Captain's Chronicles August 2024

Staying longer / Rainbows / Help Me!

There are several ways I could take the theme of staying longer. Like when a houseguest that you didn’t really invite in the first place decides they are going to stay longer than you expected. There is a very popular blue pill that allows males to stay longer. I think the phrase erectile dysfunction is misleading. Most men at least my age have followed that thing around for over 40 years now (some of us recklessly). Seems like erectile exhaustion would be more appropriate! You guys all know that I’m talking about Nitrox though. Nitrox or Enriched Air is a blend of gas with a higher oxygen concentration than the normal 21%. There are a few misconceptions about Nitrox. No, you cannot dive deeper. In fact, it actually decreases your depth limit. Not unlike the band Sweet’s song; ‘Love is Like Oxygen’… you get too much you get too high, not enough and you’re gonna die. Oxygen becomes toxic at depth and can lead to oxygen toxicity (uncontrollable convulsions, not good on a scuba dive)! The maximum depth a diver can go with a blend of 32% oxygen is 110 feet. At 36% oxygen the maximum depth is 90 feet.  Since there is more oxygen in our air, there is less nitrogen. Nitrox does a fantastic job of extending maximum dive times at intermediate deaths. It is invaluable on live-aboard boats where you may be doing up to seven dives in a day. Besides more dive time, many people claim that they feel less fatigued after diving on Nitrox versus air.  It’s an easy course too. After 90 or so minutes on the computer absorbing the PADI e-learning material, it takes about 20 minutes in the shop to complete a multiple-choice quick review and learn how to analyze the oxygen content in Nitrox blends. If you’re on the fence about pursuing the certification, consider this: Nitrox is just a unique, badass sounding word. Think about how cool you’ll feel when you tell others, yeah I’m a Nitrox Diver!

Yesterday during a light rain Jayce, Jayden and I paused to appreciate a beautiful double rainbow. I started thinking about me as a young boy playing with a hose in the front yard in northern Ohio. When the water was coming out at the right speed and angle a rainbow would magically appear. I was absolutely astounded and ran inside to share my discovery with my mom.  It was northern Ohio, so I spent a lot more time looking at gray skies than arches of the color spectrum spanning the sky! Like our sunsets, our rainbows here in Southwest Florida can be phenomenal. As I was pondering rainbows yesterday, I started thinking about our ancestors and how some of the things they saw in the sky affected them. Without the knowledge to know what was causing these abnormalities, witnessing events such as eclipses and rainbows must have been very impactful. I imagine eclipses caused foreboding and gloom. I wonder if our ancestors got up and did a dance when rainbows appeared in the sky? Seeing an arch of colors in the sky gives me a similar feeling to seeing a cool marine critter underwater. I love rainbows! I will finish with this… Rainbows belong to each and everyone of us, not just any separate group of people!

I’m in danger of missing my deadline so I’m going to keep this last paragraph short and sweet. Instructor John asked me to write something about the Rescue Diver class which he is talking about and pushing hard. Rightfully so, as a diver having the knowledge and ability to help others and possibly save them from harm is confidence builder. I pray that none of us ever hears the scream of ‘HELP ME’ from a distressed diver. It would be even more disturbing to hear that cry and not know what to do or how to help. I’m not going to rant on with lengthy comments about why you should earn your Rescue Diver certification. I will say this: almost every diver that I have spoke with that has taken the course says that it was not only the most informative scuba course they’ve had, but it was also the most fun! 

Have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend all!

Live Love Dive… Even if it’s not in Cuba!  —Jeff