Some divers choose to do DECO stops at 15 feet regardless of how deep they went and for how long. What is your take on doing it irregardless of duration and bottom time?

julie

Although safety stops are not "needed" with no-stop dives, your susceptibility to DCS can vary on a day to day basis (as well of course on a person to person basis, radically).

If you're diving smart, you should always be ending your dive with plenty of air to do a safety stop at 5m, it's just good practise. Despite great advances in algorithms, DCS is still horribly hard to predict (especially if you are doing repetitive deco dives), so my advice would be always, always do your safety stop unless there's an emergency and you really have no other option.

Otherwise, that's how accidents happen

and if your smart, even if your diving deep, but with in no deco limits, you will still have a spare tank sat at 5m just in case.

I have done some Deep Diving (82.5m), we had 2 saftey tanks, 2 computers (one set to min deco, one set to max - and we went 10m over the max)

Saftey stops are never a bad idea - just accending to quickly can put extra nitrogen in your system, not just the time you were down for.

If you use a computer, and have had it scream slow down at you, that was a point you should probably have had a saftey stop.

Everybody has different limits and thresholds - if you are swimming against a current, that extra work load can also increase nitorgen build up, as you will be breathing more heavily.

We do a very dangerous sport, it dosn't seem it unless you see somthing go wrong. Redundency in equipment and extra saftey measures are never a bad thing. The whole reason less people are hurt in some of the really dangerous sports than in normal sports is because we know the risks and take measures to avoid them.

It's unfair to be irritated or riducule someone for being safe - potentially they could have the last laugh as your flown off to a decompression chamber

jimmysdevoted wrote:

DECO stops or Safety stops? An ascent rate of 10m per minute is safe, if you were taught 18m per minute you need to stop. I only complete a safety stop when I'm close to No Deco Limits but I do ascend slowly i.e. 10mpm. If I go into deco I complete my deco schedule as calculated, if I use a dive computer I add an extra 1 minute for every 10 minutes of runtime to the shallowest stop.

Deco is a huge subject, it needs to be calculated and carried out correctly. Adding a few minutes in the shallows is definitely a safe way to go.

Saftey stops should always be completed (gas permitting), its a time you can work on buoyancy skills, check yourself out (move parrts slowly see if anything feels like it is supposed to), but you should also do them horizontal. if you are vertical, your shoulders may be at 15 ft, but your head will be at 14 ft, your feet will be at 20 ft. big pressure gradiant for a saftey stop. They even make an mp3 player that can ammuse you underwater, especially if you do
extended deco.

I bougt an underwater mp3 player after a 2h10m deco, that was quite boring. Nowadays the deco goes quicker when I remember the player that is.

p.s. It shouldn't only be your deco that is horizontal, your dive should be as well.

Are safety stops okay to do vertical? I need to work on my horizontal buoyancy..

When I'm boat diving I find it much easier to hold position vertically. I think it has to do with the position of my weight belt. I guess I need my own BCD with weight system, but I'm always feel like I'm being "pulled" into a vertical position unless I wear the weights at the front of my belt.

I was taught to do my safety stops vertical, but it does make sense to be horizontal.

Have you done you peak peformance bouyancy theTafferBoy? I found it quite useful to just spend some time playing about with weight positions and even tank position to get properly balanced. Moving the tank higher or lower on your back can make a big difference. You can get small clip on weights to move about a BCD to get better balance too. I do think it is one of those things you get better at with more experience. I know I have improved a lot in my short time of diving.

I've done about 40 or so dives now, so my horizontal buoyancy while swimming is good, it's just my buoyancy without a reference that I struggle with - so having to do a safety stop "in the blue" so to speak.

Talking to other divers, I don't think it helps renting BCDs as each one performs differently and it takes several dives to adjust to the new equipment.

Diving, deco & all stops should be done horizontal, that way your tissue loadings are equal throughout your entire body. Although most divers don't seem to bother, they just add extra time to their shallow stops.

Renting equipment like BCD's should make no difference to buoyancy once you have got control over it.

AtlanticScuba wrote:


That just takes me a few dives, rather than minutes.. Guess I just suck

The more you dive the easier it becomes, I complete nearly 40 (non teaching) dives a month!

Free ascents and doing your stops without a line is a very important skill to practice for several reasons.

First, you never know when you may be in a situation where you need to ascend and do not have time to find the mooring line. Being able to control your ascent and hold your position is essential.

Second, hanging onto a line is an easy way to get bent. I have seen a lot of divers forget to dump their BCs while the do their stops, and too many bouyant divers can drag everyone to the surface if there is an slack on the line.

I stay at the line, but free ascent and stop without touching on every dive to keep my skills up.

Some good advice CD. I always carry a SMB or DSMB with reel. When completing any stops I do not hold onto the reel, I leave it hanging and practice my buoyancy using it as a reference. I do this on nearly every dive and have done for years. It's good practice on OC and CCR especially as I change from one to the other depending on the dive.