Dan Manion's Diving Habits

[Paul E. Pettennude]

Group,

I am specifically addressing this posting to the individual who came to Dan
Manion's gallant defense in response to a comment that I made about Dan
getting a major, debilitating episode of the bends.

I take it you know Dan Manion personally as do I and have talked to him
about his insane diving habits and heard him say to everybody I should have
listened.

For the rest of you Dan Manion is a physician who resides in Britain. He
is one of those rare individuals who has an extraordinary tolerance to
nitrogen almost bordering on resistance.

Dan learned early on that he could dive to extraordinary depths on air and
not get narked. Dan took this ability and pushed it beyond what many of us
who push the envelope consider safe. He would, for example, do three back
to back dives exceeding 200 fsw with surface intervals as little as an
hour. A couple of times he would hang out for a half an hour and head back
in. Dan totally disregarded waiting to fly time recommendations. He would
come to Miami, do radical dives and hop back on a Virgin Atlantic Airways
flight back to London.

All of us went to see him when he was in the Mercy Hospital recompression
chamber after his disastrous dive. It was his second major decompression
dive of the day. It was he who admitted without encouragement that what he
did was insane, not us. At least we try to manage our insanity.

I am sending Dan a copy of his email by snail, because I have misplaced his
address. If one of you has it, please send it to me and/or pass along my
posting.

To whoever tried to flame me. You ought to know who you are flaming before
you make an ass out of yourself. If you want someone else to worship, I
know a guy named Charlie Manson who would like to meet you.

Paul Pettennude