I just finished a course and the instructor told me of an interesting article he had seen concerning ascent rates. The meat of the article was that divers were fairly religious in doing their 15' safety stop yet the average ascent rate from 15' to the surface was 200 fpm! I thought this seemed a little high until I started paying attention and noticed many divers popping up like corks following their safety stop. My only conclusion is they feel, "Ok, I've done my safety stop so I'm good to go." What are your observations and/or opinions?
Ascent rate
- Thread starter RetMTFE
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dkktsunami
Contributor
The greatest percentage expansion of the gas in your body occurs in the last 15' of the dive. If anything diver should ascend at a slower pace, not faster.
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Personaly I try to go as slow as possible.
But done the same observation as you made.
Some try to rocket to the surface,don't know why,must be time for a smoke or some other very urgent reason.
But done the same observation as you made.
Some try to rocket to the surface,don't know why,must be time for a smoke or some other very urgent reason.
OldNSalty
Contributor
I think it has a lot to do with the fact that it is harder to keep neutral in those last few feet. If you are a new diver, maybe you have some air in your bc, you start to move up, it expands faster then you can react and POP, You are on the surface. You don't 'feel' like you hurt yourself so maybe it becomes the expected way to surface.
I think the original observation is correct--people don't realize how important that last 15 feet is. I know it was true of me when I was a beginning diver. Realizing that those last 15 feet should be the slowest part of my ascent was one of many major "AHAs" in my development as a diver.
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It varies with the diver's abilities and physical awareness.
I teach divers to stretch and reach upwards to the boat ladder, just touching it for a few seconds, then slowly inching their way upwards.
Teaching control over this last 6 feet makes ascent rate, can make control a more understandable task.
I teach divers to stretch and reach upwards to the boat ladder, just touching it for a few seconds, then slowly inching their way upwards.
Teaching control over this last 6 feet makes ascent rate, can make control a more understandable task.
segundo3000gt
Contributor
I didn't realize I was ascending too fast until I purchased a dive computer with an ascent rate monitor. For some reason it seems like the ascent is a lot slower than it really is for the last 10-15 feet.
diablonyc2
Registered
I try to ascend slow with stops at 30ft (1 minute), 20ft (2 minutes), and 10feet (3 minutes) if I am doing a no-decompression dive.
Even though I only have a few dives under my belt I can see how that is dangerous in open water and always do a 360 before surfacing to make sure there are no boats or divers above me.
Even though I only have a few dives under my belt I can see how that is dangerous in open water and always do a 360 before surfacing to make sure there are no boats or divers above me.
DevonDiver
N/A
Even on recreational dives, I aim to take 1-2 min to ascend from safety stop to the surface.
Deefstes
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I have been very guilty of this for at least my first 25 dives or so. I think it's a combination of "OK, the safety stop is over so my dive is done. Let's get on the boat and get out of here" and the fact that buoyancy control in the last few meters are more difficult and a noob can cork pretty easily.
When I started paying attention to making my final egress much slower, two things happened.
1. I didn't get the slight breathing discomfort after the dives when I inhaled deeply anymore
2. I wasn't so dog tired after dives anymore.
When I started paying attention to making my final egress much slower, two things happened.
1. I didn't get the slight breathing discomfort after the dives when I inhaled deeply anymore
2. I wasn't so dog tired after dives anymore.
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