deco diving

[needforspeed751]

so I am srillnealatively new to the sport but I extremely enthusiastic about it and I find myself wanting to move many directions at once. On the way to each of my goals I keep wondering is deco diving something that can be done safely or is it something I should always avoid? I dont suck air particularly fast and I realize if I was doing dives requiring a deco I might need twin tanks but I just wanted to know how safely this could be done.

 

[Burnsie]

Read the sticky at the top of this forum. I provided the link for you. It will get you heading in the right direction.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...ng-equipment-awareness-too-much-too-soon.html

 

[Blackwood]

It can be done as safely as "standard recreational no-stop diving."

In fact, many "technical divers" are likely safer than your run-of-the-mill "resort diver."

 

[The Chairman]

Too many divers substitute bravado and lots of equipment for training and experience. Don't short change yourself! Get in a number of dives before you try to expand your horizons. There is nothing down there worth getting injured or killed for! Perfect a few of your new skills first, then look for some others to perfect!

 

[String]

Nothing dangerous and mysterious about it at all but it introduces more risks and therefore requires higher skills and more planning to conduct safely.

If something goes wrong you cant just surface and need to make sure you have the gas to complete the stops. Its not voodoo but does require more brain use.

 

[Doppler]

Not sure the word "safe" and any type of scuba experience go together since diving involves varying degrees of risk; however, it's my experience that well-trained, properly equipped divers following a good dive plan are in the best possible position to mitigate and manage risk.

The secret is knowing one's own limits... The OP's do not include executing staged decompression dives... yet. But with time, experience, training and the right gear, who knows.

 

[needforspeed751]

thanks guys. This was all just for future reference. Not ready to tackle the deep just yet

 

[Blackwood]

thanks guys. This was all just for future reference. Not ready to tackle the deep just yet

It doesn't have to be deep. It's a combination of depth at time. You can easily break out of a "recreational" table at 60 or 70 feet.

The distinction between tech and rec is hazy at best. Agencies sell something called "no deco diving," but all dives during which you breathe compressed gas are deco dives.

"Rec" is better called "no stop diving," by which I mean if you hold to the table limits (Depth/Time/Ascent Rate) you theoretically don't have to stop on the way up because the prescribed ascent rate is sufficiently slow for adequate offgassing.

 

[emttim]

It doesn't have to be deep. It's a combination of depth at time. You can easily break out of a "recreational" table at 60 or 70 feet.

The distinction between tech and rec is hazy at best. Agencies sell something called "no deco diving," but all dives during which you breathe compressed gas are deco dives.

"Rec" is better called "no stop diving," by which I mean if you hold to the table limits (Depth/Time/Ascent Rate) you theoretically don't have to stop on the way up because the prescribed ascent rate is sufficiently slow for adequate offgassing.

Of course there is the fact that studies have proven that it /is/ to your benefit to stop for a few minutes to do that safety stop at 15 feet but yes you theoretically don't have to do a SS...just a good idea.

One thing I've noticed, which I might want to warn the OP about, is since other people have already pointed out that getting more dives is a great idea beforehand, I'd like to point out that I've looked and tech gear is friggin' expensive just so you know. I don't know if I'll ever get into tech diving because I don't feel like spending 3-5 grand on equipment.

 

[TSandM]

The big thing about decompression diving (although it's a misnomer, because all diving requires decompression) is that when you reach a point where a direct ascent to the surface is no longer an option you can use without significant risk of injury, you now have to solve all your problems underwater. This requires a degree of redundancy in equipment, as well as a great deal of training and a lot of composure. In the vast majority of cases, if a decompression dive is well planned and precisely executed, it will go without incident. But just as there are "undeserved hits" in recreational diving, there are injuries from technical diving which are hard to explain. The stakes are higher, because the nitrogen loading is greater.

There is also a lot to understand, to decide how to plan such a dive, what decompression strategy you are going to use, what gases you are going to carry and how you are going to use them.

But the bottom line in all diving is that each of us must assess the risks involved in what we want to do, and decide if it's worth it. The important thing is to have enough education to understand fully what those risks ARE before you undertake them.