decompression without training

[Dr Wu]

Well it depends on how you define training.

Seems a lot of people in the scuba world demand that your training has to come from an agency. I was doing deco for a year before I took the actual course. I had mentors that guided me and I did more training dives on my own with them and friends than any agency could hope to require in a course......so I was pretty well prepared. Most of my friends up here were doing deco before they took the course.

If you're going into deco without any preparation then you're just asking for trouble. If you know what you're doing then you should be fine. Murphy doesn't give two ****s whether you have a c-card or not......you need to be prepared either way.

Agreed.

It is not uncommon to have a computer go into “deco mode” with or without training. It’s what you do when that happens that matters.

Is the piece of plastic on your arm telling you you need a deco stop? If that's the case you may truly need one (or you may not.) Either way it would be a good idea to follow the advice of your friend at your wrist.

The point is a prudent diver would know if stops were required.

I would advise using the info provided by the computer but have the knowledge necessary to take proper action regardless of what that plastic dive god tells you.

Where you gather that knowledge and experience is up to you.

 

[tgsmith]

Howard and SEMO bring up some good points.....

Like Howard said, going into deco does not automatically mean you're going to get bent. Learn the computer you're using and follow what it tells you to do if you're relying on it.

I'm going to add on to what SEMO Scuba said since he jogged my brain. If you find yourself requiring decompression accidentally, then you're not ready(discipline wise) to plan decompression dives.

Again, meeting up with some locals in the know would be the best thing to do if you're interested.

Have fun,
Tyler

 

[Dr Wu]

I purchased an oceanic versa pro 2

Good job! (no jive)

At least you will be able to read the numbers on the display.

 

[11kiwidiver]

thanks for all the advice.. from what Ive read so far seems like occasionally going into deco is not a deadly sin, but I should get some training before planning to do a deco dive

 

[HowardE]

thanks for all the advice.. from what Ive read so far seems like occasionally going into deco is not a deadly sin, but I should get some training before planning to do a deco dive

Occasionally going into deco - is planning on doing it

Plan on keeping to the NDL (no decompression limits) as recreational divers should do. This allows for a direct ascent to the surface at any time, should a problem arise.

 

[H2Andy]

Im getting my first dive comp in the mail in a couple days and I want to know how often have you/did you go into decompression mode (either accidentally or purposefully) without deco training. How safe is this (im guessing not very)? Please elaborate.

i never went into deco mode because gas was my limiting factor, not NDL's

but if i had accidentally gone into deco, it probably would have taken care of itself with a slow ascent ... assuming you had enough gas to go up slowly

but if you run into deco, even minimal, and you don't have enough gas to go up slowly and do a nice and log safety stop, it could get dangerous

that said, a quick ascent is probably the dangerous part, not so much the deco obligation on a recreational profile, which is bound to be minimal

i do a lot of (planned) minimal deco dives, with deco obligations between 5 and 10 minutes. since i normally spend 5 minutes at 30 feet on the way up, 3 minutes at 20 feet, and 2 minutes at 15 feet and then slowly ascend, my "normal" safety stop would take care of my deco anyway

 

[fnfalman]

I'm sure that everybody would start quoting "agencies" for training, but really, decompression theory isn't all that hard. It ain't rocket science. There are a number of books available to read on about decompression theories and gas planning/gas management, not to mention equipment configuration.

Don't go deco diving blind and put total faith into the computer. It's only a gadget to back up your brain. Know what deco diving is all about first and then go do it.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Oceanic is working with DiveNav and its eDiving simulation software to develop tutorials for their line of dive computers. Check out Oceanic's Dive Computer 101 video page. The videos feature the Veo 100, but I believe that the display/interface is almost identical to that of the Versa Pro 2.0. There's even a video showing you what a deco dive looks like on the dive computer.

You should know that the Versa Pro 2.0 utilizes an algorithm that is on the more liberal side of the dive computer spectrum.

BTW, HowardE gave excellent advice regarding how you should react to "uh oh" deco.

 

[Thalassamania]

If you can manage a safety stop you can manage a deco stop ... on a good day. On a bad day, if you don't know what to do, that can maim or even kill you.

 

[11kiwidiver]

what books or reference material would you suggest I read to start getting into decompression theory/practice