The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver • Hacker News Board

Re: The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver

#21

Post by yason » Sun, May 13, 2018, 2:00 PM UTC

Xylakant wrote: post #13

Hendrikto wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may not be politically correct to say, but there ARE differences between men and women. One of them is that, generally speaking, men are more willing to take higher risks for money and recognition.

Saying this is politically correct. The contentious issue is the question of why this is so. Is it because society shapes us in such a way that men are more inclined to take risks for money and recognition. This would imply things can change and women can be excellent saturation divers. Or is it because our genes shape us in this way, making it impossible for women to excel at diving.

Or maybe money and recognition aren't that valuable intrinsically and the industry is basically (ab)using men craving for those both. Maybe women are simply much smarter to not choose that line of job in the first place, or it would take a lot more of something else than money and recognition to convince them to take those risks.

Re: The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver

#22

Post by crististm » Sun, May 13, 2018, 2:01 PM UTC

Xylakant wrote: post #13

Hendrikto wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may not be politically correct to say, but there ARE differences between men and women. One of them is that, generally speaking, men are more willing to take higher risks for money and recognition.

Saying this is politically correct. The contentious issue is the question of why this is so. Is it because society shapes us in such a way that men are more inclined to take risks for money and recognition. This would imply things can change and women can be excellent saturation divers. Or is it because our genes shape us in this way, making it impossible for women to excel at diving.

What about the society makes a compelling reason for either men or women to take high or low risks?

Re: The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver

#23

Post by crististm » Sun, May 13, 2018, 2:08 PM UTC

Hendrikto wrote: post #12

DEFCON28 wrote: post #7

Are they unusually well-compensated for this sort of construction work?

It may not be politically correct to say, but there ARE differences between men and women. One of them is that, generally speaking, men are more willing to take higher risks for money and recognition.

Yes there are differences - I wonder makes it necessary to protect yourself against contrarians with the "politically correctness" tagging of your statement?

Re: The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver

#24

Post by gaius » Sun, May 13, 2018, 2:44 PM UTC

I know so many guys who planned to do this for 2-3 years to make some money and 20+ years later they’re still doing it, they (or their wives) spend the money faster than they make it, and their bones are getting brittle from the nitrogen...

(Former professional diver but I never did North Sea etc)

Re: The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver

#25

Post by eggy » Sun, May 13, 2018, 2:45 PM UTC

I worked as a technical diver, not a saturation diver, with full-face comms and Nitrox and spare air, servicing underwater hydraulics/electrical systems for over 450 dives. No need for extended stays underwater or lengthy decompression. Most injuries were related to the physical labor around heavy moving machinery and tool usage. Glad to say there were few injuries and these were all minor injuries of those involved. The important technical point is that the largest increase in volume takes place in the first atmosphere or 33 ft (10 m) under the surface. The inverted bucket example of a full bucket of air going from full of air to half air at 33 ft below surface. It goes from 1/2 full of air to 1/3 at the 2-3 atm change. And that's where most typical recreational diving takes place with a maximum of 30 m to 40 m (100 ft to 130 ft). Diving in confined spaces with the surface blocked by structure or machinery, and with the occasional oil leak causing visibility of less than 24 inches due to light diffusion provided for a mix of challenging tasks while staying calm and rational. I miss that part of it all.

Re: The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver

#26

Post by gaius » Sun, May 13, 2018, 2:52 PM UTC

DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #9

piker wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They needed his salary (not surprisingly, saturation divers are well-compensated, up to $1,400 per day), so his wife told him to finish the job.

I see from the article that salaries haven't changed much since the 90ies.

Yeah - phenomenal money in the 90s and everyone wore a Rolex... now the money is pretty decent while working but big gaps between jobs

Re: The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver

#27

Post by kk58 » Sun, May 13, 2018, 2:55 PM UTC

Sat diving in oil and gas is primarily conducted off a "DSV" aka diving support vessel. Usually SAT spread ia required for subsea work below 40m to 130m. While it is theoretically possible for deeper sat dives, the burn rate of oxygen at deeper depths is quite high which results in big increase in diving crew to 1 manhour of job. Most diving crews also hhave a DMT or diving medical tech. Kinda like diving ER. Mostly this stuff is safe but sometimes divers get disoriented or make mistakes which results in hazards.

Re: The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver

#28

Post by yardie » Sun, May 13, 2018, 2:58 PM UTC

DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #2

been there. done that :) not as dangerous as the article says. at least not the diving part. most of the injuries are people mishandling high-pressure systems (valves, plumbing), electrical hazards (water+electricity), gas leaks, burns ... basically anything that can go wrong on construction sites, but only you're out at sea exposed to the elements. those few times that accidents do happen with divers in a saturation…

I have a friend who works in the North Sea and I envy his life. We met and sailed the Mediterranean together. I took 2 years off to go sailing full time while he managed to work it into his schedule.

He is 3 on, 2 off or 2 on, 3 off the rig. While I’m back in the office he can continue to sail indefinitely. You can accomplish so much with a job that gives you plenty of time off every month.

Re: The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver

#29

Post by kk58 » Sun, May 13, 2018, 2:58 PM UTC

DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #2

been there. done that :) not as dangerous as the article says. at least not the diving part. most of the injuries are people mishandling high-pressure systems (valves, plumbing), electrical hazards (water+electricity), gas leaks, burns ... basically anything that can go wrong on construction sites, but only you're out at sea exposed to the elements. those few times that accidents do happen with divers in a saturation…

What were you doing offshore? Commissioning for topsides is it? How did you pivot from field to coding job?

Re: The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver

#30

Post by Xylakant » Sun, May 13, 2018, 2:58 PM UTC

crististm wrote: post #22

Xylakant wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Saying this is politically correct. The contentious issue is the question of why this is so. Is it because society shapes us in such a way that men are more inclined to take risks for money and recognition. This would imply things can change and women can be excellent saturation divers. Or is it because our genes shape us in this way, making it impossible for women to excel at diving.

What about the society makes a compelling reason for either men or women to take high or low risks?

Role models for example. Movie heroes, book or video game protagonists are predominantly male. That shapes perception and expectations of desired and acceptable behavior.