Bali Nitrox

Hi Guys,

my missus and I are booked to go over to Bali in September, and have booked a week at Scuba Seraya, the question is...is it worth completing the PADI Enriched Air Course before we go? We both completed our Advanced Open Water in Egypt in March and wondered whether Nitrox would useful in the Tulamben region, or whether the diving is a little less rushed than from Dayboats etc. We will eventually do the course before we go back to Egypt next spring, but was thinking in putting off the course til then (to try cut costs on the Bali trip a little)

Anyway your thoughts would be gratefully recieved

Mooseman

Depending on who you ask, nitrox is beneficial to diving and should be standard. Not only for the extended bottom time but also as a safety buffer with less nitrogen loading. I dive nitrox wherever and whenever I can. The course is probably as cheap as in Egypt so there's no real cost savings.

Doing it there is as nice a place as any, especially if you are good with air consumption and can beat the limits of air at depth. If you get lucky with a mola mola on the wreck at the deep cleaning station, the extra minutes will make a difference.

Hi Mooseman -

the diving at Scuba Seraya is for sure NOT a litte less rushed, but I can almost guarantee it is A LOT less rushed!

As for Nitrox - just as Drew said, there are different opinions...

In Egypt it is IMHO mostly used to prevent people from going deep - when you use Nitrox there is just no discussion about 40+ meters ... (okay, PADI doesn't like to go their divers that deep anyhow ).

In the Tulamben area you normally don't go deep (although I found sea urchins with Coleman shrimps at 40m two years ago), so it depends on how many dives you do. If you want to have extra safety, you could set your dive computer for air on your 4. or 5. dive and use nitrox. With two or three dives a day - it works with and without Nitrox.

If I find something interesting at depth and want to stay, I just make a decompression dive. In Tulamben, this will give me a couple of minutes at 3m (the dive profiles there will for sure not force me into a 6m stop) - which I consider as an "extended safety stop".

In the end, it depends if you want to spend part of your holiday with a dive course. I personally would prefer to do the course at home and enjoy my time at Scuba Seraya hanging around at the seaside when not underwater!

Jock

In the end, it depends if you want to spend part of your holiday with a dive course. I personally would prefer to do the course at home and enjoy my time at Scuba Seraya hanging around at the seaside when not underwater!

If it's PADI nitrox, it's a dry course. No dives necessary.

You could always get the book before you go, read up on it, then just do the classroom work when you get there. 2-3 hours tops.

Nitrox is not some mystery gas, Analyse it, work out MOD (Maximum Operating Depth) and no deco limits (or set your computer) and dive it.

I spent a year diving in the Lembeh Straits and used Nitrox for almost every dive. But I'm not sure that the dive profiles around Tulumben really make Nitrox worth while there. The profiles are generally less flat and not so much time is spent in the 18-25m range

Having said that, as others have pointed out, the course is straight-forward and shouldn't take away from your diving time. If there is no significant extra cost for Nitrox and the course is a good deal then why not.....

Cheers guys,

I was planning to do the course over here, but have already spent a bloody fortune on the trip and its coming down to a cost issue at the min. The way I see it its going to be an extra £300 (£100 to do the course plus an Extra £3 per dive when away (6 days of min 3 dives a day) so another £50+) for both of us. I know the nitrox course will always be with me but given that I am often the limiting factor on our previous dives (rather than NDL's/time) i want sure if spending the extra £300 on this holiday would be worth it. I suppose the more dives i do per day ....whos to say we only want to do 3 a day :-) enriched air would definately help to increase our safety profile

Why oh why didnt I choose a cheaper leisure activity.....

Mooseman