simonk999
Contributor
So I'm on this 80ft dive. The DM has stated the preferred 3 min safety stop, but on ascent, everyone (except me and the DM) don't stop (it's a free ascent). Once we get to the surface, I observe to the DM that everyone went up kinda fast. He shrugged to say "what can you do"? And really, the question is, what _can_ you do? Obviously, looking in retrospect, these other divers were inexperienced, but while safety stops are preached during training, there's no actual practise, and it's possible that divers can do a number of mooring line assisted ascents and not be able to practise supervised proper free ascents and therefore fail to properly control their buoyancy when they have to do their first one. It's a poor reflection of how training is going these days. Or is it the laissez-faire attitude of those learning?
With the number of folks posting about drift dives and Coz, and not having done them before, I think that controlling ascent is the most important skill to be aware of.
With the number of folks posting about drift dives and Coz, and not having done them before, I think that controlling ascent is the most important skill to be aware of.