This dive deserves a separate entry. It was my first deco dive. Meaning taking an extra tank of higher oxygen level (40% vs. air which is 21%) and spending time in the shallows allowing the nitrogen accumulated at depth to come out of the body tissues safely.

The dive was spectacular. Perfect conditions. We ramped down to the wreck and the view was spectacular. From 55 meters down you could see the surface. Such a vista.

The Taiyong is a barge that was scuttled in 1997 and has been undisturbed due to the depth and that it was only recently found. It is really cool as it was a working barge, it has a large crane and it sits on teh crane at about a 45 degree angle.

Her overall length is 36m with a beam of 15m. She lies on her starboard side with the bow pointing towards the shore. The depth on her port side varies from 32m to 40m, with the tip of the derrick (crane) touching 57 m. She has an intact wheel house and a massive winch mechanism.

If you went to these depths without dual tanks and decompression gas as well it would be suicide. Plus of course you need proper training and some experience. The other thing you face when going below 30 meters is Nitrogen Narcosis which affects some people more than others. Well, it actually effects everyone, but everyone deals with it differently. I didn’t find it an obstacle, though it was there.

For more on narcosis click “more” below…
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So you can know the differnce between suits. I did my probably last dry suit dive for a while today. Now the water is warmer and I’ll switch to the wet suit.

And to end it in style, the dry suit, which uses latex rubber cuffs at the wrists, neck and has built in boots leaked on my right arm from my wrist. You wear polar fleece or other other undergarments in a dry suit to stay warm depending on the water temperature. Well fortunately the water was quite warm so I just got a wet arm. I saw the problem on the way down, it was my polar fleece sticking out of the cuff and letting water in, and fixed it.

Waterproof Wetsuits – Divester

Remember his dad?

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Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Adventures