Can you dive all day under 20'

[Danseur]

20.5' is unlimited NDL.

 

[drbill]

My longest single tank dive at similar depths was 2 hr 46 min... when I came up I discovered a storm had cleared out the entire dive park and blew my topside gear all the way across the parking lot! Of course if you dive all day/week/month at that depth, you'll come out looking like a prune or a raisin!

 

[murse]

I can't dive that long, but then again I am at 5280 feet give or take.

 

[bilsant]

I asked this question when Allen Sherrod set the record earlier this year by spending two days underwater at around 20' or less. I'm not sure I fully understood the answer, but as best I recall a deco debt was built up over time submerged, but surfacing involved such a small change in pressure that bubbles never got the chance to form in his bloodstream. I recall he did breath O2 prior to ending the dive.

Perhaps someone on his team is reading this and can offer a more eloquent or informed reply.