Multi-level dives - your approach?

When you are on a multi-level dive do you have a certain way that you prefer to do them?

For instance, I prefer to go fairly directly to the max depth (not kicking fast enough to get out of breath but not stopping all that much) and then I do most of my looking around on the way up slope.

This has the effect of making most of the dive a slow moving decompression.

Others may prefer to move slowly the entire way arriving at the deepest part of the dive roughly halfway through the dive. The advantage here is that you are looking at marine life more closely for the entire dive.

Maybe there are other approaches as well.

What do you do and why?

Most multi level tables require the deepest portions first to avoid reverse profiles and saw tooth patterns and in practice I think that is still a good policy even with a computer.

Plus, it gets the high gas use portion of the dive done first. In my opinion going deep after you have used a good portion of your gas is a bit on the stupid side. Do the deep stuff first and start shallowing out according to remaining gas, not just deco.

A computer will track any profile you care to dive, but that does not make it smart or safe.

Always start with the deepest part of a multilevel dive first, and then move shallower, and if the dive is planned this way, shallower again. I plan all multi level dives before, but still do check my computer during the dive.

dwhthediver:

Always start with the deepest part of a multilevel dive first, and then move shallower, and if the dive is planned this way, shallower again. I plan all multi level dives before, but still do check my computer during the dive.

Click to expand...

Not all multilevel dives are possible this way ... sometimes the terrain prevents it.

When doing the deepest part of the dive first is practical, it's preferable from an off-gassing perspective to get as deep as possible as quickly as possible, then work your way slowly upward. However, that's sometimes not compatible with the goals of the dive (for example, if you're diving in a cave or wreck, you are following a course that's often determined by other factors than decompression obligation).

The best way to approach multilevel dives is to be familiar with the topography you'll be dealing with and plan a profile that best fits the goals of the dive. Then plan your gas supply and deco approach accordingly.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I'm with Bob -- If it's a wall dive, I'll go as deep as I intend to go at the beginning, and work my way up the wall. But for shore diving, getting to depth quickly would often require swimming like crazy, and sometimes simply isn't feasible at all. For example, at our local Cove 2 site, you COULD swim hard to get to depth quickly (but you'd miss a lot of fun stuff doing it). But at Day Island Wall, you have to swim out along the plateau to reach the wall, and there is no way to do that fast -- it's too far.

So I do what the terrain requires of me, and figure my decompression based on what I did.

Planning a dive is functional to what you want to see.
If you are lucky and good at planning you go straight to your maximum depth and then ascent, however sometimes you need to descend slowly because you have things to see.
Contrary to what other think I do not see any issues with a slow descend where you stay say at 18 meters for 20 minutes and then spend another 15 at 24 meters because you have reached a corner where there is something to see as long as once you have reached the maximim depth you only proceed to shallower depths
An issue would only occur if you systematically go to a shallower depth and then deeper of this after you have reached your maximum depth (sawtooth profile), this would generate multiple gradients of decreased pressure that could expose you to DCI