Random Jottings
RIP Rob Stewart
Diving, deep diving when all said and done is a pretty crazy way to spend your spare time. The science of DCS is far from exact and you can get a bad hit for no apparent, obvious reason, as I know.
It appears that Rob Stewart was doing some deep 'tech' stuff off Florida, on a well known and well dived wreck and surfaced before disappearing, that much appears 'fact' and also that his body must have sunk pretty much back to the wreck where it was found at the end of the search.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38831134
I guess from a diving point of view the worrying part of the reports are that this was his third dive of the day to the wreck, so that's three seventy metre dives in a day, pretty extreme or as it turned out terminally.
The reports indicate that a buddy also blacked out on the surface which may indicate a systematic problem with their rebreathers or alternatively they both suffered from deep water blackout with Rob Stewart 'drifting away' as the other guy was rescued.
I will be waiting for the report with interest to see if it was what could be classed as a forseeable event or if it is deemed that his luck ran out and he was subject to a random DCS hit?
Brief Update
If the reports of repetitive, deep, deco dives are accurate it would be interesting to see what PPO2 was used as this brings it's own issues with CNS which may lead to drowsiness, disorientation, dizziness but most usually a seizure and immediate loss of conciousness.....familar if you read the news reports for the incident.......
https://www.tdisdi.com/pulminary-oxygen-toxicity-with-technical-divers/
https://www.diverite.com/articles/oxygen-toxicity-signs-and-symptoms/
Dive safe
RichW
Latest Photographs


A Snakelocks Anemone (Anemonia viridian), most at Oban are quite small when compared with the monsters you see at Babbacombe and other South Coast sites.
Another footballer work of some description.......
I am pretty damn sure that this section is the very bows of the Yewglen, I am looking for the ideal Kate Twinset to recreate that Titanic scene!
The bows of SS Breda, or at least the very front of the cut down bow section after she was wire cut to 28ft.
This is the lair and just visible part of the Common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) that lives there, if you look in some of the 'squattie burrows' quite a few contain octopus that have eaten the original owner and set up shop!
I also had the cascabel end engraved, a nice touch I thought.
A Green shore crab (Carcinus maenas) this one was busy digging a hole, there must have been something down there.
And of course there is more life, including the Velvet swimming Crab (Necora puber) which are almost everywhere and are voracious predators catching fish!
A Lobster (Hamarus gammarus) this is a Blue Fiends view of a diver, I got my buddy to keep its attention and snook around to get this photo, he was off in a shot when the flash fired!
Plastics, arrrrrrgh!
A view of the business end of an Angler-fish (Lophius piscatorious) there are loads about the sites and once you've spotted one they become easier to see.
Another bit of a small windlass arrangement, or alternatively as it is in a certain location part of the lifting tackle that was mounted on the masts and superstructure of the vessel?
An Edible Crab (Cancer pagurus), there a few of these critters about but most if not all are of a size that would mean little or no meat, that said technically they would be legal...
More lead bilge pipe from Mistley, how much was there?
Looking back towards the Carnatic from the bowsprit, Abu Nuhas Reef
An internal photo of SS Breda
It's easy to see that these are not machine made as the top of the shaft is round whilst the 'point' is square section and the head is simply a piece of shaft 'peened' over.
Again in dating terms nails were machine made from the start of the nineteenth centrury so a useful dating aid providing that you find 'lots'. If you only locate one or two it may be that teh ships carpenter made them for a specific job.
Oh, lots of nails also implies that the ship was copper sheathed, again useful in dating terms.