On Wed, 21 Aug 2002 08:28:37 -0400, Huw Porter <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>With the club trip to Scapa Flow just a fortnight away, six club
>members arrived at Portland Port for a warmup day trip for six club
>members.  <huge snip of the kiwi shears>

Great report... look forward to the one on Scapa Flow.

>As the boat picked us up, the skipper told us we have missed all the
>fun, and two of our crew had already been airlifted to shore.  Our
>seasick friend lost control of his drysuit with a blocked autodump
>after about 15 mins on the bottom, despite heroic efforts from his
>buddy he blew up from 20 metres and immediately started showing
>symptoms.

Crikey! Good to hear the rescue operation went like clockwork.
Recreational drysuit diving is such a rarity over this side of the
island .. in fact I can only recall seeing someone kitted up in one ONCE in
Perth & that was down at Rockingham on the Malibu wrecks.  Folks further
down south in places like Esperance or Albany may use them more but they
are scarce as hens teeth over here due to the cost.
Viv