Page 69 - Central America

G rapher and the first blue hole explorer, sickness, associated with deeper diving.
eorge Benjamin, a professional photog- sis and an increased risk of decompression depths as they explore the wall. Those div-

ing from an anchored boat often dive at one

did hundreds of wall dives from the Berry S ince the majority of walls are effectively depth during the against-the-current leg
Islands to the southern tip of Andros in the bottomless and the water often gin- and ascend to a shallower depth for the re-
1950s and ‘60s. He is quoted in Rob Palmer’s turn leg. Having something to explore at any

book, Deep into Blue Holes: “Going over the clear, it is easy for a diver to descend beyond depth is one of the attractions of wall diving

edge of the wall is like flying a small plane the planned maximum depth, even beyond — you can begin ascending from your maxi-

into the Grand Canyon - and the descent is the sport-diving limit: 130 feet or 40 m. That mum depth and still have plenty of diving

like slowly falling down a huge mountain is one obvious reason why buoyancy con- left before reaching the top of the wall.

face? I feel an absolute, timeless silence, trol is a critical skill for wall divers. Because S ince wall diving often involves diving
which I cannot easily describe and which is, a diver becomes more negatively buoy- deep, wall divers should watch for the
for me, unique. I fully understand Cousteau’s ant as he descends, it is important that he

choice of title for The Silent World.” add air to his buoyancy compensator as he onset of nitrogen narcosis, a physiological

W all Diving is not for the poorly trained goes deeper on the wall. This slows the rate condition that occurs when the nervous sys-
or rusty diver. It does not require un- of descent and makes it easier to establish tem is exposed to increased nitrogen pres-
neutral buoyancy upon reaching the desired sure. Nitrogen narcosis usually occurs at

usual physical conditioning or special skill diving depth. depths of 100 feet (30 m) but some divers

development, but good diving fitness and may begin to feel its effects at shallower
mastery of basic scuba skills are a must. Ex- depth
egardless of the environment you dive,
Rcellent buoyancy control, astute depth, air the deepest part of your dive profile

supply and bottom time monitoring are im- should be done first. Wall divers generally

portant. Divers must understand the physi- descend to their maximum planned depth,

ological challenges, namely nitrogen narco- and then ascend to progressively shallower