Buddy skipped safety stop

[Crush]

As Thal may come here and offer, safety stops were originally included in dive training because OW divers often exceed (sometimes seriously) recommended ascent speeds. Putting in a safety stop was to help control ascents in the shallows. Before they were widely taught, ascent rates were 60 fpm, and safety stops weren't done -- so I think you can conclude that, as long as you are not pushing the limits on your no deco time, and you adhere to the recommended ascent rate, it is highly unlikely that anything untoward will occur from omitting a safety stop.

And I'm not sure how much good they are, anyway, because people do them and then go from 15 feet to the surface in a few seconds . . . failing to recognize that the largest proportional pressure changes are in the very shallow water, and that last 15 feet needs to be treated with respect, too.

Some time ago boulderjohn posted here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/4590066-post28.html something about safety stops and ascent rates. That post was:

Regardless of the history of ascent rates and safety stops, recent research indicates that safety stops may be more valuable and effective than one might think. Research is ongoing in this area. Here is an interesting recent publication from DAN:

DAN Divers Alert Network

Here is one quote from it:

What is interesting, and not necessarily intuitive, is that an in-water stop with a relatively rapid ascent rate appears to be more effective at eliminating inert gas than a very slow ascent rate. As can be seen from Table 2, a five-minute in-water stop is much more effective than simply slowing the ascent rate, even though the total ascent time is not much different (6.6 minutes vs. five minutes).

 

[captain]

It's good to have knowledge and be able to make decisions for yourself. With a dive profile like you described I would not have made a safety stop either. Depending on what table you chose the no D limit for 60' is 55 to 60 minutes. A 25 minute dive is well within the limit and I will not be a dive sheepel and do a safety stop just because.

 

[diver 85]

OP, where were you diving, close to home??....

 

[boulderjohn]

Some time ago boulderjohn posted here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/4590066-post28.html something about safety stops and ascent rates. That post was:

Well, thanks--that saves me the trouble of looking that up again.

The genetic fallacy occurs when we judge something by its origins rather than by its current status. If some practice originated as a joke created by a drunken prankster but turns out to work, then it works regardless of its origin.

I have done a lot of reading about decompression theory over the past few years, and that reading leads me to believe that stops are more important than ascent rates. That being said, I don't generally do them for reasonably short dives in the 30 foot range--I feel like the whole dive was essentially a stop. Since the last dive I did was long enough and deep enough that my final stop was 24 long minutes, I don't see hanging out for 3-5 minutes at the end of a dive as too much of a price to pay for increased safety.

Just use your head. If you did a multilevel reef dive that started at 80 feet (safety stop territory for sure) but ended up with 20 minutes at the top of the reef at 20 feet, ascending 5 more feet and then stopping is not all that necessary.

 

[BKP]

If my dive buddy blew me off at a safety stop, I'd make her pay for her *own* dinner...

 

[Charlie99]

I don't care one way or another whether a safety stop was called for on the relatively mild profile they dove.

My concern is that the buddy was either
1) sufficiently unaware of the OP that he didn't notice that he has remained at safety stop depth, or
2) he was aware of it and decided to surface without him.

 

[cocoajoe]

More importantly, your buddy left you. This is very serious. Your buddy should never leave you like that. You should also never leave your buddy. The fact that you abandoned your safety stop because you were worried your buddy might wonder where you are was the correct instinct. The fact he left and never looked back is just not right. I have seen people get into trouble during the descent and during the ascent when their buddy just left them behind. I'll have a chat with any buddy who takes off on me, especially if it is during the ascent or descent.

888, that's the part that I wouldn't care for.

 

[Rhone Man]

I dive with some old school guys who usually don't fuss with these new fangled safety stops. I let them go to the surface and I just hang at 15' or wherever. It has never bothered me. I figure the odds of something happening to me on a no-decompression dive at 15' are considerably less than some idiot falling off the ladder on top of me in the crush to get out of the water.

 

[JCAT]

I do safety stops, for several reasons. They certainly can not hurt.

One of the bigger reasons I do this is not off-gassing from NDL depths, but rather I might miss something.

I want to be in the water and not on the boat, the minute I get my camera ready to surface and hand up, a great shot will swim by, happens every time. Heck, as long as I have usable gas, I'll hang on the line trying to get the perfect boat/barracuda silhouette picture.

YMMV

 

[Pullmyfinger]

But not everybody dives the same way.

Too true.

There's a part in the movie Apocolypse Now. Where they are briefing the main character about the Colonel he has to assinate.

Briefer: "His methods have become unsound."

Main character: "I fail to see any method at all."

I agree on the safety stops being optional. They are, but I always stop anyway.

Buddy separation....very unsound.

Take care,
Mitch