Welcome!
It is very important to us that our divers agree to support our goals. Please read the following and indicate whether you agree to support it.
BAUE is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the exploration of the undersea region of northern California. We believe that the safest and most effective method to achieve this goal is to follow the DIR (Doing It Right) philosophy of diving originated by George Irvine and Jarrod Jablonski, and taught through Global Underwater Explorers. We believe strongly in GUE's mission and we actively seek to support them.
Each BAUE diver is a representative of BAUE to the diving public. All actions taken by a diver reflect on BAUE as a whole. Each person will make their own life decisions, however the point of BAUE is to promote and practice a standardized approach to diving. Safety is paramount to everything we do. The DIR philosophy is an attempt to learn from and prevent accidents. We strongly believe in the value of our system and must insist that our divers dive within its framework.
Our four core principles are the unified team, no deep air, diver preparedness and situational awareness. We expect BAUE divers to adhere to these principles on all sport dives regardless of whether they are part of a BAUE event or not. Failure to meet these requirements can lead to removal from the group. Depending on the incident, a warning may be issued first, however if the infraction is egregious, removal will be immediate.
We strongly encourage our divers to read and adhere to all GUE standards, but as a minimum we require the following:
Safety
Must dive within experience and skill limit
Must dive with a buddy and agree to a plan before descending
Must analyze and properly label the oxygen content of all breathing gas prior to use, on the day of the dive
Must always have enough back gas for two divers to safely ascend to the surface or the first gas switch
Must not exceed an equivalent narcotic depth of 100±30FSW. Note that oxygen is considered narcotic, thus nitrox will not reduce the narcotic depth. Only a gas such as helium will reduce the END. Therefore END is defined as ((1-FHe)*ATAs)-1) * 33 (10m)))
Must not exceed a PPO2 of 1.4ata on the bottom or 1.6ata during decompression and averaging 1.2ata or less
Gear Configuration to Enhance Safety
Must use a balanced rig (refer to Dynamic Instability FAQ)
Must carry the primary regulator on a "long" hose of at least 40 inches; the primary must be the regulator to be donated. An independent backup 2nd stage (not integrated, eg. a combination 2nd stage and wing inflator) is required, and should be secured with elastic around the diver's neck.
Must not use restrictive bands or "bungee" of any sort affixed to the buoyancy cell (wing) (refer to Bungied Wings FAQ))
Must mark all stage and decompression bottles prominently with maximum operating depth
Must carry at least two working lights on any night or overhead dive
Boat Dives
When conducting a boat dive, divers must carry a visible signaling device (sausage, flag, flare, etc.) and the divers must establish a plan with the crew in the event of a drifting ascent.
Fun
For most of us diving is a recreation intended to help us escape from the stresses in our lives. We expect our divers to help support the notion of fun while diving and maintain a positive outlook.