"Riding your Computer Up" vs. "Lite Deco"

[dmaziuk]

That is an interesting choice of stops, very effective for off-gassing.

Most recreational dives use either 15' or 20'.

As a tangentially-maybe-related data point, the safety stop icon will disappear from my leonardo's screen after I spend some time somewhere above 10m. The icon & manual says 3/3: 3 minutes at 3m, says 10 feet but starts counting at 25-ish. (I think -- I never bothered to track that exactly. I strongly suspect it's 7.8m or something along those lines, and I think it's 5 minutes or more -- not 3.)

 

[Storker]

The odds that one would occur in the minute or two after everyone else has completed a safety stop and before you are done with a couple more minutes of light deco are even more remote than that.

However, there's a difference between a three or five minute recommended safety stop and a mandatory five or ten minute deco stop. While blowing off the former in case of a recall shouldn't incur an unacceptable risk of a DCS hit, blowing off the latter by definition incurs an unacceptable risk for a DCS hit. Otherwise it wouldn't have been a deco stop, but an optional safety stop.

 

[lowviz]

However, there's a difference between a three or five minute recommended safety stop and a mandatory five or ten minute deco stop. While blowing off the former ......

I base my 15 minutes using a most conservative algorithm on personal experience. I would blow it off it conditions warrant.

I've had a couple of "non-textbook" exits in the past. Never been bent or even rashed. However, on the hairiest of those exits, I had to pull off the road on the way home for a half-hour snooze. I know when I've pushed it too far.

I'm not trying to sell my approach to 'edgy' rec diving to anyone. Hard deco is another issue altogether and beyond the scope of this thread. I'm most fine with what I do in "lite/light" deco.

My interest is in hearing what others have found to work for them.

 

[halocline]

However, there's a difference between a three or five minute recommended safety stop and a mandatory five or ten minute deco stop. While blowing off the former in case of a recall shouldn't incur an unacceptable risk of a DCS hit, blowing off the latter by definition incurs an unacceptable risk for a DCS hit. Otherwise it wouldn't have been a deco stop, but an optional safety stop.

Not necessarily, there are lots of situations in which one computer would require a short deco stop and another would not. Which one is correct?

It's a fuzzy line.

 

[lermontov]

I would not hesitate to directly surface from a no deco dive. I would not particularly want to surface with, 5, 10, 15 minutes of deco time. It's probably best that rec trips do not allow deco.

The real logistical problem arises on mixed rec/tech trips, increasingly common

I guess it depends on what youve signed up for - if Im going on a charter I ask the pertinent questions before I pay my money - can I do deco, can I go solo how much BT can I have etc all variables depending on dive site.
AS long as theres clear and understood instructions PRE dive and we all know what is permitted .

If a diver has the training and equipment and understands the implications of an emergency recall then no problems but the reality is that operators are risk averse and some divers are not alway upfront so we have this lowest common denominator approach to mixed groups. My frustration is that the divers with more qualifications and expertise are the ones doing most of the compromising.

 

[gopbroek]

Not necessarily, there are lots of situations in which one computer would require a short deco stop and another would not. Which one is correct?

It's a fuzzy line.

I often see buddy pairs with different computers face this dilemma. In long low stress drift dives a Suunto may tell a diver they are going to a chamber while the buddy's Oceanic has loads of time. I run 2 Oceanic computers, a Pro Plus and a VEO 3.0, several times this week I have 'road the line' from depth, as I crawl out the VEO starts giving back credit above 50' whIle the Pro Plus, using the same DSAT algorithm refuses to give credit until around 24'. The point being a computer is a tool and as a diver you need to use common sense in interrupting what it is telling you and to be honest with yourself.

 

[redacted]

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My interest is in hearing what others have found to work for them.

My Oceanic. Works for me.

 

[_Ralph]

OT, I always thought 'riding the computer' was on the inside of the calculated NDL (ie, staying at a depth until the NDL said <5min) to maximize your dive w/out going into deco

But can see how it's presented in the other case. But may have heard the term 'fly the computer' instead

_R

 

[Storker]

Not necessarily, there are lots of situations in which one computer would require a short deco stop and another would not. Which one is correct?

The one you've chosen to follow.

It's a fuzzy line.

Yep. My point was that when you've drawn that sharp black line through that fuzzy gray area and chosen an algorithm, you've - implicitly or explicitly - made a choice about the risk you're willing to take. In that perspective, a ten-minute decompression stop becomes mandatory. You can of course reconsider your risk acceptance and blow that deco, but that isn't something that should be done on a whim (IMNSHO), and it should be an informed decision.

 

[halocline]

The one you've chosen to follow.


Yep. My point was that when you've drawn that sharp black line through that fuzzy gray area and chosen an algorithm, you've - implicitly or explicitly - made a choice about the risk you're willing to take. In that perspective, a ten-minute decompression stop becomes mandatory. You can of course reconsider your risk acceptance and blow that deco, but that isn't something that should be done on a whim (IMNSHO), and it should be an informed decision.

You're only drawing the 'sharp line' if you are insistent on following a specific computer's instructions to the letter. I don't do that. I take extra time at depths I decide when I feel that the dive warrants it. In fact I rarely pay any attention to the NDL on my computer and would be happy if it just listed time/depth/N2 loading percentage, maybe indicating the controlling compartment. I do pay quite a bit of attention to the N2 loading bar graph at the end of the dive.