Turks And Caicos

[mark]

I am going to the islands on business in the fall and would like to do some kendo while I am there. Does anyone know if their is a dojo on either island?

[Paikea]

Can I have your job?

[Ignatz]

Not aware of any kendo but the diving is pretty good.

[mark]

Can I have your job?

It is actually pretty easy to find a conference/seminar/business meeting in almost any place you can think of at any time of the year on almost every topic of interest.
The problem is finding a way or someone to hold down the fort and take care of the cat while you are gone

[mark]

Not aware of any kendo but the diving is pretty good.

Actually, that was the main reason the islands were selected for the meetings.
I recently re-certified my advanced and was surprised to learn that nitrox is quite common and that 130-160 bounces are done by non-pros. Wow, things have changed since my hydralung days.

[Neil Gendzwill]

The problem is finding a way or someone to hold down the fort and take care of the cat while you are gone

There's also the little problem of getting someone to pay your way out there and foot the bill for the expenses.

[Paikea]

Hell, since 2001 I'm not allowed to leave the building. Haven't had a good junket all decade.

[Ignatz]

Actually, that was the main reason the islands were selected for the meetings.
I recently re-certified my advanced and was surprised to learn that nitrox is quite common and that 130-160 bounces are done by non-pros. Wow, things have changed since my hydralung days.

Way too deep for nitrox. Most people mistake nitrox for trimix. Many places now have nitrox certification courses so if they do, I would recommend one.
In a nutshell, oxygen is, as you know toxic at depth so if we increase the percentage of oxygen we limit our depth but increase our bottom time. What I like to do, especially if I am doing 2 or 3 dives a day for 2 weeks is dive with nitrox (usually under 90 feet and even less) and use regular air tables (yep, I still know how to use tables) or set the computer for air rather than nitrox.

What this does is limit the amount of nitrogen packed in my weary old body and makes it easier to off-gas. As a result I am not beat up as much.

160 foot dives with a 3 minute bottom time are not what I call fun.

[mark]

There's also the little problem of getting someone to pay your way out there and foot the bill for the expenses.

I am sure most departments of a reasonable size have a professional development budget. For example, the governments I have worked with use a 3% of salary as a rule of thumb for the training budget. In technical jobs, I have seen it as high as 10%, and is used as a principle motivator for having someone stick around.

If you combine that with the current unusual constellation of seat and hotel sales our expectations of what things should costs does not jive with how exotic the location is.

Sometimes local seminars end up costing a lot more than more exotic spots. I was recently asked to fork out 2k to spend a weekend in the burbs and listen to someone chat. I can spend a weekend in England on the same topic for less than half of that. Go figure.

[mark]

Way too deep for nitrox. Most people mistake nitrox for trimix. Many places now have nitrox certification courses so if they do, I would recommend one.
In a nutshell, oxygen is, as you know toxic at depth so if we increase the percentage of oxygen we limit our depth but increase our bottom time. What I like to do, especially if I am doing 2 or 3 dives a day for 2 weeks is dive with nitrox (usually under 90 feet and even less) and use regular air tables (yep, I still know how to use tables) or set the computer for air rather than nitrox.

What this does is limit the amount of nitrogen packed in my weary old body and makes it easier to off-gas. As a result I am not beat up as much.

160 foot dives with a 3 minute bottom time are not what I call fun.

When I took my initial training you were an ass looking for trouble if you went bellow 100. I agree that a 3 min bounce is interesting the first time and that is about it.

I haven't even heard of trimix (is that the same as heliox) and have never used a dive computer I guess I better start reading if I am going to become a dive bum instructor and take my vacations au pair

[Paikea]

Ask Gibbo, I've been scheduled to go visit our sites in Bristol and Cambridge three times and had it canceled due to cost-cutting each time. I mean, I was going to see the white keikogi, the chopsticks up the nose, the stolen parking meter, and everything. Maybe this year...

Training in the Caribbean? When hell freezes over, I'd guess.

[mark]

Ask Gibbo, I've been scheduled to go visit our sites in Bristol and Cambridge three times and had it canceled due to cost-cutting each time. I mean, I was going to see the white keikogi, the chopsticks up the nose, the stolen parking meter, and everything. Maybe this year...

Training in the Caribbean? When hell freezes over, I'd guess.

You are on the other side of the continent! You should be looking at Hawaii! California! Now for me thats expensive

[Ignatz]

Mark, Here is some info:

http://www.techdiver.ws/trimix_eng.shtml

I don't see any real reason to dive deep anymore. Give me a nice reef at about 50-60 feet and i can stay down forever. I used to dive in the shark tank at the N.C. Aquarium (pause for lawyer jokes) and really got in the groove with buoyancy control and can really relax and use almost no air.

When you start going deep (and 130 is still considered the limit for recreation divers) you need the low oxygen to keep from going into convulsions and need to replace the nitrogen with helium to keep your off-gassing hang time to reasonable levels. You also need to keep the narcosis under control. What is Martini's rule? Every 50 feet is like drinking a martini. Iggy's Martini rule is that Martinis are like tits. One's not enough and three's too many.

Back to the deep dive, when you are looking at the 160-240 range you really need to stage tanks. Have a nice nitrox tank waiting for you at 90 feet so you can hang there and off-gas quicker and better.

[Paikea]

You are on the other side of the continent! You should be looking at Hawaii! California! Now for me thats expensive

I'm fortunate if they let me take the trolly downtown for a seminar at the convention center.

[mark]

Mark, Here is some info:

http://www.techdiver.ws/trimix_eng.shtml

I don't see any real reason to dive deep anymore. Give me a nice reef at about 50-60 feet and i can stay down forever. I used to dive in the shark tank at the N.C. Aquarium (pause for lawyer jokes) and really got in the groove with buoyancy control and can really relax and use almost no air.

When you start going deep (and 130 is still considered the limit for recreation divers) you need the low oxygen to keep from going into convulsions and need to replace the nitrogen with helium to keep your off-gassing hang time to reasonable levels. You also need to keep the narcosis under control. What is Martini's rule? Every 50 feet is like drinking a martini. Iggy's Martini rule is that Martinis are like tits. One's not enough and three's too many.

Back to the deep dive, when you are looking at the 160-240 range you really need to stage tanks. Have a nice nitrox tank waiting for you at 90 feet so you can hang there and off-gas quicker and better.

I agree, there is nothing better than vegging out and watching the same little fishy do its thing for a half hour or so.