griffon
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Personally I like to do 3@15 even in shallow dives, great way to practice for when you do need to do a free essent.
Safety Stop required ?
- Thread starter Barry_Calgary
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RonFrank
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I think the most important reason for doing a SS is to force newer divers to STOP at around 15' as its highly likely they are ascending faster than they should be. New divers often have an issue of ascending too quickly. Fortunately the rec guidelines are rather conservative. If you blow through your stop you can always go back down and complete it, or even skip it BUT I do not make skipping SS's a habit.
I often dive at a spot where it is fun to hang out at any depth and check out the rock formations. So the whole dive is a 45-60 minute ascent from 85'. This is a good way to dive. It teaches a very slow ascent. It teaches one to relax and enjoy the dive. It teaches one to take their time and find things that make the dive enjoyable even in a fairly boring environment (rock, crawdads, limited fish, other divers). A slow ascent is a good thing on ANY dive.
I often dive at a spot where it is fun to hang out at any depth and check out the rock formations. So the whole dive is a 45-60 minute ascent from 85'. This is a good way to dive. It teaches a very slow ascent. It teaches one to relax and enjoy the dive. It teaches one to take their time and find things that make the dive enjoyable even in a fairly boring environment (rock, crawdads, limited fish, other divers). A slow ascent is a good thing on ANY dive.
I like the stoplight analogy, but a diver with only an OW cert shouldn't ever be in the yellow, let alone the red. It's hard to get into the yellow with a 60 foot max and an Al80, if you're a novice.
DevonDiver
N/A
If you can do one (air, time, water conditions permitting etc) then there's no harm in it. Sometimes "unprovoked" (i.e. unexpected, statistically unlikely) DCS can occur - adding conservatism and maximising off-gassing before surfacing is simply prudent. As a beginner diver,whilst developing buoyancy skills, possible issues with fast ascents (or portions of ascent), saw-tooth profiles etc etc can add to the prudence of doing a stop. Likewise, other factors may increase your tendency towards DCS - such as dehydration, sickness etc (quite common on overseas/tropical holidays).
If nothing else, they offer good practice for the diver - a chance to work on buoyancy and gain better control in the water column.
A safety stop is, by definition, not a mandatory stop. That said, it is definitely 'best practice'. If other factors are higher - and doing a safety stop would cause any element of risk, then it should be skipped. PADI do say that a safety stop is "required" for dives below 30m, for dives that end at a no-decompression limit, or within 3 pressure groups of a no-decompression limit. This is due to the larger risk factor (greater nitrogen absorption) on those dives. Whilst "required", it is still not mandatory and can still be skipped if other significant factors demand a direct ascent.
As a PADI diver - diving within the limits and boundaries to which you are qualified and advised to maintain, you will always have the option of immediate and direct ascent to the surface in an emergency. A safety stop simply makes a dive 'more forgiving' in respect of DCS.
If your PADI instructor advised you to do a 1 minute stop, he was wrong. PADI states a 3 minute stop. In reality, many divers will extend that stop - especially if there is something they can enjoy at the stop depth (multi-level on a reef etc) or use the time to practice/revise skills etc.
If nothing else, they offer good practice for the diver - a chance to work on buoyancy and gain better control in the water column.
A safety stop is, by definition, not a mandatory stop. That said, it is definitely 'best practice'. If other factors are higher - and doing a safety stop would cause any element of risk, then it should be skipped. PADI do say that a safety stop is "required" for dives below 30m, for dives that end at a no-decompression limit, or within 3 pressure groups of a no-decompression limit. This is due to the larger risk factor (greater nitrogen absorption) on those dives. Whilst "required", it is still not mandatory and can still be skipped if other significant factors demand a direct ascent.
As a PADI diver - diving within the limits and boundaries to which you are qualified and advised to maintain, you will always have the option of immediate and direct ascent to the surface in an emergency. A safety stop simply makes a dive 'more forgiving' in respect of DCS.
If your PADI instructor advised you to do a 1 minute stop, he was wrong. PADI states a 3 minute stop. In reality, many divers will extend that stop - especially if there is something they can enjoy at the stop depth (multi-level on a reef etc) or use the time to practice/revise skills etc.
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Saftey stops arnt requiered but recomended. I have also seen people do half stops for one minute. Half of the deepest depth for one min. Personaly myself and my buddies do both when doing recreational dives. I like to keep it conservative.
Hi, Barry! :wavey:
Some feedback -- You've had the cream of the diving crop answering your questions.
Just to reitereate Quero's post -- the term "Safety Stop" is somewhat of a misnomer in that people think "Stop" means not moving. To the contrary, the idea is to stay (more-or-less) at the depth so a "swimming Safety 'Stop'" is often the best way to do this. And, of course, while it is good to practice staying at a certain depth, doing three minutes (or more) between, say 18 and 12 feet (15 feet plus/minus 3 feet) certainly would comply with the "spirit" if not the "letter" of the guidelines.
I agree with the posts that even if the safety stop is not required given the profile, it is still a good idea.
Good practice for buoyancy, and helps to ensure that you don't forget about it on a deeper dive when there is more of a need for it.
I also don't see an issue with doing the safety stop while your buddy and/or instructor blows it off. in most places you can still maintain eye contact from 15 feet away.
Good practice for buoyancy, and helps to ensure that you don't forget about it on a deeper dive when there is more of a need for it.
I also don't see an issue with doing the safety stop while your buddy and/or instructor blows it off. in most places you can still maintain eye contact from 15 feet away.
smellzlikefish
Contributor
I don't skip safety stops unless I have a pressing reason to leave the water(low air, predators, angry girlfriend etc.).
DevonDiver
N/A
I do.
"Eye contact" is not the same as 'on hand and ready to provide immediate assistance'. Besides which, how observant will that departed buddy at the surface really be? Also, if you do have a critical need of assistance, how quickly could it realistically be delivered?
Plan your dive & dive your plan.
Safety stop should feature in dive plan and pre-dive discussion. If one diver wants to do it, then others should comply. The dive doesn't end until all members of a team/buddy pair/group are safely back on the boat. It doesn't end at 15'. A buddy pair should have an identical dive plan - if not, then they aren't a buddy pair.
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