Question on Safety Stop Buoyancy Abilities

[Diving Dubai]

I am asking this genuine question so as to gauge the general level within the community, perhaps starting a follow up discussion once we’ve got results. Although as always, on topic discourse is always welcome

EDIT 2. For the purpose of the thread. It’s your constant depth (in ideal conditions) rather than a one off Best

Choose ONLY 1 answer for depth and 1 of the final 2 statements

• This post has been deliberately placed in the Basic Forum so that posters can remain under the umbrella of the Learning Zone Special Rules
• This is also a no shaming thread.
• For the purposes of the question this is a basic safety stop at between 5m - 3m/15ft -10ft (depth depends on your personal preferences - it's people's overall deviation from that depth during the stop I'm trying to gauge
• For those wanting to answer they need to hold onto a rope because of current “blowing them off the site”, Then use your best answer for times when you can hold a basic mid water stop
• Your equipment config is not important since it is the one you choose to dive.

EDIT:

This isn't about who is at the pinnacle of precision, rather that what is the general consensus of what people are comfortable with

Supplementary questions (answer in the thread)

1. Can you maintain this level of buoyancy while completing a task? (Mask removal and replace or equivalent)
2 .How regularly (pre covid) do you dive (approx.) And your current experience level (Number of dives or Highest Cert or length of dive career)


NB: For the pedants – the Metric and imperial values are approximate equivalents

 

[tmassey]

A lot of this depends on surface conditions. Flat smooth surface makes it a lot easier. 4 foot swells makes it a whole lot more difficult — and honestly, I wouldn’t try then. And you already mentioned current.

I used to strive very much to be able to consistently and reliably achieve GUE tech standard stops: less than 18 inches vertical movement, without holding onto something. I still think that’s a good goal, and when conditions are really easy it is certainly very liberating to be able to do your stop a few feet away from the anchor line while everybody else is bunched on top of each other. But I don’t feel the same depth of shame if I hold onto the anchor line so as to be able to relax and enjoy myself on a safety stop.

In the end, for me, this is a hobby. It’s supposed to be relaxing. I try to maximize that aspect of it. If that means that sometimes I do not hit the pinnacle of precision, I’m learning to be OK with that.

ETA: Forget about your other questions. “Highest“ (I hate that term) certification: TDI normoxic trimix. I also have a GUE fundamentals recreational pass in doubles and dry suit. 50 to 80 dives a year. And in benign conditions and if I’m really paying attention, I can keep within 1 foot of a set depth while deploying an SMB. With less than benign conditions, or less than perfect concentration, it’s probably more like 2 feet. It really helps to have a fully engaged and competent teammate in that situation.

ETA2: given the responses you’ve already seen, I expect we’re going to see a lot of self-selection bias and maybe a little Dunning Kruger in here. You know, how everyone thinks they’re an above average driver? I applaud anyone who says they can’t hold a stop within 5 feet, or without holding onto the anchor line. I would always prefer someone with poor skills and an honest assessment of themself, even over the reverse: someone with good skills who even so has an unrealistic idea of themself.

 

[napDiver]

I can maintain ~1 ft while solving an issue. Even better if I was using an smb, fine tuning, or diving a lot.

I do about 100 dives a year. OC Tech level cert.

 

[tbone1004]

I can maintain +1ft provided the surge isn't that bad, obviously if there is a lot of surge you are at the mercy of the water, but in a lake or whatever I don't move hardly at all. Always room to improve though

 

[napDiver]

@tmassey good point. I guess we must assume conditions permitting. I've been in surge 5ft+. Throwing me while I fail to hold onto rocks. XD I try not to ever do dives like that now

 

[Ayisha]

I'm able to maintain the 1 foot or less deviation mainly because I'm cheating a little bit due to the quick information my computer gives me.

My (XDeep Black) computer shows the depth in .1 increments, so my goal is to keep my depth within .1 of a target depth, including while task loaded. Yes, having .1 increments in Imperial measurement is a little strange.

It's kind of cheating because I know as soon as I'm .1 off my target depth and can immediately correct it, whereas divers with many other computers don't know until their computer shows they're already a foot off their target depth, so they're already dealing with a small buoyancy swing.

No worries, my buddies watch my computer almost as much as theirs, especially when they deviate within that foot and wonder why I'm not following.

 

[Diving Dubai]

In the end, for me, this is a hobby. It’s supposed to be relaxing. I try to maximize that aspect of it. If that means that sometimes I do not hit the pinnacle of precision, I’m learning to be OK with that.

Good post, and the point above was incredibly valid and I've placed an edit, in that it's not about who's the best, but finding out what level and average ability people are comfortable with in themselves

 

[boulderjohn]

For several years in my earliest days of diving, I worked very hard to maintain depth perfectly on a safety stop. I'm glad I did, because doing so helped improve my skills. That was, in fact, the reason I did it. On decompression dives today, I work hard to maintain my depth.

On recreational dives today, though, I do not pay a lot of attention to maintaining a specific depth. I use nitrox on such dives, and my computer often tells me that I really don't need a safety stop at all, so I am usually doing the stops to maintain contact with buddies, whose computers don't have that feature. So during a stop I vaguely watch those buddies to make sure they are OK and to tell me when they are done with their stops so we can head for the surface together. On dives closer to NDL, I will take an occasional glance at my SurfGF numbers until I like what I see, but if I rise or fall a few feet as I do, I don't think about it.

 

[tmassey]

@tmassey good point. I guess we must assume conditions permitting. I've been in surge 5ft+. Throwing me while I fail to hold onto rocks. XD I try not to ever do dives like that now

it also means that you have to consider the difference between the best you’ve ever done — something you might have only done once, and what you can reliably reproduce, which is likely to be much worse.

I call that my Rubiks cube dilemma. I enjoy solving the Rubiks cube: in fact, I keep one in my winter coat pocket, and play with it when I’m in line or things like that. Sometimes someone will ask me how fast I can solve it. What do I tell them? I can, on occasion, solve it noticeably under under two minutes. At least 50% of the time I can do it in under three minutes. But I tell them I can do it in under five minutes. why? Because anybody who’s going to ask me how fast I can solve it is almost always going to then challenge me to do it. if I say two minutes but do it in three, I look like an obnoxious idiot. If I say five and do it in three, I look great.

it’s the same with scuba. Someone asks you: how good are you? How well can you hold a stop? If you tell them within 1 foot because one time, when the conditions were perfect and you were at the end of a weeklong dive vacation, you were able to hold your stop within 1 foot, that’s great. but if you then go diving with that person, and hold your stop within 2 feet because it’s a little choppy and you haven’t been diving in three months… You look like an idiot because you told them you could hold your stop within 1 foot. Even if, ordinarily, they might think that holding a stop within 2 feet was solid: because you gave them higher expectations and did not fulfill them, you’re going to look a lot worse.

That’s where having a solid understanding of the range of results that you deliver is important. Knowing that you can do something because you did it once is important: it shows you that you can do it, and if you keep working you’ll do it more often. But knowing what you do most of the time is also important. If for no other reason, it’s important to set proper expectations with a buddy. And doing so with just a tiny bit of humility can really help to make for a positive experience for everyone involved.

I hope I’m not derailing your thread. This is an aspect of scuba diving the fascinates me: why some people are happy to stay with minimal skills, why others are driven to the finest edge of perfection and why some people have no ability to objectively look at their own diving.

 

[Diving Dubai]

I hope I’m not derailing your thread

Nope. All good. Although I’ve now had to add a 2nd clarification edit for constant rather than one off best

I thought by composing off line then considering the wording before posting I’d get it close. Obv not