12/08/2005: "BENT.......in George Street, Sydney (story)"

Pictured at a park in Broome (WA) a one-man recompression chamber, or iron coffin for many.

The former Mick Simmons dive store in Haymarket, under the direction of ex Royal Australian Navy diver, Wally Reynolds, installed one of these (new) recompression chambers.

One day I was the recipient of a dangerous skin bends while experimenting with Wally Reynolds:

Impossible to get bent without going diving!

Not if you play around inside a recompression chamber.

Wally Reynolds was soon to take 17 year-old Kathy Troutt on her world record scuba dive for women.

I was missing from my job nearby. I’d taken the day’s takings to a bank nearby and slipped in to the shop with a bag of fruit for the dive shop staff, as I often did.

Removing my leather apron and fruit case axe-hammer, at Wally’s invitation, I slid into the steel recompression chamber for a trial deep dive.

The justification being, I was planning a deep dive on the Birchgrove Park shipwreck (at 165 feet) and had never been below 60 feet deep so far.

I was curious as to how easier or difficult ear-clearing might be. Wally suggested I get in the chamber and do a dive without getting wet.

Wally then closed the lid and opened valves to increase the internal pressure with compressed air until I was at a depth equivalent to 180 feet. This took a few minutes. The air was very cold.

I communicated with the outside via a microphone; there was a viewing window at face level. My voice developed the ‘Donald Duck’ tone (as per helium gas).

After a short time at this depth, I was given a rapid return to the surface pressure. This was the mistake.

Climbing out, Wally asked how I felt. OK except my legs are ‘all prickly’. Although nothing was said, it was fortunate Wally recognised the symptoms and did not hesitate to correct the situation.

Back into the chamber for another pressurisation this time with a slower ‘return to the surface pressure’.

Years later R.E. Grounds, an experienced commercial diver with oil rig dive operations diagnosed the itchy legs sensation as rather serious ‘skin bends’.

Whatever became of Wally Reynolds and his diving career is unknown. Kathy Troutt had an interesting career with movies and dolphin, especially.

My dive on the Birchgrove Park went smoothly. A rapid decent to the bottom. I’ve never had any ear clearing problems and can clear as fast as I can swim in a vertical position.

Maybe the dive in the chamber helped the ears all those years ago?

12/08/2005: "BENT.......in George Street, Sydney (story)"

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