Peacock, traverse / reverse OC Staging.

[Mike Edmonston]

Hi gang,

Beth and I were diving Peacock last weekend (Nice leisurely dive up peanut line and back..), and once back in the parking lot, the subject of the traverse / reverse on a single dive came up.

When you guys dive the traverse and back, how do you like to manage your stages? (RB guys, this doesn't apply ).

Do you like to set some up at Challenge and P1? Do you take one from OG and drop it at challenge, then switch? Do you make the dive stage only with backgas as reserve?

I'm just curious as to the different methods you guys use, as I'm not planning on doing this dive anytime soon. I first have to lose quite a bit of excess whale blubber .

Safe Diving

[chimie007]

hahah I had the same thoughts after doing a traverse last fall. Here is what I had came up with (from an old email I wrote at the time) but never acted on it. Probably never will. Curious to hear on those who really have done the dive.
........

I was more thinking along the line of a double traverse
P1-Peanut-Challenge-OG and back.
All you have to do is park a stage from the surface at Challenge using
a big rope. That dive would not require any clean up dive.

P1-Peanut breathing one stage to empty, swap it at Challenge. Breathe
stage to OG, run a real from OG EOL to step, clip stage. Go on back
gas, reel in and exit the same we came in. All we have to do is to go
pick up the empty stage left in Challenge and OG from the surface.

That dive might even be doable using only one stage but using two
stages makes it safer and more likely to be finished without aborting.

Based on this weekend dives, I used 1600 PSI to do the whole traverse.
So I need 2400 PSI in my double to do it by the rules. So using one AL80 stage and
1000 PSI out of my backgas for the 1st traverse would leave enough to
complete the return traverse.

[Mike Edmonston]

The way we were talking about it would be one long circuit. OG to challenge on 1 stage. Drop stage, pick up fresh stage. Run line across challenge then follow to EOL. Now, run a reel from Challenge line to peanut line, then go to end of peanut line and run a reel to Olsen line. Now backtrack a bit and follow peanut line to P1. Turn at P1 and go on Backgas while following olsen line back to challenge line. Pick up both reels from peanut and olsen line. (gap reel left at Olsen would need to be cleaned up on a later dive). Follow line to challenge, (pick up reel), then exit at OG (pick up primary).

Seems like it would be a workout, but rather fun .

I would love to hear how others have actually done this dive.

Safe Diving

[Sludge]

Why the stage? It takes me 1300psi from a set of 95s one-way, so as long as I don't mind re-calculating thirds at Challenge, I should be okay.

[Mike Edmonston]

Why the stage? It takes me 1300psi from a set of 95s one-way, so as long as I don't mind re-calculating thirds at Challenge, I should be okay.

Not all of us are "Super SAC Studs"

Safe Diving

[Kelly Jessop]

We call that dive the mega-traverse. How I have done this in the past was carrying a stage and dropping the stage at the Peanut restriction junction. On the return trip we would pick up the stage and exit the Peanut line since it is a little shallower and easier on the deco.

[Mike Edmonston]

We call that dive the mega-traverse. How I have done this in the past was carrying a stage and dropping the stage at the Peanut restriction junction. On the return trip we would pick up the stage and exit the Peanut line since it is a little shallower and easier on the deco.

Thanks Kelly,

Was your run time about 3.5 hours with Deco?

Safe Diving

[skip]

The grand traverse (and back) was written up in recent past issue of the NACD journal. Actuall footage was recorded, gas usage, and all the needed info is in the article. If i remember correctly they did the dive without dropping stages (but had one, maybe two), but I don't remember if they surfaced at challenge and recalculated thirds (which is a common thing to do). Mike and I have done the grand traverse and back many times on paper and in our dreams - you may find a cookie or two left as part of our efforts at coming at it from different routes. One day we may actually do the dive and not just keep scoping it out!

and by the way, there is a major thread on the grand traverse somewhere on here with a ton of good info - in fact I think it was all the discussion and counter discussion on that thread that led to the dive published in the journal. all of it is a real good read. an example of some of the best that online forums can produce.

edit: here's the link: http://www.cavediver.net/forum/showt...Grand+Traverse


-skip

[chimie007]

The grand traverse (and back) was written up in recent past issue of the NACD journal. Actuall footage was recorded, gas usage, and all the needed info is in the article. If i remember correctly they did the dive without dropping stages (but had one, maybe two), but I don't remember if they surfaced at challenge and recalculated thirds (which is a common thing to do). Mike and I have done the grand traverse and back many times on paper and in our dreams - you may find a cookie or two left as part of our efforts at coming at it from different routes. One day we may actually do the dive and not just keep scoping it out!

and by the way, there is a major thread on the grand traverse somewhere on here with a ton of good info - in fact I think it was all the discussion and counter discussion on that thread that led to the dive published in the journal. all of it is a real good read. an example of some of the best that online forums can produce.

edit: here's the link: http://www.cavediver.net/forum/showt...Grand+Traverse


-skip

Skip, are you talking about Larry Green's article ? They actually did a bunch of dives to measure actual gas consumption in the different parts of the traverse. But they didn't have time to do the mega-traverse. They did however prove that they could do it within thirds with the gas they were carrying during the test phase. I don't recall if it was one or two stages.

[Mike Edmonston]

The grand traverse (and back) was written up in recent past issue of the NACD journal. Actuall footage was recorded, gas usage, and all the needed info is in the article. If i remember correctly they did the dive without dropping stages (but had one, maybe two), but I don't remember if they surfaced at challenge and recalculated thirds (which is a common thing to do). Mike and I have done the grand traverse and back many times on paper and in our dreams - you may find a cookie or two left as part of our efforts at coming at it from different routes. One day we may actually do the dive and not just keep scoping it out!

and by the way, there is a major thread on the grand traverse somewhere on here with a ton of good info - in fact I think it was all the discussion and counter discussion on that thread that led to the dive published in the journal. all of it is a real good read. an example of some of the best that online forums can produce.

edit: here's the link: http://www.cavediver.net/forum/showt...Grand+Traverse


-skip

Thank you very much for the link. I will check it out. Should make for good reading.

Is the NACD article available on-line or is it in a back issue?

Safe Diving