed that had they had 'J' valves they may have
survived!

>I learned in the late 60's
> and we still didnt have SPGs (or wetsuits in lake Michigan either.)

Why the hell would anyone dive without:
a) Being able to monitor their gas supply?  Or:
b) Having even a small back-up reserve to warn them that time was limited?

Strike