How Many NDL fun dives do you do per day?

[drbill]

Formerly (within the last 5 years) I did as many as 6 dives in a day, all in excess of 30 min to varying depths. However, I prefer fewer dives with longer bottom times so I have more time to film.

When I started doing really deep dives (150-200 ft) where I was often in deco on each dive, I cut the number of dives per day to three. Each dive was generally 50-65 minutes including extended deco stops. Currently I'm doing primarily "shallow" (above 100 ft) NDL dives and rarely do more than 3 in a day.

 

[scubanimal]

Locally I'm getting 2-3 hour bottom times / day mostly due to the boat I'm on. When on vacation I get 5-7 hrs of bottom time a day depending on the gear I'm using. I cheat, I use a rebreather so its not uncommon for me to just do 2 dives a day, 1 all morning and 1 all afternoon for a total bottom of 7 hours.

I get tired lugging the gear and suiting up for cold water, once in, I'm fine for long dives, and fine for the evening activities. Warm water, and gear help seems like I could go forever.

 

[Papa Steve]

It depends on the situation and the dive profile ... but the most I've done in a single day was six. I've done it a few times, both in warm and cold water.

In Bonaire and Roatan these were fun dives ... typically averaging 60-70 minutes per dive. The schedule went - pre-dawn dive, breakfast, two dives, lunch, two dives, dinner, night dive. All were using EAN32.

Here in Puget Sound I did six dives per day twice this year, teaching back-to-back AOW classes (3 dives per class). Most of the dives were relatively shallow (40 fsw or less), and with a duration of between 35 and 45 minutes. Still, it made for a long day (7 AM to 10 PM) in a drysuit.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Hello Bob,
I'd like to ask you a question for clarification. If I'm reading right you were diving Bonaire/Roatan about 6+ hours a day on EAN32, right? I seem to recall from my Nitrox class that we should not dive EANx more than three hours a day. Odds are my memory is just failing me but I wanted to run this by you for my own edification.
Again, I may just be misquoting the text or misunderstanding it's application but thought I'd run it by you for clarification.

Thanks,

 

[drydiver]

Warm water vacation - 4-5, 60 min dives/day if by boat, 3-4 if by shore
Cold water quarry on weekends - 3 60 min dives/day

 

[bvanant]

Here in California, 4 max on a boat like the Spectre, three max from the shore at Catalina, zero max from the shore where there are waves (I know I am a wuss). On liveaboards in warm water the max you can do, typically 5 per day. In Bonaire, did 5 per day, some from the shore, some from local boats.
Bill

 

[Zach10k]

When I'm working in the tropics (F. Polynesia) we typically get in 5-6 dives a day, some very brief and some very long, at widely varying depths, depending on the project. Working in colder waters (like New England) it's rare that we'll get in 3 dives a day, as dive buddies tend to wimp out from the cold after a dive or two.

 

[Doc Harry]

In Cozumel, I'll do up to 5 dives per day. Two boat dives, one afternoon shore dive, a twilight shore dive, and a night shore dive. (Usually I do only 4 dives per day, though.)

Here at home, when it's 25 degrees F and snowing, water is 50 degrees F, I can manage only two dives per day.

 

[amascuba]

Hello Bob,
I'd like to ask you a question for clarification. If I'm reading right you were diving Bonaire/Roatan about 6+ hours a day on EAN32, right? I seem to recall from my Nitrox class that we should not dive EANx more than three hours a day. Odds are my memory is just failing me but I wanted to run this by you for my own edification.
Again, I may just be misquoting the text or misunderstanding it's application but thought I'd run it by you for clarification.

Thanks,

It has little to do with actual time in the water with EAN. I've done as many as 5 x 70+ minute dives in a day on EAN32. What you need to keep track of is your CNS clock. Example, how much time did you spend at depth and on what mix? The richer the EANx mix and the deeper you go, the less quicker you run through your allotted CNS time. It's quite dynamic though, because most divers don't spend the entire dive at a particular depth. It's also individual. Not everybody's body deals with oxygen the same way. In fact, there are studies that suggest that a person's body will deal with exposures differently on any given day. A lot of that has to do with health (especially heart and pulmonary health), fitness, hydration, etc. The exposure clock is ultimately a suggested guideline, rather than concrete rules, just like decompression theory.